Have You Fallen for Any of These Myths About the US Income Tax?

by Ron

Myths about the US tax code are prolific, so much so that the case law refuting the arguments of their proponents is deep … and broad. There seems to be no end to the people willing to risk it all to avoid paying income taxes. Hey, I don’t like paying taxes either. But the simple [...]

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7 Ways to Beat Your Christmas Debt

by Ron

Did you use a credit card this past Christmas? You are not alone. On average, people spend approximately $1,000 on Christmas while carrying credit card debt of $9,000 to $12,000. So chances are better than even that most, if not all, of that $1,000 was on credit. What about you? Did you go deeper into [...]

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A Resolution Worth Keeping: Get an Insurance Checkup

by Ron

New Year’s Resolutions are notorious for being kept … for about 6 days. But there are several resolutions worth keeping this new year. One of them should be to review your insurance needs. Let’s face it:  Your life changes on a daily basis but rarely do we make the needed tweaks and changes to our insurance [...]

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How To Pick The Best Tax Filing Status

by Ron

Choosing the best tax filing status based upon your personal circumstances is a critical aspect in filing your tax return. Making the correct choice will determine how much you pay in taxes and will also determine whether you qualify for certain tax deductions or exemptions. In many cases, your tax filing status is determined by [...]

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26 Ways To Make Extra Money While Keeping Your Day Job

by Ron

The old phrase “spend less than you earn” is made up of TWO factors: spending and earning. Sure you can reduce your spending by a great deal, but very few people have saved their way to wealth. They have also earned additional income and then put that money to work for them. Here are 26 ways to earn that additional income.

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57 Avoidable Tax Mistakes

by Ron

Many of these tax mistakes are easily avoidable if you use Turbo Tax or H&R Block to prepare your taxes. I’ve personally used H&R Block for 15 years … this year could be my 16th … I’m planning to do my taxes this year with both sets of software, just to see if one works [...]

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A Resolution Worth Keeping: Set Up An Investment Account With An Online Brokerage

by Ron

New Year’s Resolutions are notorious for being kept … for about 6 days. But there are several resolutions worth keeping this new year. One of them really should be to set up an investment account with an online brokerage house. Why set up an investment account with an online brokerage? Most people struggle so mightily [...]

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Should I Refinance With Only Nine Years Remaining on My Mortgage?

by Ron

I was recently talking with a co-worker about the economy, and the subject of mortgages and refinancing came up. I mentioned that anyone with a rate over 5 percent should consider refinancing and he posed an interesting question. “I only have nine years left on my mortgage. Refinancing wouldn’t make any sense for me, would [...]

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4 Concrete Ways to Come Up with a Down Payment No Matter Your Income

by Ron

For most of us, saving for a down payment on a home is one of the largest financial endeavors we undertake. Sure, saving for retirement is a big project, but its protracted nature gives us more flexibility than that of saving for a down payment on a home we really want. But finding a way [...]

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What If I Don’t WANT To Retire? 10 Reasons To Keep Working

by Ron

For some unknown reason, we’ve built up “retirement” as the final goal in life, a reward of sorts for a life well lived and well planed for. Somewhere, somehow, our society has conjured up the belief that we simply MUST “have enough to retire” or else we have failed. We treat the concept of retirement [...]

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3 Different Debt Payoff Strategies

by Ron

Okay, you’ve made some bad moves. You’ve found yourself using one (or more?) of the 10 excuses for going into debt and now you’ve seen the error of your ways and are committed to getting that debt monkey off your back. You’re looking for a strategy to pay off that debt as soon as possible [...]

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The 12 Days of Christmas: Day Twelve – 12 Things I’ve Learned As A Writer

by Ron

Tomorrow marks my 5 year anniversary as a writer/blogger, so I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned from writing. But in keeping with the 12 Days theme, here’s a great video from Straight No Chaser singing their version of The 12 Days of Christmas: Hope you get to see it. Warner Music [...]

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