| Calendar | Software | Site Directory |
|
EBooks
|
Consumer Radar |
|
|
| |||||||
|
1. Feeling Wealthy Can Make You Poor. Your overall wealth may be increasing, thanks to appreciating stocks and home values. But those are unrealized capital gains, so if your lifestyle is based on those assets you're skating on thin ice: what goes up can come down, and sometimes very quickly. 2. How Good Health Helps You Become Wealthy. Getting healthy will help you be more productive, energetic and good looking -- that makes you more likely to earn more. 3. Investing Wild Cards For 2007. Kiplinger.com lists five things that could go wrong and bring down the stock market, and estimates the odds that they will actually happen. 4. Going Part-Time Is A Good Way To Start A Business. Part-timing a new business is more efficient and reduces risks. Do it legally, keep good records, and form a separate company to protect your personal assets from lawsuits. 5. 7 Amazing Travel Secrets Revealed. Money Magazine shows you how to: (2) Speed through the airport by finding the fast line (3) Get a hotel room by calling the manager directly (4) What to say to get a free room upgrade (5) Get the most out of your mileage rewards (6) Get a 1st-class seat for the price of coach (7) How to maybe get a free rental-car upgrade (8) Get paid for passing up an overbooked flight 6. 20 Ways To Impress The Boss. Want to show your Glorious Leader that you're "Dream Team" material? Here's 20 ways to do just that.
7. Update Of The Kiplinger 25 Top Funds. Each year Kiplinger.com rates scores of mutual funds to arrive at their opinion of the 25 best funds available. Additional news, views and updates are added each month. Also see Where To Find Good Funds. 8. Mutual Funds That Beat The AMT Tax. Some mutual funds invest in municipal bonds and other investments whose income can help you avoid the Alternative Minimum Tax. 9. Tips For Handling Layoffs. To be prepared for a possible job loss: (2) Keep emergency savings that will last 6 months (3) Keep networking to prepare for your next job (4) Get dental or medical treatments while you still have insurance (5) Keep your financial records organized If you do get laid off, negotiate the best terms possible and leave on good terms so management will recommend you for your next job. A COBRA health application will continue your health insurance. Roll over your employer-maintained retirement plan into your own account, rather than accepting a check which may be taxable. And of course, reduce your expenses in case you don't soon get another job. 10. Do's And Don'ts For Establishing Credit. Here's a concise list of over a dozen tips to help young people establish their credit. 11. 10 Answers About FSAs, HRAs, HSAs And Medical Discount Cards. For each account type, the article answers: (1) Who pays? (employee, company or both) (2) What's the limit on how much money can be put in? (3) Who owns it, you or the company? (4) Does the account pay interest? (5) Do you get it when you leave your company? (6) Do you have to repay anything if you leave? (7) Does unused money "roll over" for the next year? (8) Does the IRS tax employee contributions? (9) Does the IRS tax withdrawals for health expenses? (10) Can its money be used for non-healthcare expenses?
12. How To Invest To Profit From The "January Effect". Stocks usually go up in January. Here's a plan that has a good chance of making money by investing in stock index futures contracts. 13. Three Retirement Annuities You Can Do Without. Beware of financial pitchmen selling equity-indexed annuities, IRA rollover annuities and annuity swaps. 14. Do-It-Yourself Disasters Can Be Costly. Remodeling projects aren't as easy at they look on television. Homeowners often mess them up so badly, they need to hire help to complete them. 15. How To Dispute A Credit Card Purchase. Your credit card purchases are protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act, and customers are usually presumed to be right in their complaint. To dispute, first write to get the merchant to fix the problem, noting your contacts and their responses and keeping receipts. If that doesn't work, contact the credit card company without delay. 16. New Tax Deduction For PMI Mortgage Insurance. Buyers of new homes in 2007 will often be better off getting PMI instead of a "piggyback loan" which avoids PMI. If you're already paying PMI on a current loan the tax deduction doesn't apply to you, but it would apply if you refinance. The deduction applies to those who earn $100,000 or less, and Congress may not renew it for 2008 and beyond.
An artist asked the owner of the art gallery if anyone had shown interest in his paintings. "I've got good news and bad news," she said. "The good news is that some guy inquired if your art would appreciate in value after you died. When I told him it would, he bought all 15 of your paintings." "And the bad news?" "The guy was your doctor."
Paul B. Farrell: What Can Light Our Way Again?. Paul muses on "how you can generate all the wealth you want". Farrell quotes Deepak Chopra "Everyone has a purpose in life, a unique gift of special talent to give others". If you find your unique talent and serve humanity with it, you can become wealthy. Liz Pulliam Weston: How To Use Rebate Credit Cards. Liz is a "recent convert" to the ranks of serial rebate chargers. She shows you how to do it without damaging your credit score or slipping up and losing money to fees and high interest rates.
