Bigger is Not Always Better
I had a little breakthough today. Like many millions of Americans I would like to lose a few pounds. While I am generally good about not overeating, I know that if I have certain foods in the house I will eat them, and I will generally eat the entire container with a couple of days. I just don’t have willpower when there is a temptation right in front of me at my house calling me when I have those cravings. I realized that if I get a craving and really need something to satisfy me sweet tooth, instead of picking up a box of low calorie ice cream bars, which I will finish in 2-3 days, I am better off stopping by the gas station and picking up one bar from their freezer.
Yes the bar at the gas station will cost more than the price per bar if I get the box. However, I only need the bar when I have a really bad craving. If they are in the house I will eat them whether I really really want it or not just because it is there. Thus, in the long term I am better off spending a dollar for a single bar rather than $3 for a box. Not only does it save my waistline, it is cheaper to just get on rather than the box. Yes next month when I get another really bad craving that I feel I just have to satisfy I will have to go buy a single bar again. But you know what, I would have had to do that anyway because I know that there is absolutely no way that there would be anything left in that box a month or 6 weeks later when I really needed it.
Making Charity Work for You
Income taxes are just around the corner. You have been saving receipts all year in preparation for this moment. Once all your W-2s come in you are ready to hand the pile off to your tax manager to sort through the mess and make magic. However, there are probably some deductions that you haven’t thought about.
Charity is something that many of us do for a variety of different reasons but we don’t think about how it can affect our taxes. Did you pledge and pay money for someone to run for charity? Did you pay tithes to your local church? Did you donate a toy to your local toy drive? Each of these items is a charitable deduction that you can count on your taxes if you itemize.
Not only is the money donated to a charity deductible, so are goods. Those clothes that you dropped off at Goodwill are deductible just as much as the money you gave to the Red Cross. However, that isn’t everything. If you donate your time to a charitable organization you can track and deduct the mileage. In 2008 and 2009 the government is allowing a charitable deduction of 14 cents a mile for every mile driven to and from a charity where you donate your time. While you can’t donate the mileage of driving to Goodwill to drop of those clothes that no longer fit, if you donate your time once a month to help out at the local Salvation Army or Humane Society you can donate the miles for those trips.
Keep track of the miles you have when you leave the house to do your charitable work and the miles you have when you get back to document your deduction and make sure to let whoever does your taxes know about the mileage. For the mileage to qualify, the charity must be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
The Tax Man Cometh
The commercials are starting to scare you early this year. Many are eagerly waiting to get their returns back so they can have the extra case to pay bills, perhaps even to pay off their Christmas. So, should I listen to all the commercials and hire someone else to figure out my taxes? It depends on how much money you make and how complicated your return is.
If you have a very simple return, one or two jobs and you are taking the standard deduction then it would be a waste of money to pay someone else to do your return. If the sight of those forms at the Post Office gives you a headache, check out the IRS website.
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html
This website lets you choose from a variety of online sights to complete your tax returns. The online versions are much easier than the paper forms. You just follow the steps and answer the questions asked. In addition, citizens with an adjusted gross income of less than $56,000 can use the software for free. Most websites charge a fee for state taxes and a fee if you want to file the return via e-file.
Personally, I prefer e-file. While it may cost a couple of dollars, it usually is not very much and may even be free and is much easier than mailing the paper return as you then need to send in all the additional schedules, copies of your W-2s, and make sure to make copies of everything.
If you are still concerned about filing your tax return, check out VITA at http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html. This website tells low to moderate income individuals, military personnel, and individuals 60 or older where they can get their taxes done by volunteers for free.
Should I buy a credit report?
Everyone knows about the possibility of credit fraud and identity theft so what are we doing about it. There are some programs out there that offer to monitor your credit reports and require that people from whom you are requesting credit call you prior to extending the credit in order to ensure that you really are the person requesting the credit. But are these programs really necessary?
Many companies also allow you to purchase you credit report from them to ensure that there are no surprises on the report. However, if you know what’s going on, you can get this information without spending the extra money.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
This website allows people to request a free credit report from all 3 credit bureaus once a year. The time you can get the report depends on which state you live in so check out the website so that you know when it is free for your state.
Also, if you have been denied credit you can request a free report directly from the credit bureaus to ensure that there is no false information on your report. You can also get a free report if your wallet or purse was stolen.
There are many options and many ways to monitor your credit without paying extra.
Protect Your Family With Life Insurance
In this day and age, everybody should have an affordable life insurance. Most people base their insurance coverage upon what they can afford, rather than what they actually need. Life insurance is purchased in order for your dependents to be looked after financially in case of certain disaster. This is just a precaution in case of sudden death, but if you are quite alone or single, it is wise not to waste money on such plans.
There are various types of plans to be considered. Affordability is essential so that you don’t just throw your hard earned money into the trash. A good way to determine how much coverage you require is to estimate the amount of your income and multiply it until you feel that it will offer sufficient protection for your family. Suppose your income is say 50000 per year, you may want to insure that your family has three years of covered finances so you would want 1,50000 in insurance. Better select a plan where you need to pay installments for a limited frame of time rather than paying it for a longer time period. By discussing with an insurance agent you can discover the best suited policies that are also affordable.
In many cases in day today life you can see the death of a spouse or parent can have devastating economic effects on a family. Not only the death but if you become disabled in the future or have to live in a nursing home, you can not count on social security to fully cover you. By being covered by any insurance you are insuring yourself financial ease as you reach old age. Even if you never have to live in a care home, or become disabled, it is much wiser to spend the extra money, even if it is only to breathe a little easier.
So whether you are looking to purchase new life insurance or update your old plan then think over all the aspects that suits you.Also remember nobody wants to think of death, it isn’t a pleasant process,but taking care of it before it is too late is the responsible thing to do. Why burden your family when they will already have so much on their minds with your passing? Life insurance is vitally important so that your loved ones do not have to carry the burden of covering the looming costs and necessary expenses.
Resolve to Save
It’s that time of year again. People are making New Year’s resolutions, and many have already broken them. Some resolve to quit smoking, others to lose weight, and others to save money. So how can I make a resolution and stick to it? The best way, get a plan.
The first step to saving is to know why you are saving. If you are just saving because you think you should, you won’t make it very long before you will spend it all. You have to know why you are saving. Are you saving for retirement, a child’s education, a downpayment for a house, an emergency fund?
Once you know what the savings is going to be for, it will be easier to set the money aside and leave it alone because you have a goal and a reason for saving. You need to think of the money as being set aside for a bill. It isn’t there to dip into whenever you have a need, it is a bill to be paid each month. If you think of savings as a bill, you can ensure that you set money aside in it each month and take that into account when forming a budget.
The biggest problem with savings is watching it accumulate and wanting to use it for things that it was not intended for. This is a mental issue. You have to consider this money already spent. It is not there for your use, it is money that has already been spent on your child’s education, your retirement, etc.
There are many great programs available today to help with savings. Check with your bank to see if they have a program that automatically puts the change from your debit purchases into a savings account. This can be a great way to save without thinking about it.
I also enjoy using high yield online savings accounts as they pay a much higher interest rates than most banks. ING Direct and HSBC are great examples.