Christmas Gift Ideas Edition

The holidays are almost here have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? My wife and I are only half way done. We’re such procrastinators when it comes to shopping, because we both hate going out to do it. After the site spotlight below are some articles to help you figure out what to get the people left on your list.

Blogger Spotlight: Patrick from Cash Money Life

Cash Money Life is one of our favorite personal finance blogs, and it is part of the M-Network Blog Network. Patrick is the author of Cash Money Life, which discusses personal finance, career development, and personal development.

Here is a brief Biography of Patrick from his site:

My name is Patrick. I am married with no children, though children may be in our future. I served one tour in the US military, and I also run a military money website – Military Finance Network My wife and I live in the Mid-West and plan on being here for a few more years. In the meantime, we continue to enjoy our current life while planning our future.

Here are some of the more popular articles from Cash Money Life:

• 25 Ways i Save Money
• Applying For An MBA Series
• The 10 Commandments of Money

Here are some Christmas articles and other articles of interest from around the web:

• The Digerati Life is giving away a new Epson printer.
• Gen X Finance reminds us that time is running out to make your 2008 tax deductions.
• Lazy Man and Money rolled out 2008 Gift Guide.
• Brip Blap writes from a different perspective about elitism in the United States.
• My Dollar Plan has three ways to simplify your holidays.
• Million Dollar Journey has a tip for saving money: buy quality!
• Frugal Dad points out that stores with layaway options are seeing increased interest
• Sun’s Financial Diary has some tips for boosting your credit score.
• Check out the US News Best, Overrated, and Secret Careers courtesy of Free Money Finance
• Money Crashers reveals his Top 10 Gift Cards to Buy For the Holidays
• Mighty Bargain Hunter challenges you to give gifts that deliver good value
• Flexo at Consumerism Commentary is debt free as of today. Hooray!
• Five Cent Nickel has a comprehensive list of ways to earn extra money. Use some of these ideas to earn extra money to pay off your holiday debt.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity tells you the proper way to lend money to friends and family.
• The Simple Dollar explains the ups and down of Christmas
• JD from Get Rich Slowly rolls out his personal finance gift guide for 2008

Also thanks to the recent hosts of the Carnival of Personal Finance, Frugal Duchess and Free From Broke.

Good luck with your last minute shopping!

Make sure you stop by and check out some of these great personal finance bloggers. Each of them brings a unique style to the subject of personal finance.

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Zecco Review – Free Online Stock Trading

This Zecco review looks at the free stock trades and trading platform offered by the online brokerage Zecco and how the cheap trades compare with the customer service and investment research tools.

Free Stock Trades

Zecco offers free trades (up to 10 trades per month) and zero commissions (with some strings attached, that we’ll explain) which is pretty attractive to many investors. Of course, you can’t always have your cake and eat it too. 

Zecco doesn’t have the research firepower and sleek, intuitive web site design that characterize bigger online trading sites. That said, if you can live without some traditional bells and whistles, the trading discounts can save you on commission.

Investment Data Sharing

Zecco’s social networking aspect is pretty cool; members can interact with each other via ZeccoShare, a service that combines Web 2.0 fare like forums, blogs, and profiles with key investor information like most popular stock holdings and most traded stock holdings of investors who have opted to share their investment data.

Brokerage Stability

One more point: a quick review of SEC filings reveals that Zecco should be around for a while – it has received $35 million in financing that it’s been using, in part, to improve the site’s sometimes criticized trading platform. Hey, in this economy, stability and continuity count.

Zecco Overview

Zecco stands for “Zero Cost Commission” – and that is certainly the selling point for a trading site that offers free trades and low cost option trading. Let’s face it – price-wise, you can’t do better than free stock trades. The site was founded in July, 2006, touting itself as a discount-happy online brokerage that would bake its bread on cash earned from customer on interest income and margin spreads.

If you have $25,000 in a Zecco account or make at least 25 trades a month, you earn your 10 free trades per month. After 10 trades, Zecco’s fee of $4.50 per trade kicks in.

Zecco Investment Research

What seems to be missing is the higher level of research and investment tools seen on other sites – but that is changing, and for the better. Athough Zecco touts its tutorial and blogs, we didn’t find them as helpful as we’d like. But then again, we like doing our own research – and Zecco has to keep costs down somewhere.

