What is FOREX Trading and is it Right for My Portfolio?

Written by 3 Comments

Sometimes sticking to stocks and bonds just isn’t enough for the investor that wants to make his portfolio a little more exotic.

For the aspiring speculator, a wide range of options are available: trading options, trading on margin, owning precious metals, and FOREX trading.

Be forewarned: you should never dedicate more than 5-10% of your nest egg to any kind of speculative trade opportunity whether it be picking individual stocks on your own or doing currency trading.  You can survive losing that small chunk of your portfolio, but not a significant portion of your assets.

What is FOREX Trading?

Continue Reading

Secret Service Scandal and Links

Written by 2 Comments

A new scandal has caused the Secret Service to fire or “encourage” some agents to retire after prostitutes were brought into a facility the President was staying at in Colombia.

One of the prostitutes demanded payment, the agent wouldn’t pay, and the next thing you know embarrassing international headlines are everywhere.  Not only was it an embarrassment, it was also a severe breach of protocol that could have put the President in danger.

Dumb move!

We all make dumb moves — hopefully none as serious as the above — but they can still be costly. Here are some articles to help you avoid making bad financial moves:

Continue Reading

Earth Day Freebies and Deals – and a Little History Too

Written by 1 Comment
earth_lightbulb

Earth Day was first held on April 22, 1970, and it was lead by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin.

Nearly 20 million people participated and today, 42 years later, we still celebrate Earth Day, but now, 175 countries celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day 2012 will also be celebrated on April 22nd (and will be celebrated on that date at least until 2015).

The primary purpose of the day is to bring awareness to environmental issues as well as to focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Of course, proponents of frugality recognize that the things we do to keep Mother Earth healthy are the same things we can do to keep our finances healthy.  By reducing, reusing and recycling, we become more financially conservative.

When you buy a used car, shop at garage sales or your thrift stores or hold your own garage sale or donate items you no longer use, you are saving money and keeping items out of the landfill, which is a win-win.

To celebrate Earth Day this year, several retailers are offering freebies or discounts.  There are plenty of great offers to take advantage of:

Continue Reading

What Would You Do with a Cash Windfall?

Written by 18 Comments

Quick—if you got a serious cash windfall what would you do with it?

It’s fun to think about this question, not the least of which since windfalls do happen, at least from time to time.  And when they do come, it never hurts to have some ideas.

The way I see it, there are three basic choices—spend it, save or invest it, or use it to pay down (or pay off) debt.

Which you choose depends on your circumstances.

Let’s take a look at three options for a cash windfall:

Continue Reading

Should You Give Human Resources Access to Your Facebook Profile?

Written by 11 Comments

More and more, our private lives are available online.

When you sign up for a social network, you are putting yourself out there.

Post on Facebook?  Send a tweet?  Share on Google +?  You are putting information about yourself in the public domain, and it could be searchable.

While some privacy settings can limit what’s out there, you never know what sort of trail you are truly leaving online.

This is becoming important because, increasingly, companies are using online search as a way to determine whether or not you would make a good hire.

Social media is becoming a big part of the job search, and you need to be aware of this.  There are even companies offering services compiling social media profiles for employers.

Some companies, though, are going beyond simply searching the web for dirt on your past, or purchasing a report on your social media habits from a third party.

There are reports that some companies are actually asking for Facebook logins, and making friend requests.

Should Employers and Potential Employers Ask For Your Facebook Password?

Continue Reading

Do You Have to Pay Tax on Airline Miles?

Written by 7 Comments

You’ve been earning rewards for signing up for a credit card or using it to earn airline miles.

Are those miles now considered taxable income?

You would think not, but some Citibank customers received a 1099-MISC for airline miles they were awarded for signing up for an account in 2011.  These customers are understandably upset as there was no clear documentation as to the impact of accepting the extra miles.

The Internal Revenue Service hasn’t been clear on how they treat airline miles, either.

Some reports say taxpayers who fail to include the reported 1099-MISC income will not be pursued by the IRS, but do you really want to chance an audit over 20,000 airline miles?

Are Airline Miles Taxable Income?

Continue Reading

Free Tax Day Snacks, Giveaways and Deals

Written by Leave a Comment

You got a few extra days this year to take care of your taxes.

Did you get them in or are you still procrastinating?

If you are really one of those last minute folks then you better make sure your return is in either electronically by day’s end or post-marked by the end of the day  on April 15th (expect the post office to be crowded).

To help everyone get over the tax-day malaise, there are a number of stores that are offering up free tax day snacks, giveaways, and deals.

Check them out:
Continue Reading

Tax Filing Deadline is This Week and Links

Written by Leave a Comment

The deadline to file your taxes is rapidly approaching.

This year you have until April 17th to file your taxes — or have them postmarked and in the mail.

 Even if you aren’t sure your taxes are correct and you need to file for an extension, you need to do it now.  And remember, when you file for an extension you still must pay any tax due.  Failure to pay your tax due by the filing deadline can lead to penalties and fees in the future when you finally get your taxes sorted out.

I filed my taxes last weekend because I owed some money and didn’t feel like dealing with all of the paperwork until then.  What about you?

Expecting a big tax refund?  Keep your finances straight and use it wisely with the help of these articles:

Continue Reading

Should I Climb The Corporate Ladder Or Start My Own Business?

Written by 15 Comments

When it comes to accumulating wealth, there are 3 main ways to go about it.

  • One, you can work for someone else, get paid a salary and try to save some money with every paycheck;
  • Two, you can make your money work for itself by investing it wisely;
  • And three, you can start your own business and become your own boss.

The 3 choices above are not all equally effective.  In fact, I would say that investing your money wisely and starting your own business are the only truly scalable ways to make money.

First off, what do I mean by scalable?

Let’s take your day job as an example.  If you work for someone else, chances are you are either paid by the hour or paid a fixed salary.  As a result, since there are only 24 hours in a day, there’s is only a finite amount of money that you can possibly make in a given year.

Sure, you might get a small raise from year to year, but in reality you will never be able to make “life changing” money with just your day job.

Now I’m not saying that having a day job is bad.

After all, having a steady salary is an excellent way to make ends meet and pay the bills.  But the best way to expand your pool of wealth is by starting your own business and investing the money that you do accumulate.

The Trap Of Working For Someone Else

Continue Reading

6 Audit Red Flags the IRS Uses to Choose Which Returns to Audit

Written by 6 Comments
red_flag

When it comes to your taxes, there are few things scarier than the prospect of a tax audit.

The good news is that most people aren’t audited.

Further, most audits are actually taken care of through the mail.  Many audits are routine, and require only that you send in a piece of missing documentation.

However, most people still prefer not to be audited at all.

As you prepare your tax return, consider the following 6 audit red flags that could lead to an increased chance of audit:

Continue Reading