Fighting Fair: How to Disagree About Money in Marriage

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Don't let money be a sore point in your marriage

Marriage can be hard enough some days. Throw money into the mix, and things can get downright ugly.  However, just as disagreements in other aspects of your married life don’t have to result in permanent rifts, disagreements over money don’t have to ruin your relationship.  As with all things in marriage, money issues need to be worked through. Here are some ideas for overcoming disagreements about money in marriage:

Know Thyself

One of the best things you can do is understand your relationship with money.  In order to articulate your position on money to your partner, you need to be able understand.  Think about why you spend (or save) money the way you do.  You should also come to grips with why you don’t like the way your spouse handles money, and determine whether or not your own preferences and money prejudices are coloring the situations.
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Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Credit Card from Chase – Miles and More – Review

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Do you fly Continental Airlines? If so then you need to look at the benefits of the Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card credit card!  Read on for our review.

This credit card, backed by Chase, is an interesting airline miles card, giving you benefits on Continental Airlines as well as airlines miles credit for United as well (they are merging).

[Please note: The Continental Airlines OnePass card is no longer being offered due to the merger of United and Continental.  The Continental card has been merged into the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card.]

Let’s take a look at what the Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus offers:

Bonus Miles

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What Are Dividends?

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What Are Dividends?

Dividends are a portion of a company’s earnings that is returned to shareholders.  When a public company is profitable, they primarily have seven methods to invest their profits:

1.     Hire new employees

2.     Pay existing employees a higher salary

3.     Purchase equipment and/or services

4.     Merge or acquire another company

5.     Purchase stock shares on the open market (otherwise known stock buyback)

6.     Distribute the profit to shareholders (otherwise known as dividends)

7.     Do nothing and save it for a rainy day.

This article discusses primarily number six.
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Changes on the 1040 IRS Tax Form this Year…How Does It Affect You?

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It’s that time of year again! Sometime in the next few months you may be preparing, or having someone else prepare, a 1040 tax return form for 2010.  First be aware of some changes that have been made since last year, says “the tax guy” from Smart Money.

First of all, in case you haven’t heard, the deadline for filing IRS taxes is a smidgen later this year.  It will be April 18th because Emancipation Day, a holiday celebrated in Washington, D.C., falls on April 15th this year.

Your tax preparer may also file electronically this year.  Congress has passed laws that are pressuring them to e-file, and it’s safe to say this is the direction we are going as a country.  On that note, you may also have noticed that your annual year-end 1040 booklet from the IRS never showed up.  It won’t.  Ever.  Again.  2009 was the last year it was mailed out.  If you miss it, you can still find it at IRS.gov and at their walk-in taxpayer assistance centers or participating libraries and post offices.
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Groupon Barnes and Noble National Deal

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Groupon has another of their great national retail deals going.  This one is for Barnes & Noble.

$10 for $20 Worth of Books, Games, Toys, and More at Barnes & Noble!

This deal is good for purchases in-store as well as online.  What is really nice is this deal is also valid on sale items as well as their popular e-reader the Nook! (Though not valid at B&N College locations).

You know what is coming up soon, right? I’ll tell you – Valentine’s Day! I’ve always found that Barnes & Noble had a great selection of cards and small gifts for Valentine’s Day (including the yummy Godiva Chocolates).  Here’s a way to make V-Day a little less expensive.
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Love and Taxes – Tax Filing Date Changed to February 14 For Some Tax Filers

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Ahh, love is in the air! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  What better way to celebrate than by filing your taxes…

What?!?

No, I don’t seriously expect you to celebrate Valentine’s Day by filing your taxes (unless that’s your thing, then hey, by all means).

Due to late changes in the tax laws at the end of 2010 (the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act Of 2010 enacted Dec. 17), the IRS will be delaying the first day to file taxes for some taxpayers to February 14th, 2011.  The IRS needs extra to update some of their systems to accommodate the tax laws.
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Do You Know How You Will Pay for College?

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Many parents fully expect to pay for (or at least help pay for) their children to attend college. This, however, is becoming an increasingly daunting task.  The cost of a college education continues to rise, becoming almost prohibitive.  One of the first things to realize as you prepare to pay for your child’s education, or prepare to have your child get ready to pay for his or her own education, is that it is highly unlikely that you will be able to rely on one source of funding to meet your needs.
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