20 Rules to Live By for Cheapskates

In our tough economy, living frugal has become a lifestyle for many American taxpayers. Earlier today one of my favorite finance blogs, WalletPop.com, put together a helpful list of 20 rules to live by in order to save money. I have included a few of their “cheapskate” tips below, but you can find the full list at WalletPop.com.

Use technology to help you compare prices and look for coupons. Josh Smith, our resident tech guru and the editor of Notebooks.com, says that if you have a smart phone, "there are plenty of apps that will scan the bar code --- ShopSavvy is one -- and will find the best prices for you. And if you're online, visit RetailMeNot.com and enter the store name to see current coupons."

Think ahead with your child's friends' birthday parties. Bonnie McCarthy, who writes a lot about family and money, suggests that people buy "cool gifts that are age-appropriate to your own darling children." That way, "the next time they're invited to a birthday soiree, you'll have a well-priced gift ready to go." That's a definite help with the "time is money" factor. Plus, if you do buy gifts ahead and really put some thought into it, you might find some good choices on sale, making your inner cheapskate even happier. And you have to love Bonnie's other advice: "Let your child make the birthday card, or craft a simple tag to put on the gift. Unless there's money inside a birthday card, it will be quickly tossed aside by even those with the best manners, and those cards cost upwards for $3 a piece!"

Skip the Groupon and mass e-mail coupon sales. Yes, they're loads of fun, concedes Vera Gibbons, who writes about women and money for WalletPop, but she says, "People are buying all sorts of stuff they never thought they wanted, and there's way too much impulse-buying going on. I know social buying websites like Groupon.com are extremely popular right now, but we're ending up with all sorts of stuff we never thought we wanted, from horseback riding lessons to harbor tours."

Continue reading at WalletPop.com…

The Best Starter Credit Cards

Credit card companies frequently setup tables on college campuses these days, and often prey on vulnerable students who are already strapped for cash. Luckily, new laws have tightened restrictions on banks that offer credit to students, such as income and age requirements.

NewsWeek.com put together a great article on which credit cards are the best for “credit virgins,” read more below.

Laura Lee got her first credit card during the freshman Welcome Week at Central Michigan University.

“[Representatives] sat at a long table in the Student Union just outside the large conference room with displays from all the on-campus student organizations,” she tells MainStreet. “[I could] sign up for a Sears card, get a $5 gift certificate and a tote bag full of gifts.”

The opportunities to take on credit didn’t end there, however. Weeks later, applications from Citibank, Discover Card, J.C. Penney and Chase started appearing in her dorm room mailbox. By the holiday season, Lee’s wallet was bulging with plastic.

“They all welcomed this 18-year-old consumer with open arms,” she says.

Of course, credit issuers aren’t giving out cards quite so readily these days. Under the CARD Act, companies are now prohibited from issuing credit to anyone under 21 unless the applicant has a stable source of income or a willing co-signer. But college freshmen aren’t the only ones faced with roadblocks when trying to establish credit.

Continue reading at NewsWeek.com…

Tax Issues Confront Retirees

Although retirement is a time to relax, planning for your retirement can be stressful and difficult. However, by doing a little research you can make the most out of your retirement. Market Watch has put together a helpful article explaining tax issues related to retirement, and what states are better to retire in. You can find a snippet of their article below.

As you enter retirement, probably the largest and most daunting expense you encounter will be taxes. And we're talking not just of a benign single item of expense, but quite possibly many different kinds of levies. Each one of our 50 states can enact and enforce state and local taxes by the dozen, as well as property taxes by the hundreds, and countless more.

These taxes can vary so much in size and scope from place to place that they sometimes become key factors in your decision of where to retire -- indeed, whether you choose to retire at all.

People who retire to low-tax or no-tax states have an economic advantage over those who do not. But only nine states have no broad-based state income tax. Those states are: Alaska, Texas, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming. (In New Hampshire and Tennessee, income tax is limited to dividends and interest income.) See this Federation of Tax Administrators page for more details on state tax rates.

One means to determine which state is the least costly in terms of total taxes is to check a study called "Tax Freedom Day." That's the day on which the ordinary American's total federal, state and local tax bill is fully paid from his or her earnings for the year to date. Ostensibly, this is the day you stopped working for the government and started working for yourself; that is, the day you earned enough to pay your federal, state and local taxes and are now starting to make money you'll be able to spend on things for yourself. For more on Tax Freedom day, visit the Tax Foundation site.

