Economics Finance

The great Boomer migration is underway. What am I talking about? The Boomer migration refers to all the Baby Boomers that are starting to retire. Part and parcel to retirement is the payment of social security benefits. The money is not huge, but it can help out. The question for most Boomers is whether they have to pay taxes on it.

For years and years, you’ve been paying into social security with every paycheck. The government thanks you for doing so! While saving for your retirement, you also gave the federal government a pool of money to borrow from to pay for other things. Alas, that is a subject for another article. Now that you are retiring, it is time to reap the benefit of all those payments. Continue reading ‘Retirement Primer – Do You Have to Pay Taxes on Social Security Benefits?’ »

Do you think you are saving money by not filing your tax return on time? This is something that many people believe. If you have not filed your state or IRS tax return this year and you are coming off an extension you have until October 15th to file otherwise you fill face penalties and interest. If you simply have not filed for previous years, then it is in your best interests to do so as quickly as possible. Even if you cannot pay the total amount, you should still file and send in a small payment (what you can afford).

How To File Unfiled Taxes

When dealing with previous years it is in your best interests to work with tax resolution firm but this does not mean you cannot file the taxes yourself. Here’s what to do:

1) Collect All Necessary Documents – these documents include W-2, 1099, and so on. If you cannot find them, contact your former employer or the IRS.

2) Gather The Years Tax Returns You Need – If you are filing for 2007 or 2008, make sure to get the correct 1040 form if filing income taxes for the year you are filing for. You can find the correct form by searching at irs.gov.

3) Complete the Forms – In many cases tax software can help you or you can work with tax resolution firm just to review how you completed the forms to make sure there are no errors.

4) Determine if you owe taxes or if you were due a refund. Pay what you can if you owe. Most individuals, owe, and they can always work with their tax resolution firm to resolve or possibly settle their tax debt if they are faced with a significant amount. Continue reading ‘Unfiled Taxes – How to File, and Consequences If You Do Not’ »

Nowadays, loan modification software is considered as a boom in the business especially for the companies and individuals who are related or not, to the loan industry. Due to economic crises, everyday, many homeowners in the UK are undergoing a phase of non-payment of monthly loan amount. This situation is turning worse. But to give a support, qualified mortgage modification companies are playing active role in providing the assistance that is needed to complete the process of a loan modification with varied options of gaining a favorable decision.

As the name specifies, the loan modification is a permanent change in the terms of borrower’s home loan. This allows the loan to be repaid depending upon the payment that the homeowner can afford. For qualifying, a homeowner needs to offer a proof of income and a complete and accurate financial statement that provide a complete detail of income and expenses. This document specifies that you are capable of affording the new, lower payment. Continue reading ‘Loan Modification Software – Auditing Loan Modification Needs’ »

The single parent grants provide financial support to single parents, helping them overcome their financial strains. You can use these grants to re-start your educational career and ultimately find a better job. The grants are also helpful in providing medical aid, chid care, rent payment, house repairs and heating system and even a new house.

In order to avail these grants, you need to fulfil the eligibility criteria:

1. Valid American citizenship
2. Valid Security Number
3. Resident of any territory, state or tribe of the US
4. Proof of custody or parenthood of children below age 13 Continue reading ‘Tired of Being a Single Parent? Make Use of Single Parent Grants’ »

Trying to elude your credit card debts by not looking or making a payment on your credit card bills is by no means the best alternative for you. We all do it; putting our bills on a table somewhere and praying that they’ll just vanish – but it doesn’t work that way. Your payments aren’t going to stop being sent and surely will become more large monthly, as well as the quantity of sleepless nights you will be going through as a consequence of worry. Still, there is a method to clear away your debts a lot simpler than you will think.

It only takes a a small number of uncomplicated actions. Start off by making a catalog of your debts and the amounts that you will surely be paying for each month. You may wish to also include all the other expenses for instance rent, gas, electricity, outings and so forth, together with the daily newspaper. At this time, everything is going to count to determine your genuine debt. Continue reading ‘Credit Card Debt Help – You’ve Got a Chance to Save 56 – 60% on Your Credit Card Debt, Why Wait?’ »

For anybody in such a dire financial situation that they are considering bankruptcy as a means of resolving their problems, there will be a number of points to consider. While bankruptcy is a legitimate and viable way of dealing with a financial mess, it seems that a number of people are put off by a number of factors including long term credit records, the associated shame and also bankruptcy attorney fees.

Whenever anyone asks about whether they should file bankruptcy and they have come already to the conclusion that they have absolutely no other means of resolving their situation, then they really ought to consider that bankruptcy attorney fees are simply part of the equation now. And bear in mind that when you file, you will be dealing with a number of other debts, making such bankruptcy attorney fees easier to pay. Under your circumstances, as well, many lawyers will also formulate a payment plan with you in order that you can repay fees incurred much more easily. Continue reading ‘Bankruptcy Attorney Fees – Ways to Make it Easier to Pay For Them’ »

It is important to realize that not everything on your credit report may be accurate. Mistakes are made frequently and inaccurate information can be hurting your credit score right now. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that all credit reporting agencies perform an investigation upon you disputing an item.

So what types of items are most commonly reported wrong?