Zecco Customer Service

The site’s customer service wasn’t bad – we got an email response to a registration question the same day we sent it. Trade executions were fairly fast, comparable with what we saw in our earlier TradeKing review.

In the next portion of the Zecco review we’ll take a look at the trading fees, options trades, and margin accounts offered by Zecco.

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Small Businesses Need Your Advice

Are women more entrepreneurial than men?  We’ve had twice as many women apply than men for the Small Business Stimulus Package so far. 

Of course, it’s by no means a statistical indicator that women are more likely to start a small business, perhaps they are just more willing to share the details of their current or future business.  Whatever the reason, we have some women who need your help with their business ideas.

Virtual Assistant Business – Dee was recently laid off from her job and is in the middle of starting her own virtual assistant business to support her family. 

Craft Supply Business – Sara has identified a potential need for a craft supply store in her hometown and is building her marketing plan.

Both of these ladies want to build a business of their own, and they are both enterprises that could potentially help create jobs in a time of economic turmoil.  Sara will create business for her suppliers and may need to hire someone to help out in her store.  Once Dee has customers for her business, she would like to hire other administrative assistants that have been laid off.

Please stop by the small business section and offer these enterprising women some words of advice or encouragement!

 

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10 Hidden Holiday Costs People Overlook in Their Budget

I ran across an article on CNBC about the top 10 hidden costs associated with the holidays, and it struck a chord with me, because I often overlook these expenses during the holiday season. Here is the list from the article and my take on each of them.

1. Holiday meals/gifts for hosts/entertaining

My wife and I just bought a house, and we wanted to utilize the holidays as a way to show off our new pad. So, we planned a Christmas party, then agreed to have the family over for dinner on Christmas day, and then we invited friends to hang out at our place for New Year’s Eve. We sat down and planned out each of the events the other night, and the expenses associated with entertaining were something we did NOT plan for two months ago.

2. Holiday cards/wrapping paper

This is never a huge expense for us, because we buy wrapping paper from the dollar store, and we spend very little on holiday cards. For holiday cards, snap a photo of you and your family with your digital camera. Then, upload the photo onto the website of your choice that develops digital image files. Then, choose a Christmas background border, and you are done. We spent about 60 cents to a $1.00 per holiday card last year.

3. Holiday travel (airfare, hotel, gas)

Holiday travel is the worst. We try to avoid it if at all possible. The most we might travel on Christmas is a two hour drive to my hometown. I don’t consider this one a “hidden” expense, because most people plan for these expenses well in advance.

4. Holiday decorations

Ugh, this was another one that trapped us. We have a house now, and of course we want to decorate it like it’s Santa’s workshop. But, we resisted the temptation to go overboard, and we will be waiting until after Christmas to get all of our decorations at 50 to 75% off. We’re okay for waiting until NEXT year to make our house look like the North Pole.

5. Shipping/postage

This one catches many people off guard. When you are sitting down and coming up with a gift budget for each person on your list, make sure you include the cost to ship the gift. So, if you budget is $50, don’t buy a $50 gift and spend $15 to ship it. Multiply that by 10 more people on your list and you will be wondering where all of your money went.

6. Clothing/holiday party outfit

If you buy a new outfit specifically for a holiday party you’re cutting into your gift giving budget.

7. Electricity for holiday lights

Most Christmas decorating veterans factor in their budget that their electric bill will be astronomical in January. The new LED lights provide some electricity savings, but the main thing is to not go overboard with your lights. Does your house really need to be seen from outer space? Be tasteful and purposeful with your light decorations. Your house will look better and you won’t annoy your neighbors so much.

8. Additional childcare/pet sitting

This is a big expense during the holidays that many people overlook. Factor in a couple hundreds dollars extra for childcare and pet boarding if you have children and dogs and/or cats.

9. Charitable contributions

Make sure you factor in your charitable giving into your budget. This would be anything above and beyond you already give throughout the year.

10. *BONUS* Gift for yourself – but only if you can afford it!

Gift for yourself? Please! You might be able to convince your spouse into buying a “family” gift, but it’s tough to justify a gift for yourself during the season of giving! Can you think of any other hidden expenses that you might incur throughout the holidays? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section. The holidays are all about planning, and if you don’t plan, you’ll start whipping out the plastic. Don’t let yourself have a credit card hangover in January. it’s not too late to plan for your upcoming expenses in the next two weeks.

