It might not seem obvious at first, but if you want to be successful in the dating world, you need to start by becoming the best man you can be. Part of being that man is living your life to the fullest. That means having your financial house in order, as well. That’s what this…
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Apr
05
How To Date Without Going Broke
Jul
12
Maximize Your Deductions
If you are a homeowner, are self-employed or were hit hard with medical bills last year, it is almost always worth your while to itemize your deductions when filing taxes this April. Remember, you may be able to deduct expenses for the following items:
* charitable contributions
* owning a clean-fuel vehicle
* disaster relief contributions
* prescription medicinces
* stop-smoking programs
* travel and transportation expenses
* alimony
The rule of thumb on whether to itemize is simple: can you deduct more in mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state taxes, than the standard deduction? — $10,000 for married couples filing jointly and $5,000 for a single filer. Itemizing does take a little preplanning and organization in saving receipts and other paperwork documenting your expenditures.
If you are scrambling to retrieve those important papers that may be scattered hither and yon, consider investing in a spreadsheet, such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. Even if you aren’t tackling your own taxes this year, you could slash your tax-preparation fee in half. Microsoft.com says Microsoft Money 2006 can “eliminate the paper chase, allowing you to sort out important tax information from day-to-day expenses, make educated tax investments and minimize capital gains taxes.†Microsoft.com also recommends doing a little research on the front end to find out what can be deductible. The website suggests checking out MSN Money to “learn about contributing to funds like IRA’s, ESPs, and OTPs, which may be tax deductible.â€
Here are a few deductions that www.msnbc.msn.com recommends you remember:
* Charitable contributions. If your donations are $250 or less, you do not need to include receipts. Any amount over that, however needs to be documented. According to the website, generally you can’t contribute more than 50 percent of your adjusted gross income, but under the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005, you can waive that restrictions for donations between Aug. 28 and Dec. 31. In addition, the IRS says you can also use a higher standard mileage rate and exclude mileage reimbursements from income.
* Education expenses that can range from saving for your kid’s college to paying off your own student loans.
* Home-office expenses if you work at home.
* Medical expenses if they exceed more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income
* Miscellaneous deductions. According to the IRS, these can include depreciation on computers or cell phones, job search expenses, hobby expenses, military uniforms, safe deposit box rent, gambling losses, trustee’s administrative fees for IRA.
With a little research and organization, you can end up saving a lot of money by itemizing deductions. So throw away that shoebox you’ve used to store receipts. Its never too early to get organized.
Jul
08
Creating Your Own Price Chart
A price chart will allow you to open up the Sunday grocery store ad and see if that special on a brick of cream cheese for $2 is really a bargain. When you check your price chart, you will find that you’ve been able to find the same size and brand of cheese for $1.79 before, so it might be worth waiting to buy. Of course, if you are completely out of the cheese and need it that week, sure go ahead and buy them, but if you were just purchasing them to stock up on sale items (the topic of another article) then it is worth waiting.
The first step in creating a price chart is to go through your refrigerator and pantry and catalog the “must haves†– the items you use at least once a month. Some staples in my pantry and refrigerator include onions, garlic, bananas, tomatoes, milk, cheese, orange juice, coffee beans, bread, olive oil, boneless, skinless chicken breasts and breakfast cereal.
After I compile a list of food items, I start recording the best prices I’ve found on the items, being sure to determine costs by size and packaging, as well. For instance, I know that I can find 6 oz cans of tomato paste, a staple in my Italian cooking, for $.25 apiece if I wait for a sale. That is about $.07 less than buying the cans in bulk at my local warehouse store. Because I almost always have the paste on hand so there is never an “emergency†situation, it is a better bargain for me to wait for a sale at my local market and bulk up then. However, nine times out of 10, it is a better deal to stock up on toilet paper at the warehouse store, where I can find a sturdy, good quality roll of 425 sheets for $.41 apiece. Keeping a price chart also allows you to quickly distinguish when a sale is really a sale.
I’ve found the simplest way to create a chart is on the computer and print it out. That way, my price chart ends up being a typed piece of paper that easily folds up and remains in my wallet where I can reference it at any time. In addition, having it on the computer means updates are simple. So the next time, you see a “big†sale on your favorite ice cream, you can quickly reference your price chart and determine that yes, it is worth hopping in the car and stockpiling a pint or two.