In recent years, states posting the worst Tax Freedom Days; that is, the highest overall tax bills have included Maine, New York, Ohio, Minnesota and Hawaii. And states with the lowest overall taxes have included Alaska, New Hampshire, Delaware, Tennessee and Alabama.

Home Shopping Reminder!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I am going to appear on the Home Shopping Network tomorrow to debut my new financial planning program, Win Back Your American Dream. Tune in at 7 AM EST to watch my segment!
For more information on my program, or to purchase one online, head over to the Home Shopping Network’s website. You can also checkout a picture of the program below.

Black Friday: Best Day to Buy a Car

The day after Thanksgiving – known as “Black Friday” to enthusiastic bargain hunters – is one biggest shopping day of the year for retail stores across the county. However, you may not know that it is also one of the best days of the year to buy a new car. According to CNN Money.com, studies show that on Black Fridays car dealerships historically offer large discounts on both new and used cars.

Analysts looked at day-by-day car pricing for the last several years. That data revealed that discounts on Black Friday are, on average, the biggest of the year.

"The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers' incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday," said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com.

Unlike typical Black Friday sales where customers know exactly what they'll pay for an item, car prices are individually negotiated the day of the sale, so it's difficult for customers to know ahead of time they'll be getting a deal. But there's been a clear trend, Toprak said.

Continue reading at CNN Money.com…

10 Easy Ways to Save Money this Thanksgiving

With the holiday season just around the corner, millions of taxpayers are looking for ways to save money this Thanksgiving. Between travel expenses, food and supplies for a huge dinner, and other expenses, the total costs for “Turkey Day” can add up quickly. To help my readers have a fun-filled Thanksgiving without breaking the budget, I have put together the following list of ways to save money this year.

1. Be the Early Bird

If you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for your family and friends then you can benefit greatly from planning your meal and purchasing supplies as early as possible. This way you can be on the look out for discounts on non-perishable products. You can also avoid the huge crowds of last minute shoppers.

2. Request RSVP's

While having some extra turkey and stuffing leftover to make sandwiches can be fun, having TOO many leftovers because of no-shows is basically like throwing money in the trash. By asking your guests to RSVP ahead of time you can get a better estimate of how much food you should buy.

3. Coupon Clip

Food companies know that people buy extra food around Thanksgiving and often print especially good coupons. Even if you are not the “coupon type,” you might be surprised to learn how much you can save this Thanksgiving just by using a handful of coupons. You should also be on the look out for groceries that offer discounts on holiday related products.

4. The Thanksgiving Turkey

The Thanksgiving turkey can easily become one of your biggest expenses, depending on the size of the bird you select. Frozen turkeys are usually a little cheaper, but can take longer to prepare due to the necessary defrost time. Also, be on the look out for stores that offer specials on turkeys. Many will even give you a turkey for spending a certain amount of money. If you can plan it so that you purchase all of your supplies in one trip then you may be able to get a free turkey.

5. Do NOT go Overboard

Although it can be easy to get carried away and create a lavish meal with dozens of sides and desserts, do you really need to? Odds are that most of this extra food will go uneaten and find it’s way to the trashcan. Instead, limit the number of dishes you create and focus your attention on the Turkey.

6. Discount Decor

Another easy way to drain your bank account is by going overboard with decorations. However, there are several ways that you can decorate your Thanksgiving table for little or nothing. Try using dried leaves and pinecones to create a season centerpiece. If you do not have any trees with pretty enough leaves, then you could make them out of orange and brown colored paper.

7. Drink Decisions

There are so many yummy fall beverages that it can be hard to choose between them, and you can very quickly spent too much. Save money by making your own eggnog and cider at home. Search for easy recopies online, and be sure to read the reviews to make sure that they come with good recommendations.

8. Perhaps a Potluck?

If hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner seems like too much, then you can always suggest a potluck to your friends and family. Everyone loves a potluck, and it can save you a decent amount of money if you are supposed to host the dinner. It will also allow you to focus your attention on other tasks, like creating festive decorations.

9. Traveling Tips

If you are traveling for the holiday, then the sooner you book your flight the better. The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest traveling day of the year, which usually results in huge crowds and delayed flights. In addition to buying your tickets early, you could also try arriving a day or two early to avoid the day before Thanksgiving ticket mark ups. If you have enough time, you could even try driving to your destination.

