Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Doing your own taxes is a great way to save money, but let’s face it — some of us have pretty complicated taxes and prefer to avoid the stress of making sure everything’s accurate. Using the services of a professional who knows all the tax rules can be a load off your mind, but if you’re not careful, it can also be an unnecessary load off your wallet. This might sound surprising, but many tax professionals often make mistakes that can cost you dearly.
There are at least two ways your professional tax preparation can go wrong: (1) an inexperienced tax agent who fails to get you the credits you’re qualified for and inadvertently cheats you out of your maximum refund, or (2) a fee-based-on-return tax agent who encourages you to take credits you don’t qualify for, placing you at risk for an audit.
On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of people have their taxes prepared by a professional every year with no incident. What makes the difference? Consider these suggestions for choosing a tax professional you can trust to handle your return for years to come. [ continue reading… ]
How well do you know your own finances? If you want your financial machine to run as efficiently as possible, there are some critical pieces of information you absolutely must know. Without that knowledge you run the risk of overspending, your investments can’t possibly be working for you as hard as they should be, and you won’t even know how to improve the situation because of lack of information.
If you’re like me, lunchtime is a much enjoyed reprieve to “sandwich” in the busy work day. It also means that $10 to $15 is about to leave the wallet. This may not seem like much, but after grabbing a quick bite over the last month, I counted my receipts and realized I said goodbye to $188.07. Wowsers. That’s why I’ve set a goal to shave that in half. Here’s what I’ve found to be helpful.
Water Cups Can Save a Ton
Did you know drinks are the number one profit margins (percentage-wise) at restaurants? Every time a cup is sold, restaurants make around 800% profit. What really costs the eatery 30 cents or so is priced at $2.49 to the consumer. Add in taxes and you are basically paying 10 times the cost of having the same thing at home. Avoid being marked up by sticking to the free water cup. You’ll immediately see your $10 to $15 dollar meal reduced to $7 to $12. If you absolutely need that jolt of caffeine, keep a can in your purse or car and ask for a cup of ice. No one will care that you put your own drink into the cup of ice, but you can also enjoy the drink on your way back to work if you feel self conscious. [ continue reading… ]
We all make money mistakes. And even if we don’t make many financial missteps, the reality is that a disaster can unexpectedly set you back.
When you are suffering from a financial setback, it can seem as though everything is out of your control. How can you take charge of the situation?
Having gone through several financial setbacks myself as well as counseled dozens of clients through it, I get how tough it is. I know there were times when I wanted to quit. I even convinced myself that trying was pointless at times. Deep down though, I believed that things would eventually work out.
If you’re in the midst of a money struggle, you might be asking yourself if there is a way to get back control of your financial life.
Luckily, the answer is yes. The solution isn’t always easy, but it’s workable. Here are seven tips for taking charge of your finances after a setback: [ continue reading… ]
It is no secret I am a huge fan of stay-at-home moms. I know the choice is not the right one for everybody. For one thing, staying at home is often a thankless job and it’s also much more stressful than many jobs out there. However, there are plenty of benefits as well, chief of which is how much money you can save. Let me share with you some of the money-saving benefits that I have experienced from staying at home.
More Home Cooked Meals
Working 40 hours on top of taking care of my kids all day was stressful. Dinner was not getting cooked because who has time when you have to go to an office plus spend more time commuting? As a result, we were constantly running out to get fast food. I was constantly trying to stay awake and alert with Starbucks runs too. When I did go grocery shopping, I was so stressed and sleep deprived I wasted money on food that eventually was thrown away. Why should I bother working so many hours if I was just going to waste all of that money (and my precious time) on food costs? I ended up drastically cutting my work hours and all of these expensive food costs automatically disappeared. [ continue reading… ]
We can all agree that living paycheck-to-paycheck is not an ideal situation. And it’s just as obvious that individuals doing this still need to save their money and build a financial cushion so they can finally feel secure.
Unfortunately, the basic rules of saving money are simple but not easy – particularly if you’re already behind the financial ball.
Here are three reasons why it’s so difficult for people in poverty to improve their situation:
1. Lack of Opportunity
There’s a reason for the term “banker’s hours.” Most banks are only open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. For many of us, that’s a minor pain in the neck, but not a big deal. [ continue reading… ]
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