An IRA is a great way to save for the future, but only about 14% of eligible Americans are contributing to one. That's a shame, because an IRA is a tax-advantaged investment tool that can help you invest for retirement — whether you're just starting out, in the middle of your working years or headed toward the finish line. What is an IRA anyway? First things first: an IRA — actually, "Individual Retirement Arrangement," though most people call it an account — is not an investment … [Read more...]
10 Tips to Mastering Your Money
by
Want to save more of what you earn, but just can't figure out how? Follow these easy tips and watch your cash grow. 1. Set a Target Shoot for having three to six months of your regular expenses available for unforeseen emergencies. 2. Make Your Money Work as Hard as You Do Keep idle cash in an account that pays interest. 3. Slim Down Your Checking Keep just a little more than you need to pay the bills until your next paycheck, and move the extra to a savings account that pays more … [Read more...]
The 401k plan is the Ultimate Retirement Saving Plan
by
Free money from your employer can be termed as one thing -- a 401K plan. This is an employer sponsored retirement plan where employees contribute a percentage of their salary into an account, with employers providing a matching percentage. Motley Fool describes it as “one of the best ways to save for your retirement. Few alternatives are better.” Basically your contribution is automatically taken from your paycheck before taxes. These contributions along with any match that your … [Read more...]
Traditional vs Roth IRA – Your Retirement Fund
by
The difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA comes done to one word – tax-deferred vs. tax-exempt. Both will allow you to accumulate wealth without paying taxes, but with the traditional IRA you will get a tax bill for the profits and contributions when deductions are made. The Roth IRA, on the other hand, doesn’t do that. As long as you follow the rules, you never pay taxes on the gains. However, you don’t get a break on your yearly income tax. For this reason, many … [Read more...]
The Best Idea for your small or home business
by
For nearly 20 years Boris worked as a fast food manager. There were days when he would go to work at 8 a.m. and not leave until midnight. He hated it. “The long hours, the demands – it was all so overwhelming,” he said. Eventually, he quit and started a consulting business. He still worked 60-80 hour weeks, coming home so exhausted some nights that he goes to sleep fully clothed. But not once did he complain about how much he hated his work. Sure the long hours and overwhelming … [Read more...]
Learn to Build Websites
by
Let’s face it. This is the technology age and few businesses are going to get anywhere if they don't take the time to learn to build a web site. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools available, such as Dreamweaver and Site Build It that can help any beginner build and market a website. However, before doing anything you will need to answer questions such as: Why do you want a website? Will it be to sell products and attract new customers or will it just be a brochure for your … [Read more...]
Yahoo! Publisher Network will help you earn money with your website
by
Yahoo! Publisher Network could fund a comfortable life style for web publishers, with potential earnings anywhere from $1 to $1,000 daily. Yahoo! Publisher Network is an advertising program by Yahoo! where website publishers allow Yahoo! to place ads on their sites. Each time these ads are clicked on by visitors, the web publishers earn a share of the revenue that Yahoo! makes from charging that particular advertiser. Basically it sets up your site to operate like a magazine or newspaper … [Read more...]
Marketing Your Website for Increased Traffic
by
You have spent months preparing your website. You’ve got the text, the wording, the images just right. Finally your small business has an online presence. Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for the visitors to come in. This seems to be the common belief people have about a website. They think once they build it; the traffic, and the money will automatically follow. Not true. To really be successful on the web, a small business owner is going to have to go out there and promote … [Read more...]
Self-Employed Taxes
by
Some general guidelines on reporting your income on a Schedule C Tax Form. When you own a small business or operate as an independent contractor, the government wants your money to pay Social Security and Medicare tax through their self-employment tax. Specifically, they want to tax the profit that you have seen from your business. But don’t worry yet. The full amount of taxable income is determined by more than just the total profit made. A self-employed designation is determined by … [Read more...]
What to do with a Problem Loan
by
The reports paint a dark picture. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association more than 2.1 million Americans missed at least one payment on their home loan at the end of last year, taking the rate of new foreclosures to a record high. It’s even worse for borrowers with scuffed credit and adjustable-rate mortgages. More than 14 percent of them were behind on their payments. But the worst is yet to come according to the MBA. The association predicts that least $300 billion in subprime … [Read more...]
How to Sell Your House in a Tough Market
by
They aren’t hard to miss – the “for sale” signs with a much smaller “price reduced” hanging below. All around, the message is the same. The market is flushed with inventory, and it’s going to take some work to sell your house and at a fair price. The advice most experts have in what is essentially a buyer’s market is – dump your real estate agent. You save yourself the 5% or 6% commission you'd commonly have to pay. The price is right The next advice is to set a … [Read more...]
Should You Rent or Own? Time to question your assumptions
by
For nearly two months, Alex went back and forth. Should he just rent another two bed-room apartment or should he buy? Whenever he added up the numbers, buying would be “pushing it.” After paying a mortgage and other bills, he would have nothing left over to save, but wasn’t a house an investment in itself. Besides, he was tired of landlords. He wanted a place “to put down roots.” Elena had the same decision to make. They were converting her apartments into condos and offering her a … [Read more...]