Search Results for: blog tax refund advice

Options For Paying Your Tax Bill

Tax Day is almost here, and if you have been putting off preparing your tax return because you fear finding out that you owe money. You can take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Not everyone is doing the happy dance all the way to the bank with big, fat refund checks. There are plenty of people who will find out that they owe tax this year. They just are not shouting about it from the rooftops like those folks who are getting refunds. Since there are penalties, including financial penalties for not filing your tax return on … Continue reading →

Tax Refund Advice

Are you getting a tax refund? Here is what to do and what not to do with it. Many people get excited about their tax refunds, usually relying on them to fund a new purchase or to to give them a chance to have a little fun money. But what these people don’t realize is that the tax refund shouldn’t be viewed as free spending money. It didn’t manifest from nowhere but was actually a “loan” to the government in which the government paid no interest. If you do have a sizable refund coming to you, that is great news … Continue reading →

Tax Cut

Ever since I first began doing my own taxes, more than 20 years ago, I have been doing them the old-fashioned way – by hand. Yes, I am a dinosaur in this day and age. However, that has all changed today. After making my whole family miserable for the month it took me to do the taxes last year, my husband told me it was time for a change. I finally had to agree that the aggravation factor alone was enough to consider a different option. Therefore, I began to ask around. My neighbor offered the best piece of advice. … Continue reading →

Turn off the Television to Get Out of Debt

Did you know that simply turning off the television, or watching less of it can lead to more savings? I’m not just talking about the savings you will get from foregoing the $200 cable bill or the electricity it takes to run your television. I’m talking about the other hidden benefits, the secret savings that will kick in. Less Need to Buy Where do we usually find out about things that we absolutely need to have (although we never knew about them before)? Why the television, of course. It is still the number one way that we get our advertising. … Continue reading →

How to be Prepared for a Grocery Shopping Trip

Sometimes you know when you are going to go grocery shopping and other times you just have to grab a few things on the way home. Either way, it helps to be prepared. If you are prepared for your grocery shopping trip, you will save money, save time and have all of the groceries that you need to make your meals and snacks for the week. Keep These Items with You Have a bag stored in the car with a couple of items to make it easy to do your grocery shopping. Carry your coupons everywhere you go. You never … Continue reading →

Watch Out for Fake Collection Call Scams

Beware of fake collection call scams. They will try to separate you from your money in no time. With the current economy, many people are finding that they have to juggle a bunch of bills and may be used to getting calls from collection agencies, or they may have a friend or family member in such a situation. But what if the collection agency isn’t real? If you aren’t careful you could wind up giving your hard earned money to con artists. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which was formed from a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation … Continue reading →

Get Your SmartPhone Password Protected Now

If you lost your smartphone, what do you think your chances are of recovering it? More importantly, what are the chances that no one would peek into your private information, from your online banking apps and personal files to your email and social networking? Computer security firm Symantec Corp. recently conducted a social experiment about stolen smartphones and the honestly of the people who find them. The results are really surprising. The project loaded smartphones with various apps and files that were meant to tempt prying eyes, such as password file, cloud files, etc. A contacts file was also included … Continue reading →

What to Do with Your Extra Paycheck in March?

If you get paid weekly then be prepared for an extra paycheck this month. It is the first month of the year in which you will get five paychecks instead of four. Put that paycheck to good us with the following ideas. Most of us in our budgets, plan a budget per month. The monthly budget will contain a set amount of income over four weeks. March, however offers five weeks of paychecks. This means that you can have an extra paycheck this month that might not have been accounted for in your income. Take that extra paycheck and see … Continue reading →

Saving Money on Your Next Vacation—Book Early

Timing is everything in life and that goes double when you are planning a vacation. I try to provide as many cost-saving travel tips as possible in this blog and regular readers know that high on the list of advice is to book early. Doing so almost always guarantees cheaper seats—whether by sea, air or land. To prove my point I found a great deal to the Greek Islands that allows you to skip the crowds and the sky-high prices. The catch: Book now travel later. The bargains are good now but you won’t be taking your trip until the … Continue reading →