The most common mistake is misreported information. A payment was reported as late even though it wasn’t. In this case you can provide the canceled check or statements to clear this up. Continue reading ‘Inaccurate Credit Items – Why You Need to Dispute Them’ »

I received an e mail last week from a lady that was in a desperate situation. She had co-signed a student loan for a relative and had recently been notified that she must begin making a monthly payment of nearly $800 (since the student had defaulted). This is money she simply doesn’t have. While she thought she was doing a good deed helping a young person to obtain financing to go to college, she is now on the hook for nearly $10,000 per year in debt payments for the foreseeable future.

“A person devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge and co-signs for a friend.” (Prov. 17:18)

I regularly receive e mails from people wondering about whether or not they should co-sign to help out a loved one or a friend. This can be for a student loan, auto loan, a mortgage, or even a credit card. While I was working in the mortgage business several years ago, it became apparent how little people understood about the financial and legal ramifications of co-signing.

On numerous occasions I had to inform a client that their loan had been turned down due to a loan they had co-signed. In some cases, the loan was not being paid on time and it had destroyed their credit. In other cases, the addition of another monthly obligation caused their debts to represent too high of a percentage of their income for an approval. They all seemed to be in a state of disbelief saying, “but it is not really my debt…” Unfortunately, lenders do not see it that way. Continue reading ‘5 Dangers of Co-Signing a Loan’ »

Have you been thinking of buying a house but don’t have enough money yet? If you have been eying an house long enough and are sure that you want to buy it, you can consider having a lease purchase to secure your ownership of the house while still producing the amount of money for the payment. Before you decide on a lease purchase, be sure to seek the help of a real estate lawyer to help you with the legalities, and always remember these basics.

First, you and the landlord have to decide on a specific duration of time for you to pay the lease purchase. Within this period, you are required to pay the monthly fee, a percentage of which goes to the down payment and the rest goes to the landlord. You have to absolutely meet the deadline for paying off the full amount of the house to have the right of ownership. Failure to do so means that your right of ownership can be forfeited and you can even be sued.

During the negotiation process between the buyer and the seller, the two can decide on a purchase price which is slightly higher than the market value. The important thing is that both parties agree on the price and the duration of time the buyer should pay it off. Typically, the common length of payment period ranges from a year to three years, at the end of which the buyer should have already applied for bank financing and had been able to pay the seller in full. Continue reading ‘What You Absolutely Need to Know About Lease Purchase’ »

If I approached you and asked, “If I loan you $300.00 next month, will you give me back $2,300.00?”, you would think two things: I am a loan shark of the lowest order, and if you did it, you are one of the most foolish people on the planet. Yet, we do it every month in the form of a mortgage payment!

Do we need a mortgage for a $400,000 house, or could we have learned to be more comfortable in a home that only costs $300,000?

We use plastic today at an alarming rate to satisfy our desires, and we have to have that projection TV today not in three months when we can save up for it you know, operate within a strict budget.

I’m told that for every dollar we spend on credit, we owe the dollar plus four more, so the payback is five times more than the purchase price. If you charge that sub sandwich at Subway for $5.00, it will cost you $25.00 to pay it off. That $100. pair of Nike sneakers will actually cost you $500.00. Would you have paid $25. for the sub up front, or $500.00 for those sneakers up front? I say that to know how much things actually cost to have it now – and pay for it on credit, is a stupid thing to do but we all do it.

In this very tight economy, one has to wonder if there are ways to get out of debt when we have so much debt to get out of. Happily, the answer is yes.

Here’s what I have done, and I am already getting ahead – albeit, slower than I would like.

First, if you have Windows XP or Vista, there is a free software program already in your computer. It is called Microsoft Works Spreadsheet. Go to START, then PROGRAMS and it should be there. Load it, and try to keep your next months’ budget on your desktop so it is always right in front of you.

Next, List your Cash on Hand at the top of the budget under INCOME. Then list all other revenue sources that you anticipate for the month that you plan to start your budget in. If you collect wages, list your take-home pay there. If you receive other income (alimony, child support, rental property income, or odd-jobs that you do on the side), list them under INCOME.

The Works Spreadsheet will allow you to add a TOTAL INCOME column, and there is a greek symbol and dollar sign symbol at the top of your spreadsheet. The Greek looking symbol is there for creating a formula for adding columns up for you to give the total. For instance, your formula will likely be (B3:B8), and this will automatically add up your figures in rows B3 through B8.

Below that, skipping a row or two .you will begin to add EXPENSES. Below that category, list every dime that you spend using your checkbook, or ATM card. These are all of your bank account transactions. Oh, and STOP using your credit cards immediately. Your intent is to get out of debt. Even the Bible tells us that to owe a creditor is to be a slave to that creditor.

List expenses like mortgage, auto payment, auto insurance, gas & repairs for auto, health insurance, medications, Supermarket food, Food-Misc. (this covers coffee, donuts, sub sandwiches, going out to eat at night, etc), electric bill, phone bill, cell phone bill you get the picture. Each month, as you look over your budget to determine if you will be in a negative or positive cashflow situation at the end of the month, you will start adding more things under expenses things that you never thought of as a cost before.

Within three months, you will pretty much have your total, reality-check budget in place. Then, you can start seeing where you can cut expenses or add a little income here and there and over time, you can see those budget reductions, and take pride in the fact that you can whip this debt thing. Continue reading ‘Rise From the Ashes of Debt’ »