Woman Savings Plan

1. If you are reading this, then you have begun this first step. You must educate yourself about saving money and investing money. I know of so many single women who are waiting to meet their husbands with fantastic careers who will end their financial worries. Women have no time for daydreams! Start saving now, so that you will bring something to a marriage or so that you will have something in case you don't.

2. Pay yourself first. You must save at least 10% to 15% of your income after taxes. The only way to grow a savings account, emergency fund, nest egg is to just do it. Even if you are struggling, put aside some of your income or you will never get ahead.

3. You need several income streams for retirement. If you watch the World News even once a month, you should realize that there is no way you can rely on social security to support you at retirement age. You must consider additional streams of income/savings from your IRA, 401(k), stocks and bonds, and any other investments you may have.

4. Once you have created a retirement fund, you need to make sure that the money is in a retirement type of account. If you put these funds in a basic savings or checking account, you will be tempted to use the money.

5. Set Goals. It is critical that you set financial goals for yourself when you begin working. Even if you aren't sure about your career goals, you should know what your financial ones are. What do you want to accomplish in the next two, four, ten years? Buying a home? Having a certain net worth? A certain amount saved in the bank? The worst thing a single woman can do is to not have any goals, and think that she has all the time in the world to make more money.

Learn All about House Refinancing

Lowering down expenses might cost you. It is always wise to save money then to minimize expenses. Nevertheless, when you're in a difficult financial situation, you will find saving money indeed hard.

House owners who want to acquire a simpler mortgage payment method usually decide to refinance. It merely implies paying the latest debt with a new loan, which has more favorable options. These might include discounted interest options. These conditions are enticing. More so when we consider the fact that regular homeowners have other debts (i.e. auto loan, credit card debts) to take care of.

Still, refinancing is not simple. You must not be fooled by a decreased interest charge. It is significant to evaluate the benefits that you may get and the probable outcomes that would place you in terrible conditions.

Gains of Refinancing

What typically occurs in refinancing is this. Your present debt could be paid through a loan a new lender could give. To make the deal definitely appealing, he could give you discounted interest rates and much more convenient payment conditions. You should check your break-even period for you to assess your position in refinancing. It's actually the number of weeks you may reside compared to the debt you utilized for refinancing. These costs commonly refer to those you have also used for refinancing.

You could make something good with your funds through selecting your investments.

The Disadvantages of Refinancing

Commonly, homeowners merely pay attention to the money they end up keeping aside every month when they refinance. They do not realize that in the long run they may spend more. And before you actually get to refinance, there are costs that you should incur.

One cost that you need to handle is the closing fees. The cover charges and other costs related to the mortgage are involved. These will consist of the lawyer's fees, survey expenses, title searches and insurance, and recording costs. Normally, closing fee is about one percent of the amount that you borrowed from the lender.

Do not be easily lured by very low interest charges. If you do not observe necessary caution, you'll end up wasting more than what you're currently paying. It's not enough that it guarantees longer payment period. Maybe soon you'll discover you're not making any smart spending at all. You must be wise enough to invest your money wisely to not end up being caught in a terrible situation.

Prior to refinancing, make it a habit to list all the probable results that might come up with the decision. Ensure that you consult an expert that would make clear to you everything. Don't go for the "simple" way. Sometimes you end up being wrong. Certainly, you must be smart in managing money problems.

How to Make Tax Time Less Taxing
By Douglas Charney

Since 1913, when income taxes were first imposed, April 15 has probably become the most dreaded day of the year for most adults. This is not just because it’s the day when federal (and state) income tax returns are due. It’s also because getting ready to file your return – whether you do your own return or hire someone to do them for you – can be a time-consuming and often aggravating chore. So here are some things you can do to help make tax time less taxing in the future.

I believe you can work to reduce the burden of tax time from two different directions. First, you can form good recordkeeping habits to make tax preparation easier. And second, you can select investment strategies that may potentially reduce your tax bill. In this article, we’ll discuss ways to make tax preparation easier.

Accountants and other professionals involved in tax preparation will generally tell you that the best way to reduce time, aggravation and expense of actual tax preparation is to keep good records. If you haven’t kept good records in the past, resolve to start today for your next return.

As January rolls around each year, various institutions begin to send you reports they have to give you and the IRS (W-2, 1099-Dividends, 1099-Interest, and so on). Establish a file folder for your tax data and put all of these items into the folder as they come in. Doing so can help you avoid misplacing something that the IRS will definitely receive and will look for in your return.
You’ll need additional information for preparing your taxes, and keeping good records along the way can make tax time easier and less frustrating. It can also make your return more accurate and help you back it up in case of an audit.

Start a file system where you can keep statements, transaction receipts for purchase and sales of securities, and other paperwork about your investments. If you keep them up to date, these files will contain much of the key information you’ll need at tax time. However, for convenient reference, you may also want to use a notebook to record purchases and sales of securities (dates, prices and costs/proceeds), CDs on deposits at banks (with account numbers) and other investment data.

Various institutions will report income and what are known as “gross proceeds” from sales and redemptions, but they don’t report information such as what you paid for an investment – it’s up to you to provide the IRS with that information.

Whenever you sell an investment, whether it’s real estate, stocks or bonds, the IRS wants you to report your profit or loss on the transaction. To calculate this, you will need your records showing when you bought the item, what you paid for it (this is called your “cost basis” or “basis”), what you sold it for and your net gain or loss.

If you use a dividend-reinvestment program for some of your securities, it is especially important to keep good records. Be sure to save the final year-end statements, which show all investments for each year. All the reinvested dividends, which you are taxed on each year, are added to your basis. They affect the capital gain or loss calculation, and thus the taxes you may owe, at the time you sell the security.

For example, say you originally paid $5,000 for a utility stock, and over the years you reinvested a total of $7,000 in dividends. If you sell the stock for $15,000, you owe capital-gains taxes on only $3,000 not $10,000. This is because your basis (the total amount you paid for what you eventually sold) is $12,000 ($5,000 plus $7,000) – not $5,000.

If you form some good “housekeeping” habits, early in the year, and you start to assemble the information to do your taxes, you’ll find it all in one place. And when you arrive at your accountant’s office with this information ready for entry onto the tax forms, you’ll be an appreciated client