Those are the odds that you’ll get audited this year by the IRS. It’s not quite as likely as the probability that you filed for bankruptcy last year, but it’s close. Some of the flags that increase the chance that you’ll be audited: Not reporting all of your income, especially income that the financial institution … Read more
I’m a horrible procrastinator. As such, I’ll be filing an extension this year for my individual income tax return and a pass-through entity income tax return for a partnership I’m involved in. Since I’m expecting a refund this year (I claimed more withholding exemptions for 2005 than I did for 2004, but still not enough, … Read more
The AP reported on rising gas prices, saying that the average price of gasoline in the US is now $2.50. With $3 gas a possibility by summer. Between my wife and I, we go through about 25 gallons of gas a week, so $2.50 gas would be about $250/month and $3 gas would cost about … Read more
With point-of-sale terminals just about everywhere and one-click ordering, it seems strange not paying for things with plastic. Debit cards (usually doubling as ATM cards) aren’t quite as bad as credit cards, but “it’s still plastic,” as Liz Pulliam Weston writes: Leave your ATM card at home Debit cards don’t let you spend beyond what … Read more
You know the one I’m talking about … your tax refund! 😉 When I saw the Liz Pulliam Weston article 7 smart ways to spend your tax refund I saw the word “spend” and thought, “Oh great, just blow it on junk, why don’t you!” But I was wrong in this assumption. Some excellent advice … Read more
Last year we got over our heads a little bit on our taxes because of new business relationships. Caught up in the excitement of starting up and producing things, we neglected some basic recordkeeping and filing, and as a result the tax filing did not go smoothly at all. We filed extensions, missed deadlines, and … Read more
For the health coverage, that is. Flexo posted on the rising costs of health care in retirement and the numbers are sobering. For people 30 years from retirement (about like myself) the average costs will be about a million dollars for a 20-year retirement! At the Board of Directors meeting of our Credit Union (I’m … Read more
The venerable Liz Pulliam Weston talks about 10 Easy Ways to Stash Away Thousands. She makes the point that these ten easy ways are gimmicks: Pad your accounts by writing a check to yourself, but not cashing it. Cull your bills — take out all of the fives, tens, twos, whatever, and put them in … Read more