Avoid Late Fees! Pay Your Personal Property Tax Online.
December 28, 2006
As usual, I’ve managed to put off paying my personal property taxes for 2006 until the very end. Lucky for me my county now allows procrastinators like me to pay their personal property taxes online up until 12/30! Keep Your Money Putting off payment has not been all about procrastination, I’d like to keep my […]
Quick Guide for Last Minute Tax Strategies – It’s Not Too Late!
December 26, 2006
Back in November I wrote an article A Quick Guide for Last Minute Tax Strategies covering some things you could do to reduce your 2006 taxes, courtesy of H&R Block. If you have a tendency to procrastinate like I do you may not have gotten around to these yet. The good news is it’s not […]
Your Financial Decisions – Tax Credit vs. Tax Deduction
December 14, 2006
Who likes paying taxes? Did you know that most people pay more in taxes than for all their other expenses combined? Tax credits and tax deductions are tools we can use to reduce this expense. Summary Credits are better than deductions. Comparing a $1,000 tax credit to a $1,000 tax deduction, assuming a person earns […]
Wanted. Psychic with Experience in Flexible Spending Accounts
December 3, 2006
How much will you spend on health care next year? If only you had a psychic to help you figure that one out. I went through the usual what-if scenarios this November when allocating my flexible spending account withholding. It is a useful tax reduction strategy but it can drive you crazy! The frustration of […]
Would Teachers Be Better Off Paying Social Security Taxes?
November 19, 2006
Zero Social Security Tax! How would like to open your paycheck and see zero Social Security withheld? Well you can, become a school teacher! I couldn’t believe it when a teacher friend told me she didn’t pay into Social Security. Instead of paying 6.2% of her salary for FICA, she pays 11.5% into a public […]
Last Minute Tax Strategies – Follow Up
November 11, 2006
The post A Quick Guide for Last Minute Tax Strategies reviews some strategies that H&R Block suggests for reducing our 2006 taxes. There is another strategy that applies to many homeowners that they probably should have included. Early Mortgage Payments Strategy Make your January 2007 mortgage payment before the end of December 2006. Savings Increase […]
A Quick Guide for Last Minute Tax Strategies
November 10, 2006
Act now before it’s too late! A recent H&R Block press release details how we’re running out of time to reduce our taxes for 2006. This quick guide summarizes each strategy, its potential savings, and important things to consider. Read them through, if any apply to you, get on the ball! 1) Retirement ContributionsStrategyIf you […]
Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts
November 3, 2006
How Much is Too Much? Since taxes are our biggest expense, we’re all looking for ways to reduce them. If your employer offers a flexible spending account you can reduce your taxes by setting aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck for health care use. The question I fight with every year during open enrollment, “How […]
Ghostly Profits, Opportunity Costs, and Inflation
November 2, 2006
Golden Ghosts The ghosts should make me around 141% return on investment. I went against my own advice from a previous post, and made an investment in Halloween decorations. The positives and negatives I discussed still apply BUT I ran across an opportunity to buy at a 75% discount to the market price. How could […]
Social Insecurity
October 23, 2006
Good News / Bad News The Houston Chronicle reported that social security checks will be going up by 3.3 percent in 2007. The cost of living adjustment is good news for many people that are depending on Social Security as part of or all of their monthly income. The increase will provide more money for […]
