Everybody loves vacations but nobody likes paying for them. Imagine if uncle Sam could pick up part of the tab for your trip. Well he can if you do it right. If your line of work requires you to travel you can combine your family vacation with your work trip and claim this expense on your tax return.
Claiming travel on your tax return is not about trying to cheat on your taxes though. Rather, it’s about taking advantage of work related travel and having a family vacation on the same trip. Don’t think you can cheat on your taxes and get away with it. Claiming a travel deduction when you’ve never done it before raises a red flag with the IRS.
The trick to making your vacation a tax deductible is knowing what is work related and what is tax deductible. If you have proof that the expenses you claimed were work related you can come out of any tax audit unscathed. Here is what you can deduct.
It’s always good to have goals in mind, like wanting to buy a new car or a new television set. But without a plan in place those goals will just be dreams. If you want to accomplish more of your financial goals you’ll need to know where you stand and where you want to go.
Let’s say you want a new car which costs $15,000 and you want to pay for it in cash, no more loans for you. You only have $4,000 in savings though. So you’re $11,000 short. When will you have enough for the car? How much can you save per month?
Many Americans have never created a budget before. They earn money, then spend it and hope there is something left at the end of the month. If there isn’t, they start charging things on their credit card late in the month. You can see why this is financially unhealthy.
The solution is to create a budget. You list your monthly income and then all of your monthly expenses. If you don’t have money left over you need to remove items from your list (or increase your income).
The task of creating a budget is a daunting task to some. It’s not that it’s difficult, it’s just that it’s a painful process to go through. Seeing on paper, in black and white, your spending habits is a bit too much for some to take in.
Drinks. Restaurants overcharge for drinks. They don’t necessarily overcharge on the food so much. But the markup on drinks is enormous. So when it comes to drinks, skip the soda and ask for water. You’re coming there to eat, not to drink, right?
Leftovers. Take your leftovers home. Don’t leave food on the plate. It’s going in the garbage. If you can take your food home and eat it for lunch the next day, you’re saving yourself a few bucks on the next meal.
Online shopping is as popular as ever. Americans now spend billions of dollars every year on online purchases. One of the ways you can save money when shopping online is by buying items when they are on sale. But you can save money when you’re shopping online in other ways. Here are several tips to help you make the most out of your online purchases.
Think It Through
When you’re shopping online, it can be easy to make impulse purchases. Retailers make the process seamless. With just a few clicks of your mouse you can add an item to your cart and check out in no time. Don’t fall for their trap though. Before you buy anything online, think about it first. Do you really need this item? Can you find it cheaper elsewhere? Sleep on this decision because you might not want it as bad tomorrow.
The average American family plans to spend $2,000 this year on home energy, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, with almost half of that going toward heating and cooling the home. With an uncertain economy it’s more important than ever to find ways to save money on your home heating bill. While buying a new energy efficient system is a great idea, there are other less costly ways of heating your home up for less. Here now are the 8 ways to lower your home heating bill.
1. Turn The Thermostat Down
The first tip is the most obvious one, lower your thermostat by a few degrees. The purpose of a heater in your home is to keep you from shivering in the cold winter months. The purpose of a heater isn’t to transform winter into summer. Try to make the temperature inside your home livable, rather than comfortable. If you are still too cold, wear a sweater or a jacket. At night, put on an extra blanket to stay warm.
It’s no secret that college has become an increasingly expensive way to get an education these days. With private school costs rising faster than inflation and with public schools hiking rates to compensate for debt-ridden state governments, the price of college tuition have reached new heights in recent years. Unless you are wealthy enough to cover six-figure costs or disadvantaged and qualified enough to receive large amounts of aid, it’s almost a certainty that you will graduate from school in considerable debt. Unfortunately, you may find yourself in even greater debt if you forgo a college degree in today’s job market. It’s a catch-22.
The burden posed by college is one that should not be overlooked by any young couple that is planning to have children. Even if you don’t plan on paying for your child’s college costs someday, it is still important that you help them save and that you take steps to plan your finances for the purpose of maximizing future financial aid. After all, even if the payment burden does fall on your son or daughter, the resources of the full family will be taken into consideration when most aid decisions are made.
Many of us who are in debt and on tight budgets likely made a basic resolution for the coming year: we resolved to save money and reduce the size of our budgets. This is naturally easier said than done. Certainly, we can go shopping less frequently, eat out less often, and avoid taking any lavish vacations. All of these more frivolous expenses add up quickly and can be easy, with some self-resolve, to minimize and avoid.
But what about those more routine costs? Specifically, how can we reduce our core expenses in the coming year? Doing so can be more difficult and less rewarding on a per-item level, but lowering our core costs – such as food, utilities, rent, and transportation – can translate into substantial savings in the long run.
Part of the Ethernity