Barbara Whelehan: Take A Broker's Advice... Or Do It Yourself?. Whelehan reports on a study that "attempts to find tangible benefits that brokers provide to their clients." The study found no practical benefits. Paul B. Farrell: "Where Are The Customers' Yachts?". Farrell says "'naïve' is an apt term for investors... they're becoming more vulnerable, gullible and naïve by the day." Mutual funds with moderate-to-high fees and sales "loads" usually do poorly over the long term. Jonathan Clements: The Pursuit of Happiness: Six "Happiness Experts" Speak. Jonathan Clements talked to academics specializing in "happiness research" and asked what changes increased their own happiness. Jack Hough: Review Of Eight Stock-Screen Portfolios. Stock screens can be a good way for investors to pick stocks. Eight stock screens from 2005 and 2006 are reviewed. Marshal Loeb: Five Financial Tips For Women. Loeb advises women to (1) stay involved with financial planning, (2) save 12% of your income for retirement, (3) open up a spousal IRA if your husband works, (4) get enough life insurance to last five years and (5) get long-term disability insurance. Don Taylor: Think Before Dumping Your Credit Card. Canceling it may increase your debt-to-credit ratio, which hurts your credit score. Filling out multiple credit card applications also lowers your credit score.
Best Tax Preparation ProgramsPeople who earned $52,000 or less in 2006 (70 percent of all taxpayers) can prepare and file their taxes for free using one of these "IRS Free File" web-based programs that will work with Windows, MacIntosh and most other computers. Begin at the IRS Free File page. Reviewer William Perez, a tax professional with a special interest in helping people get out of tax trouble, tested these programs for Cost, Ease of Use, Speed, and Accuracy. But remember, most of these companies want you to pay for their upgraded versions that are more likely to find deductions for you. ConsumerSearch.com has a good selection of reviews of the best paid tax software.William Perez's Reviews at: http://taxes.about.com/ od/preparingyourtaxes/tp/freefile.htm (4 MB)
1. Family Finance Planner
2. 101 Ways to Get in Better Shape and Stay That Way
|
Here's a very special topic for you this month: we'll try to answer the question "is there really a fountain of youth?!" Longevity is part of that quest, and feeling vital and optimistic about life is even more important.  The closest that modern science has come to a modern-day "fountain of youth" may very well be the RealAge health-planning site! It was founded by Dr. Michael F. Roizen, an often-featured speaker on public television who has written several bestsellers about health including YOU: The Owner's Manual. His site at RealAge.com gives you a free step-by-step health plan that actually can help you live longer and feel younger if you heed its very well-researched health advice. I've been using just parts of it for a few months now, and I can attest that it's made me feel much, much better. I experienced a wonderful improvement after one month, with more significant improvement each month since. Here's what the experts have been saying about it: "Great solutions, simple solutions, something everybody can do." -- CNNHere's a list of Dr. Roizen's top dozen tips. The numbers aren't meant to be exact, but they do generally fit the findings of scientific medical studies.
Back to the original question: is there a modern-day Fountain of Youth? In my opinion, the answer is the same as it's always been: "you're as young as you feel!" The more you do what you love, the better you'll feel and the longer you'll live. Dr. Roizen's RealAge Makeover is a great tool to help you get there. Click the button labeled "Take The RealAge Test" on their home page. They'll ask you to register with your email address and password (which they will keep private.) Then you can sign in and get your own RealAge Makeover. It takes about 10 minutes to answer their health quiz and you'll receive the results in your inbox in about an hour. There's much more helpful content there:
Free or Low-Cost Health CareThere are some health services that are either free or low cost, but many people don't know how to find them. The Free and Low Cost Health Care page from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helps you find these health centers. Click the link at the top of the page labeled "Find the Health Center closest to you".Free "Reach" Dental FlosserHere's a health aid that could help save hundreds of dollars in dental bills. Tooth decay often starts between teeth, so it really pays to floss. The Reach Flosser makes flossing almost as easy as brushing. It's angled to make it easy for you to reach your back teeth, and it has a colorful design that helps you remember to floss every day.
Shopping/Budget: January post-Christmas sales Make a budget for the coming year Pay off holiday credit card debt Taxes: January 15: Pay estimated taxes. January 31: Receive W-2s & 1099s. Set up file folders for tax documents Buy tax preparation software or get a tax CPA If you expect a refund, plan to file early. Home: Inspect the furnace filter(s) Clean and caulk showers and baths Organize your home's interior Financial: Make plans to fund your retirement accounts January 3: "January Effect" week. January 14: Earnings season begins. College Preparation: Parents should do taxes early Send in your Free Application for Federal Student Aid Apply for scholarships.
 Next Month: Tons of terrific tax tips! Back to Top | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 Pages.
Type: .exe.
Author: Various.
Published: 2005.
55 Pages.
Type: .rtf.
Author: Various.
Published: 2004.
Health Quotes 
