Using numbers from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the website AlchemyToday came up with a calculator to see how much Barack Obama would raise your taxes. It's a nifty device that should help clarify for people the big differences in economic policy in this election.

Are you making less than $603,000? If so, Obama isn't going to raise your taxes, the data show.

According to a Gallup Poll, 53% of Americans think Obama is going to raise their taxes, compared with just 34% who suspect the same of McCain. That means that at least 48% of Americans don't really understand what Obama is going to do and one-third don't understand what McCain is proposing. Where would so many people get the crazy idea that Obama's secret plan is to raise taxes? Well, it could be because John McCain tells them that every chance he gets.

Our man Abelicio Padilla has been blogging about his personal financial situation and he has been seeking advice for making sound money decisions. I wrote this piece as my input into his situation. If you'd like more background before you proceed, read Abelicio Padilla's interesting blog posts here.

Now here's my input:

It sounds like you have a plan Abe. However, I'd like you to think a little more about if you really want to sell that house. The market is down right now which means you probably won't get your best selling price for it. Also, did you consider that if you sell the house, you'll lose your mortgage interest deduction when you file your taxes? That deduction loss will cut into the monthly savings you expect to get by selling. Even though you won't notice it month to month, you'll feel it when you file your yearly income taxes. Consider also the upset that moving can cause. It's expensive. It will disrupt operations. In the long run It could cost you more than you think.

I'm writing about women's incomes -- what were you thinking?

In a recent scan of Donald Trump's blog, Trump University, I read a blog post the Donald wrote regarding women who earn better incomes than their male partners and what that disparity can do to the men in their lives. Referring to a report provided by Psych Central, Mr. Trump admonishes the partners of women who earn higher salaries to swallow their false pride and examine the upside.

It would seem that being the husband of a woman who is the major bread winner can have some pretty serious health consequences for the man, at least that's what the report points out. However, it's my opinion that men who develop health issues because they begin to earn less than their sweeties are men who already have issues wedged somewhere deep within their mentalities and they should consult with someone about those issues.

Is it any wonder that the economies of the Asian manufacturing behemoths are beginning to wilt? Should we be surprised by the downwardly revised economic outlook for Japan? Does China's burgeoning inflation rate give us pause to ponder the reasons why? Ha! They're getting what they got coming to them. They asked for it and they have done it to themselves.

Since the 1940's the Asian manufacturing block has built its economies upon the backs of hard working Americans, aided mostly by American corporations seeking out their sustenance hungry work forces which were willing to work for just pennies a day. Now, it's coming back to bite them in the rumps. Cry me a river, won't ya?

Raising children can be a challenge. It can be an even bigger challenge in a single income household. But perhaps the biggest challenge to successfully raising children is when one parent is required to do it alone. Aside from all the regular chores and details of child rearing there is one important question which must always be considered by families and single parents alike; Where is the money going to come from?

I'm very lucky in the fact that while my wife is a stay at home mom, something I consider a personal luxury for me, she's a very industrious woman and has never lacked personal drive. She has always been able to contribute to our financial health while at home wearing the badge of mom. However, she has me around for backup and she has found various income opportunities which haven't required her to meet an employer's arbitrary schedule. The situation is quite different when there is just one parent in the home. What exactly can single parents do to provide financial stability for their household? How do they cope? Where can they go?

A recent article by Forbes provides some employment suggestions for single parents. It highlighted some flexible career options, including sales, real estate, and health care. I'd like to expand on some of those suggestions and add a few of my own. Please don't consider any of these ideas to be gender specific. I believe that these ideas apply to single dads as well as single moms. After all, we all have to buy groceries to buy.

I recently received my W-2 form from my employer and it held a bit of nice news. Working in concert with my employer I managed to shield about $3,000 of my income from being taxed. Through various changes in the tax code made during the Bush administration, we can now have a number of different payouts made with pretax dollars. My employer puts these savings under a heading called a "cafeteria plan." Here's how it helped me to reduce my tax bill.

My employer takes the deduction for my health insurance premium pretax. That's $49 per week untaxed. My employer-provided life insurance premium is paid pretax. That's another $4 untaxed. My company-sponsored IRA account gets $5 per week untaxed, as well as the untaxed contributions which my employer makes to my IRA, out of the goodness of their hearts.

There are other payments which you can make with pretax dollars also. Consult with your employer to see if they enable these types of benefits. As far as I know, the law doesn't require employers to provide these options but many employers do because they can improve workforce morale. It might also be advisable to consult with a tax preparation professional regarding the long term effects and conditions of these types of benefits. Pretax deposits to IRA accounts can later become taxable if you access them before you reach certain age thresholds.

Many people get uptight when they think about the process of creating a home budget. They see dark visions of three column ledgers filled with six digit numbers and lots of black and red ink. Home budgeting doesn't need to be like that at all. In fact, home budgeting can be quite easy. Most often, just getting a system started is the single hardest part.

You can start by looking at it this way, your budget will only have four main parts. Part one is income, which is the total of all funds you receive each month. The second part is expenses, which are all the things you need to pay out every month. The third part is disposable income, that's the money which is left over after you subtract your expenses from your income. Part four is savings, that's the part you get if the other three parts play nice together.

I read an interesting article recently over at TheStreet.com which outlined five business ventures which can be undertaken with little or no cash investment. These are proven ideas which may work for just about anyone. I'd like to give you a brief synopsis of that article by Jeffrey Strain and I'd also like to interject a couple ideas of my own.

Jeffrey's opportunity list starts out by suggesting a venture which is near and dear to my heart (and wallet). That suggestion is blogging. Yes my friends, there is money to be made in blogging. In fact, I'm padding my own bottom line right now. Blogs are easy to start and if you're a natural writer, blogging is easy to do. Jeffrey gives you a couple directions you can go for getting started as an independent, or you could take your shot at blogging right here with us! There are two basic kinds of blogging you may wish to consider. You can blog as a strict independent or you can blog as a freelance / contract writer. I prefer the contract gigs for myself, because they offer a good measure of security and you often have seasoned writers zipping around who can help you out of an occasional tough spot. (Thanks team!)