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TurboTax 2008 – Intuit Removes Tax Preparation Fees

TurboTax 2008 no longer has fees for preparing additional returns and is keeping the included e-File option.  A reader emailed me last night with the following question:

“Will the 2008 edition permit me to prepare both federal and state returns for myself and others? Or has this capability been eliminated. In the past I’ve used Turbo Tax Deluxe, will the 2008 Turbo Tax Deluxe edition permit me to prepare multiple tax returns as in the past?”

TurboTax Fees

This is a common question recently since initially the latest version of TurboTax charged an additional $9.95 for each additional tax return prepared by a user.

However, Turbo Tax users made such a fuss online that Intuit decided not to charge the fee.  Customers were leaving negative TurboTax reviews on Amazon due to these fees and Intuit took note and is removing them.

TurboTax Reviews

While there were many reviews criticizing TurboTax as “ripping them off” with the changes one person on Amazon left an interesting comment.

“You don’t think you ripped off Intuit for years, doing your son’s, your daughters, your neighbor’s, and their grandmother’s returns for FREE?”

I think they make a point. At my old office one guy would bring in his copy of TurboTax and pass it around to several people who would use it to prepare their taxes. Then they’d save it as a pdf, take it home, print out the tax return, and mail it in. Obviously you’re not supposed to do this but there were no controls stopping it.

TurboTax Customer Service

Of course it doesn’t matter anymore this year since Intuit is reversing the changes. As I mentioned to the reader, it is nice to see a big company that listens pretty closely to its customers; the feedback loop of the internet is a pretty neat thing!

So at least for 2008, you’re able to file multiple returns without extra charges using TurboTax.

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Second Stimulus Check – Will There Be A 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan?

If you keep up with politics and current events on a regular basis, you may have heard Congress and Barack Obama discuss the possibility an economic stimulus plan by the end of the year or early next year. The end of the year is quickly approaching and the hopes of a second stimulus plan during Bush’s lame duck period are not looking good.

No Stimulus Plan?

During Obama’s election run, he was discussing the hopes of passing an economic stimulus plan during the transition period or in January/February of next year. Congress threw around the idea of passing a bill by the end of the year, but the Bush administration opposed a second stimulus plan to help stimulate the economy.

Congress never bothered drafting and submitting a bill, because the White House told them from the beginning that they would veto a second stimulus plan. Honestly, to get another stimulus plan passed by the end of the year by anyone would have been a great feat.

Obama’s Plan for 2009

These are some proposals that Obama’s camp has mentioned in the past few months:

• Suspending penalties and income tax on early withdrawals from IRA and 401(k) accounts.
• Offering a temporary tax credit of $3,000 to companies for each new full-time employee hired in the United States.
• Extending unemployment benefits by a period of 13 weeks and temporarily suspending income taxes on those benefits.
• Requiring a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners.

There are two other tax proposals that could be included as part of a package stimulus plan.

The first, which is one of the more likely proposals to be passed would be a so-called social security tax holiday that would give back up to $500 per person or $1,000 per family in tax credits.

The second proposal would be an extension of the earned income tax credit that helps lower income workers.

Do We Need Another Stimulus Check?

This is a spirited debate, and I side with people who oppose another stimulus plan.  We’re putting all of our trust in government, which I think is a very scary thing.

It seems we don’t trust the free markets, the power of the individual, and the power of entrepreneurship. We want government to save the day, but they can’t save the day. They don’t create income. We create income, they just distribute and shuffle it around.

I hope Obama doesn’t issue another stimulus check, because the first one didn’t work and the second one likely won’t work either. What’s your take? Would another $500 per person help change the economy?

Need money but can’t get a bank loan and don’t want to use your credit cards? Try Lending Club.

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FNBO Direct Rated Best Online Savings Account

FNBO Direct was named the best online savings account this year by Kiplinger magazine.  FNBO Direct was only created two years ago but in time that it’s become one of the top options for a hield yield savings account online.

FDIC Insured Bank

Of course, it’s parent company, First National Bank of Omaha, has been around for 150 years and the money you deposit with FNBO Direct is FDIC insured, which are some of the reasons that Bankrate gave FNBO Direct four stars in it’s Safe and Sound rating, the highest for an online savings account.