10. Have a Heart

One of the easiest ways to save on Thanksgiving dinner is not to have one. By replacing your family’s meal with something cheap and donating the turkey and fixings to a local charity you can get into the holiday spirit and get a valuable tax deduction. Just be sure to keep your grocery receipt, and make sure you are donating to a qualified charity.

How Offshore Tax Evasion Affects You

There has been a lot of talk about offshore tax evasion in the news lately. Especially in regards to UBS and new offshore tax evasion enforcement efforts between the U.S. and Switzerland.

Unfortunately, many taxpayers do not pay much attention to these issues, as they do not think that offshore tax issues have anything to do with them personally. However, that is not the case. Offshore tax evasion actually affects nearly every American. And here is how:

National Tax Compliance

The IRS is having a hard time collecting tax debts during the economic crisis. According to recent studies, Federal tax revenue plunged $138 billion—or 34% from last year—which is the biggest drop in almost three decades. A large amount of the lost revenue can be attributed to offshore tax evasion. This leaves the rest of us law-abiding citizens to foot the bill.

While government officials are hoping to generate additional revenue from increased tax compliance, they know that it alone will not cover our expenses. Thus, they anticipate raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Plans to raise taxes has left thousands of Americans—rich and poor—disgruntled and willing to protest. In addition to the Tea Parties that were carried out in April, tax protestors are hoping to carry out additional events this July.

Economic Recovery Prevention

Despite lots of effort, the country’s economic recovery is taking some time. As the economy continues to stall, more and more taxpayers are looking for any way possible to reduce their tax liability. A whopping $250 billion of missing revenue from the past decade is said to be missing due to offshore bank accounts. This missing money is essentially preventing the country from making a faster recovery as it prevents the federal government from investing the money into other programs.

President Barack Obama has already taken great strides to recover some of this lost revenue by evoking legal action with popular offshore bank UBS. "Nobody likes to pay taxes, particularly in times of economic stress," Obama said. However a crackdown on "illegal overseas tax evasion" was necessary in order to provide "meaningful relief for hardworking families." He continued to explain that "the way to make American businesses competitive is not to let some individuals and businesses dodge their responsibilities and let ordinary Americans pick up the slack."

State Economies

Not only does offshore banking affect Federal tax revenue, in many instances it drastically affects local and State governments. According to a recent study observed in Montana's Clark Fork Chronicle, "non-residents who have Montana earned income fail to pay income taxes at an astonishing rate of 78%". This statistic seems staggering, but is actually not as uncommon as you would think. Some states do not have very strong tax enforcement agencies, which can quickly lead to millions of dollars in lost revenue. Montana and other States in similar situations cite offshore banking as a large contributor to the problem, claiming that they simply cannot keep track of all of their out-of-state taxpayers so easily, let alone investigate their offshore bank accounts.

Organized Crime Ties

While not all offshore bank accounts are being managed illegally, even the more humble ones can unknowingly foster criminal activity. It is a well-known fact that organized crime uses offshore bank accounts to disguise their criminal activity. Offshore banking protects the "underground economy". The most common of crimes is of course money laundering, which is made all the easier with offshore bank accounts that are highly protected and usually well disguised.

10 Ways to Help Your Local Economy with Your Tax Refund

Now that tax season is over, American taxpayers across the country are wondering what to do with their refund checks. In a struggling economy, the best place to start is at home. By making purchases locally you can support your neighbors, friends, and community. It is a common misconception that you have to spend major bucks in order to support your local economy. However, by just making a few small adjustments, you may be able to make a large impact by doing very little. To help my readers discover new ways to support their communities, I have put together the following 10 ways to help your local economy with your tax refund.

1. Buy Local Produce

When you purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables, you are not only supporting local farmers, but you are also helping reduce the amount of carbon emissions caused by food delivery trucks. Local produce will usually cost you about as much as food bought from a major grocery store. Sometimes, depending upon the season and region, it can get pricier. As such, you could set aside a portion of your tax refund to make up the difference in future shopping trips.

2. Bank Locally

If you decide to save your tax refund instead of spending it then you can still help your local economy by depositing the funds into a locally owned bank. Doing so not only supports your local economy, but small banks or credit unions often have great interest rates and more personal service.

3. Hire a Local Contractor

Making improvements to your home or property is a great way to spend your tax refund. By hiring a local contractor or landscaper to do the work, it will help your local economy. Plus, many contractors are struggling to get work due to the housing crisis so you might be able to get a great deal on supplies and/or labor.

