Saving to Inve$t

Nine months after starting my small business and completing my first annual tax return my accountant advised that I start looking into a retirement account/plan for my business in order to lower my overall tax bill and also effectively set aside some of my business profits towards retirement. After...

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I know a lot of friends and family who took on a second mortgage to enable them to buy a home a few years ago during the housing boom. Unfortunately, these "bridge loans" or second mortgage's - which enabled them to get a lower rate loan (because the primary loan...

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With the deadline looming for the current home buyer credit that expires in April 2010 (with closing by June 30th 2010), many readers have asked if there is any update on a further extension of this popular tax credit. Recent housing data suggests that the housing market is still struggling...

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Great graphic from the Economist showing the upward trend of Wall Street bonuses over the last 20 years. Despite the great recession of 2008, and the suffering of millions of main-street Americans, Wall Street bankers seem to have made out okay and in fact last year was especially good for...

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I recently filed my taxes and much to my disappointment I ended up owing taxes. While paying taxes is not itself a bad thing, after all I did not give an interest free loan to Uncle Sam, what really hurts is that if I had undertaken a few actions earlier...

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Money doesn’t buy happiness? Tell that to Hollywood where money is business and box office receipts are what matter! In all seriousness, the old saying might be true, but it doesn’t stop most of us from trying. And, so here are the top six movies about people trying to get...

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Thanks to the accounting folks at BConnect Inc, here is a straight forward tax preparation checklist that will save you time when you file with your accountant or before you start using tax software for self-filing. Tax preparation is faster, easier and more stress-free if you take a little time...

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Many Americans will be eligible for claiming one or more of the economic stimulus tax credits, deductions and/or payments passed in 2009. Claiming these stimulus tax breaks require special forms and supplementary schedules, which have been recently released by the IRS. These new forms and schedules need to be filed...

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Each year the IRS releases its discussion and rebuttal of many of the more common frivolous arguments made by individuals and groups that oppose compliance with federal tax laws. It’s called the Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments and it makes interesting reading thanks to the inclusion of real life cases...

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Early in the year, it looks like American consumers are still licking their wounds from the Great Recession of 2008/2009 and are taking a cautious outlook for the year ahead. The latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, the fifth in a monthly series, reports about consumers’ views about the...

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While many people will tell you money isn’t everything, it’s hard to deny that having a bit of it can make life easier. With that being said, many of us still find it difficult to motivate ourselves to save. Inspiration is often lost in the ‘here and now’ among all...

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President Obama has released his latest budget and one of it's the hallmarks has been an increase in taxes on the "rich". This would be done by reinstating 10-year-old income tax rates of 36% and 39.6% for single Americans earning more than $200,000 and joint filers making more than $250,000...

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President Barack Obama has unveiled a multi trillion-dollar budget focused on creating jobs and reducing the nation's high unemployment rate. The job focused budget would boost the deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion, an increase of 5.7 percent for the current budget. It is also forecast that spending would...

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[Updated following SOU speech] President Barack Obama has proposed a new round of stimulus spending in 2010, focused on middle class families struggling to pay bills and care for their families. The initiatives in the new stimulus package are a product of a middle class task force headed by Vice...

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When it comes to filing your taxes, there are a lot of options and a number of leading tax software providers provide free e-filing options via the IRS’ free file program which provides free federal income tax preparation and electronic filing for eligible taxpayers. Free Tax Filing via Electronic Software...

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There are pages written about how to buy term life insurance, but very few devoted to death benefit claims and payouts. Sadly, this topic is so neglected, that awareness levels on this matter are very low. Term life insurance is the best kind of life insurance available today, and it...

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One of the most claimed, but least understood and publicized is the Earned Income Credit (EIC) for low income earners. Thanks to Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package this credit has received a considerable bump for tax years 2009 and 2010 and many families may now qualify for this credit. The EIC...

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A new year is always a good time to reassess your financial situation and try and determine how you can improve your personal finances. Based on my experiences and observations, here are some practical ways to implement five simple and relatively cheap strategies to master your finances. All it...

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Did a double take when I read an article in the WSJ that said under the new health care reform bill in Congress, marriage (relative to unmarried couples) will cost you in terms of health care premiums. And quite significantly apparently. The built-in "marriage penalty" in both House and Senate...

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With tax season well and truly upon us now a decision many have to make is to do their taxes via ever improving accounting software (like Turbo Tax) or go with a professional tax prepare for more complex returns. More than 80% of taxpayers use a paid tax preparer or...

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It was a year in which governments and central banks around the world took extraordinary measures to get their economies growing. While the bailouts and economic stimulus boosts that many countries employed may have had mixed results for it's citizens, the boost to stock markets was definitely real. The U.S....

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Entering 2009, global financial markets seemed to be mired in doom and gloom. With the collapse of many venerable financial institutions, it looked like another great depression was in store. However from March 2009, stock markets began to rise from their lows despite higher unemployment and tight credit markets. Many...

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I recently received a timely article about future tax implications given the large amounts of government spending and contracting corporate and consumer tax base. All this means is that tax considerations should play a much more central role in people's thinking as they're making critical financial decisions. At the end...

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The WSJ had a very poignant graphic showing how employers and workers could be affected under the recently approved Senate health care bill which requires all citizens and legal residents to purchase a health insurance policyCompanies would face fines as high as $750 per worker if even one employee seeks...

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Giving is good. It’s even better if it doesn’t cost you in terms of taxes. So make sure you can maximize your giving and minimize your taxes by following the following IRS rules and guidelines when it comes to giving to charity:· Contributions are deductible in the year they are...

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