Best Online Savings Account

Here are some of the reasons that Kiplinger named FNBO Direct as the best online savings account:

• No minimum balance requirements – Only $1 to open an account
• No bank maintenance fees
• Ability to link FNBO Direct account with up to 3 other bank accounts
• FNBO Direct offers an interest bearing online bill pay account
• Easy access to funds with electronic tranfsers and ATM card

Reader Bank Review

A reader recently wrote in comparing FNBO Direct vs ING Direct and gave FNBO Direct high marks for their customer service and high yield interest rate.  One useful thing that FNBO Direct does is send out periodic emails with tips about using your account, here is an example of an email they sent out describing how to transfer money between banks.

FNBO Direct Review

I tend to agree with the reader’s findings, that the interest rate and customer service do help make FNBO Direct one of best online savings accounts, you can read more in my FNBO Direct review.

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Small Business Stimulus – Market Research Tips

Market research is on the mind of the first featured applicant of the Small Business Stimulus package.  Sara is in the middle of the market research phase for a sewing and craft supplies business.

You can read more in the small business section about her market, her plans for the business, and some suggestions I make for how she could research her market.  Check it out and give Sara some other ideas she could use to connect with people locally to pick their brain about their craft needs – Market Research Tips

Contest Sponsors

I’d like to thank contest sponsors Anne Haynes, Oak Ave Productions, and Write and Promote for offering their services as prizes to help out small businesses.  I’m currently in discussions with a few other companies that would like to provide prizes as well.

I was contacted by someone at Intuit yesterday about their MyCorporation service that lets you incorporate online.  They’re currently offering their corporation and limited liability filing services for free, here is what he had to say about the offer:

“We now know that the economy is in a recession.  And one of the best ways to turn the nation around is to get people back to work.  So, MyCorporation is doing our part, offering our services for FREE, so entrepreneurs nationwide can start new businesses and give back to their local communities through the creation of new jobs.”

Click Here to start your business (use coupon code MYGIFT)

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Asking for a Pay Raise – Ten Steps to a Salary Increase Next Year

Asking for a pay raise isn’t easy; in fact it can be counter-productive to ask for a salary increase if you haven’t done your prep work first.  Make sure you read the tips below to help you prepare for your annual performance review. Asking your boss for more money isn’t something you’ll do that often, so you don’t want to blow your precious opportunity to make your case when you finally decide to make your move.

Of course, in most businesses, our salaries are tied to the success of the company so a down year or a horrible quarter can offset a lot of the prep work that we’ll cover below.  Some years you’re simply glad to have a job at all; but you should still follow the ten steps below so that when the economy or your employer turns around you’re poised for a pay raise.

1. Do salary research: Try and look at your job as an outsider and then do some research to determine your value – both inside and outside the company. Be realistic. Internet job websites may not be the definitive source of salary information, but can be a good start. If you don’t think it would damage your case in any way, talk to someone in your company’s human resources department and see if you can get corporate pay scales for jobs that are similar to yours inside or outside the company. And within ethical boundaries, see if you can learn precisely what other team members in similar jobs to yours might be getting so you have a valid reference point for asking for the number you’ve targeted.

2. Ask for what you deserve, not what you want: Most of us would like raises and perks that would help us better afford the expenses in our lives, but saying you want a raise just because you want a nicer car or house isn’t going to get you anywhere. Employers need to see your request in terms of its value to them. Here are some tips on how to get promoted.

3. Document your contributions: If you have reached any particular work or sales targets that can be quantified, document them and use them as a basis for justifying your request.  Show how you’ve been proactive taking on new projects and assignments, acquired new skills, furthered your education or training, and added new certifications or degrees. Demonstrate how you add value to your team and your employer as a whole. 

4.  Plan and rehearse: You plan ahead for meetings where you’re the featured speaker, right? Once you have the information, plan a pitch for the raise that states all your arguments clearly, swiftly and with an understanding of what appeals to your supervisor. Above all, schedule an appointment so you have a solid block of uninterrupted time in which to make your case. 

5. Demonstrate commitment to department and organization. Show how you have taken on new projects and assignments, acquired new skills, furthered your education or training, and added new certifications or degrees. Demonstrate how you add value to the department and the organization.