4. Stock Up on Cash

If may be more convenient for you to use a credit or ATM debt card. However, when you use them to pay for products at a local business, you are forcing the owner to pay a fee for having the transaction processed. If you can cash your tax refund check and use the money to make your local purchases, then you can help local business owners save money.

5. Take a Class at a Local Community College

By spending your tax refund on tuition and supplies to take a class at a local community college you can support your local education system while bettering yourself at the same time. Plus, the IRS also offers credits and deductions to qualified students. For more information, check out Top 10 Tax Tips for College Students on the RDTC.com Tax Help Blog.

6. Buy a Reusable Cup

If you stop and get coffee every morning before work, you would waste approximately 260 paper cups per year. Not only are you killing trees, you are killing your local coffee brewer who has to pay for those cups in the first place. By purchasing a high quality reusable coffee cup you can save the business owner from having to buy an extra box of cups each year.

7. Visit a Local Amusement Park

If you are looking to spend a fun day with the family, then you should consider visiting a local theme park. Companies like Six Flags, and other amusement parks, are on the verge of closing due to the poor economy. This could leave thousands of teenagers and younger workers unemployed. If you do have a theme park nearby, then taking your family to it for the day could make for a fun way to support the local economy.

8. Support Local Non Profits

There are plenty of non-profit organizations in every town that you could support with your tax refund check. This could be done either by donating cash or supplies. If there are not any local charities that you support, then you could always donate supplies to a local sports team or school.

9. Drink Local Beer

If you enjoy a cold beer every now and then, and are not afraid to try new things, then you might want to try beer from a local brewery. You may find you like it even more than the mass-produced stuff you normally get. Moreover, there is the added bonus of supporting your community with the purchase.

10. Network Nearby

If you own or run a business or charity in your area, consider joining your local chamber of commerce. One huge benefit of joining a chamber of commerce is it allows you to network and socialize with other business owners in your town, and possibly even exchange clients or services with them. Membership fees are usually very reasonable, and depending on the amount of your tax refund you might even have some extra cash left over.

Spring Time Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

WatchMeFranchise.com, a blog sponsored by the Roni Deutch Tax Center®, recently posted an article with 8 spring time marketing tips for small business owners. I have included a portion of the entry below but you can read the full text here.

1. New services or products

In spirit of the new season, you should consider offering new services or products. Springtime brings the message of new opportunities and fresh starts, especially in a time of economic trouble. Customers tend to be much more willing to try out new things, and as a business owner you want to make sure to keep your services fresh and new.

2. Lighten your ads

Putting together advertisements relevant to the season and time can generate a lot of new customers. Write springtime related phrases, using keywords like “fresh start” and “spring cleaning” to get the attention of readers.

3. Springtime colors

Adding some colorful and inviting springtime decorations will help make your store feel like it fits in with the season. You could also consider putting some flowers and decorations outside of your store to attract more attention from by passers.

4. Easter Bunny photos

Just like with Santa’s during the winter season, you could consider having one of your staff members dress up like an Easter Bunny to take pictures with children. You could even schedule a special day to have the event and include it in your marketing materials.

Create Your Compelling Future in 2009 with Better Balance

Sylvia Warren of SimplytheBestCoaching.com recently authored a new article on one of my favorite blogs, the Glass Hammer, on how to improve your finances in 2009. Below is a snippet from the article, but you can read the full text at this link.

Busy beyond belief before you have had a chance to give your New Year’s resolutions a second look? Perhaps the title to that Paul Simon song - Still Crazy After All These Years - describes your January 2009.

If you are ready for better balance, yet not sure how to get it, you are not alone. A national survey of 500 full-time professionals, conducted in late November 2008, tells us that even amidst layoffs 47% of the respondents desire more life balance in 2009. In addition, 86 percent of survey respondents plan to pursue better balance in 2009.

Gaining better balance takes daily practice. T. Harv Eker of Peak Potentials Training says it best: “Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent.” Wildly successful entrepreneurs, executives and professionals learn to leverage how they are creatures of habit. Their simple daily practices lead them to better balance habits.

With all the uncertainty and challenges of these times, a daily practice of life balance requires greater clarity, focus, and inspired action. Clarity frees you to define which life and work priorities are most important to you now. Knowing this includes understanding the hidden payoffs you received in the past from not having enough balance in your work and the rest of your life. Focus keeps your priorities in clear view so you stay on target. Attention to simple balance practices enables you to be flexible enough to avoid the burden of guilt or self-criticism. Action builds your sense of momentum.

Daily playful practices give you more and more experiences of the life balance you seek.