For the small business owner, the question of incorporating is a pointed one. A large percentage of small companies are run as sole proprietorships for a variety of reasons. At some point, though, the idea of incorporation comes up, and there are some valid reasons to go through the effort.
No one likes to pay taxes, even if they support the services that those taxes provide. If you own your business you have probably already found out that you must pay more taxes on your income than you ever did when you were employed by someone else. Why is this?
When you are an employee, your employer paid half of your Social Security and Medicare taxes. Now that you own the company, you must pay both halves: yours and the business half. That comes out to a fairly significant percentage of your income.
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Recovering from bankruptcy can seem insurmountable right after you’ve been through the wringer of filing. Whether you’ve had to deal with unexpected medical bills—the leading reason for filing personal bankruptcy—or you’ve been through a rough divorce or a bout of unemployment, or even just a string of bad financial decisions, going bankrupt can make you feel as if you’ve lost control of your finances. In fact, you have lost control. However, not all is lost. It will take a great deal of discipline and work, but you can pull through bankruptcy and restore your finances and credit. You will have to live through some higher interest rates while you rebuild, but you will get back on track. Here are some of things that can help you on the road back to financial health:
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I’ll go ahead and confess: 17 years ago, I had a big, lavish wedding at a five-star hotel. The 400 guests were served a five-course gourmet dinner, enjoyed an extensive dessert buffet, and a slice of the 6-tier wedding cake. My designer wedding dress was spectacular, and cost a fortune. After the event, I ended up donating the dress to charity, as I had no use for something I will only wear once and keeping it seemed silly.
Was the event a $30,000 wedding? I don’t know. I didn’t foot the bill – my parents had split it with my in laws. But I’m guessing my big day wasn’t exactly what you would call a frugal wedding.
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Seeing a loved one go through a financial crisis can be almost as stressful as going through one yourself. For most of us, the reality is that there is only so much direct help we can offer without putting our own security in jeopardy. The good news is that there are ways that you can help your friends and family members find the resources that can help them get back on their feet.
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If you are one of those lucky people who seem to lead a charmed life and never encounter any difficulties, chances are that the need for affordable legal advice has never entered your mind. For the rest of us, requiring legal advice and being able to pay for it is not always the same thing. As a recent consultation taught me, even basic advice will set you back several hundred dollars, and retaining a lawyer will cost you much more.
When you find yourself in need of an attorney, there are several things you can do to minimize the financial impact. The first step is to be an informed consumer.
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Whether you’re just leaving college to start your career, or you’re finally landing a dream job after years of working, you might find yourself dreading the following question:
So, what are your salary requirements?
If you field this question without having done any preparation for it, you may find yourself panicking as you try to figure out what’s an appropriate amount that won’t price you out of their range but also won’t pay you less than you are worth. Here are four pointers for dealing with that initial salary negotiation that even the most negotiation-averse job hunter can handle.
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