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One of the pleasures of celebrating the New Year is making resolutions. Having a fresh calendar offers the opportunity to turn over a new leaf and make this the year you finally become the person you want to be.
Unfortunately, a 2007 study revealed that 88% of New Year’s resolutions fail — and according to a 2013 survey, 53% of resolutions are abandoned before Valentine’s Day.
That depressing news may be enough for you to feel like you should just walk away from whatever resolutions you made for yourself. But there’s no need to. Simply by making some tweaks to your resolutions today, you can ensure this year will look exactly as you hoped it would when you were watching the ball drop.
Here are three ways to get your New Year’s resolutions back on track: [ continue reading… ]
The federal tax code changes constantly. With so many new laws about deductions and credits, it can seem overwhelming to tackle your yearly income tax preparation on your own. If you choose to seek professional help, there’s certainly no shortage of tax preparation services to help you navigate the code as it applies to your personal situation.
Roughly 30% of Americans, however, choose to file their own taxes.
If that many people are comfortable filing their own taxes, it can’t be that complicated, can it? What’s the difference between these two methods of tax preparation, and how do you determine which is right for you?
Here are four questions to ask yourself as you decide how to file your taxes this season. [ continue reading… ]
On January 31st, I made my final payment to my debt management plan. In 55 months, my wife and I eliminated $109,000 of credit card debt.
To say we are ecstatic would be an understatement.
Over the last four and a half years, it’s been suggested more than once that we took the wrong path to eliminate our debt. I’ve been told that bankruptcy would’ve been a far better choice. So, I decided to put our debt management plan and bankruptcy into a head-to-head debt relief battle, and see which option comes out on top. [ continue reading… ]
So many people are intimidated by investing because they feel like they don’t know enough to be effective. I get around the difficulty of individual stock picking by investing mainly in index funds and ETFs, as well as choosing dividend aristocrats when I do go for individual equities.
Chris Camillo, the author of Laughing at Wall Street, has a different approach. He believes that every day, people can invest in what they know and make potentially huge profits. “I think it’s important for ordinary people, like myself, who don’t work on Wall Street, to leverage a skill set to have an advantage over Wall Street,” he says.
What Do You Know that Wall Street Doesn’t?
Many people outside of Wall Street have the ability to observe game changers that could change things up for companies. Camillo says that’s when you should invest in the company, then wait for Wall Street to come in later and drive the price up. [ continue reading… ]
After sweating bullets at work and muddling through another day, you come home to a screaming brawl between your two teenagers. Your head is about to explode, but it’s April 12th and your taxes are due in a couple of days.
You’ve been putting it off because there’s nothing in it for you. It’s depressing to think of how much Uncle Sam rips from your wallet each year — but procrastinating doesn’t bring your dollars back.
What does help is to make sure you’re not giving him more than he should get. Here are 10 ways to get more back from Uncle Sam. [ continue reading… ]
It’s January, which means it’s time to start preparing your income tax return for 2013.
Looking at the bright side, you’ll have at least one more tax return in which to enjoy credits for your higher education expenses, home efficiency improvements, and charitable donations from your IRA. These, as well as a number of other tax breaks, expired in 2013 — and may or may not be renewed for 2014.
What’s certain is there are a few major tax changes in 2014 that could really alter the results of your return. Here are the most significant changes, and what you need to know about them.
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One of the pleasures of celebrating the New Year is making resolutions. Having a fresh calendar offers the opportunity to turn over a new leaf and make this the year you finally become the person you want to be.