6. No ultimatums. Nothing shuts down a meeting about money faster than an ultimatum. It makes it easier for the boss to say no, and if you don’t have a Plan B, then it’s going to get awfully quiet. Always be prepared with a counteroffer if you can’t get the dollar target – see if you can negotiate different hours, more vacation, education benefits or better projects. The idea is not to get mad – it’s to get something from them of real value to you. What that final compromise is will tell you whether it’s worth staying with this organization or whether it’s time to plan for a departure.

7. Be realistic about the economy: Most people can tell whether their organizations are legitimately struggling with the economy or other competitive factors. As long as your organization is treating people fairly across the board in light of poor economic factors, it’s probably something you’re going to have to accept. Also, remember that the way you handle this request might actually position you for a raise – or a better one – when conditions improve.

8. Identify Alternatives:  If your boss can’t or won’t pay you more money, there may be other things you can negotiate to help your bottom line other than increasing your income.  Explore the possibility of working from home, saving yourself commuting costs.  Perhaps you could work 4, ten hour days.  This could save on a day of day care costs each week or give you the chance to do some freelance work and earn some extra money on the side.  Remember to consider all the aspects of workplace finances such as company health insurance and other benefits.

9. Document the meeting: No matter how things turn out, write up your version of events as soon as possible after you meet and share that information with your supervisor. Even if the meeting was disappointing, keep emotion out of the document and stick to the facts. Keep the document handy so you can present it the next time you make a salary pitch.

10. Revisit your career plan: Whether you get what you want or you don’t, do a post-mortem on this experience and think about whether you want to stick with this job or consider new opportunities. You can usually earn more money and enjoy your work more if you have a work portfolio to guide you.

Remember, although in your mind a pay raise is all about you, from the perspective of your boss it’s all about their department budget and how paying you more money will help the company make more money.  Approach it with that perspective in mind and you’re more likely to win over your boss and get a raise.

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TurboTax Review – 2008 Tax Software Product Review

TurboTax review video below looks at the benefits of Intuit’s latest tax filing software, TurboTax 2008.  Here is a summary of the video and my experience with TurboTax.

Easy Tax Returns & Big Refunds

Intuit has two main goals with TurboTax, to make it easy to use and to get you the biggest possible refund so you’ll use the software to prepare and file your taxes again next year. 

The video first addresses the refund aspect:

“Average federal refund for the TurboTax customer, $200 more than the national average.”

When you’ve finished completing your return, the TurboTax software shows a chart or graph that compares your refund to the national average.  I don’t know that I was $200 higher the last time I used TurboTax but I do remember the graph showing my refund was somewhate above average.

TurboTax Deductions

Of course TurboTax can’t create deductions for you out of thin air, the software simply asks you the right questions to make sure you don’t miss any deductions.  As the video says, TurboTax walks you through 350 possible deductions. 

Ease of Use

The TurboTax review video at the end of this post suggests that you can finish your federal return in under an hour using the software.  I know it took me longer than an hour but that’s because I entered my federal return while watching a college basketball game on TV so I was a bit distracted.  Then I went back over it the next day just to double check everything.

TurboTax is easy to use, just make sure you gather all of your tax forms together before you get started.  At that point it’s just a matter of answering the questions and entering your information.

TurboTax Software Versions

The TurboTax review video mentions that the software is:

“easier than ever for the 60% of people who have a pretty straight forward tax return”

Intuit tries to address the different needs of those people by offering different versions of TurboTax, here is how Intuit describes the right user for each version:

Free Edition – (1040EZ & Simple Returns) If you have a simple tax return, TurboTax Free Edition is the easy way to do your taxes

TurboTax Deluxe – If you own a home, made donations, or have medical expenses

TurboTax Premier – If you own stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or rental property

TurboTax Home & Business – If you’re a sole proprietor, consultant, contractor, or single-owner LLC

TurboTax eFile

According to the TurboTax review video all products now include federal efile, which is nice. I actually setup a separate bank account that I use just for paying taxes electronically, that’s the account that I setup through TurboTax for my eFile.

TurboTax Experience

I used the TurboTax Deluxe Edition for years, then moved to the Home and Business version once I started my eBay business.  Until last year, when I hired someone to do our taxes for the first time, I had used TurboTax to prepare and file ever since we’ve been married.  In my experience TurboTax does help you take all your different deductions into consideration and is pretty simple to use.

Click here to give TurboTax a try.

Click the Play button on the video below for the TurboTax overview from Intuit (Give it a minute to load):

 

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