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I share five must read blog posts about saving money every Friday.
Understanding your credit – What is good credit? Learn what your credit ratings and ranges mean. (MoneyCrashers)
Hilarious tax stories – CPA’s reveal tax writeoffs that didn’t work. Yup, someone actually tried them. (Bargaineering)
Budgeting solution – Hate planning? Here’s how to budget for those who don’t like to prepare in advance. (Wisebread)
Surviving a layoff – Find out what to do after losing your job. (The Digerati Life)
Nonfans win big – Here are 4 Super Bowl deals for non-football fans. (MainStreet)
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This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Reader Jessica pleaded for ideas to get affordable health insurance on the BargainBabe.com Facebook page because she is a new independent contractor and needs coverage. Jessica is frustrated and I can totally relate! I was dropped from my father’s health insurance when I turned 26 and am now in the process of finding insurance, too.
If you’re self-employed like Jessica and I, you must get your own insurance. These are five options for health care if you are self-employed:
Faced with a tax bill, many of us want to pay less. Credit: Gamma Man/Flickr
Have you finished your taxes yet? They are due Apr. 18, 2011 this year. Avoid paying taxes, or reduce how much you owe, with these last minute tax tips that I summarized from Grant Thornton LLP, a firm headquartered in Chicago.
1. Boost your IRA. Get a deduction on your 2010 return even if you contribute to an Individual Retirement Account in 2011 – as late as Apr. 18, 2011. There is still time to open an IRA if you don’t have one. Contribution limits for 2010 are $5,000 or $6,000 if you are 50 and older.
2. Consider a Roth IRA. If you are not eligible to make a deductible IRA contribution, you may still be eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. Adjusted gross income limits applicable to Roth IRAs can be significantly higher, particularly where both spouses work and are covered by other qualified retirement plans. A contribution to a Roth IRA will not get you a current tax deduction, but any future earnings will be exempt from tax.
3. Set up and (more…)
Stop! Medical expenses can lower your taxes. Credit: TruthOut.org/Flickr
Keith Mendonsa, a tax expert from eHealthInsurance.com, shared the following four ways to reduce your taxes with health-related expenses. Consult an accountant or certified tax professional for more information about how these four tax deductions apply to you.
- Health tax deductions: A new deduction this year and only this year let’s self-employed persons deduct the cost of their health insurance premiums from their self-employment taxes on Schedule SE.
- Got self-employment income? “You may also be able to deduct health insurance premiums you paid for yourself and your dependents as an ‘above the line’ business expense (that is, without itemizing) on your federal tax return,” Mendonsa said in an email. You cannot deduct premiums paid during (more…)
Taxes ware so high in Monopoly, as kids my sisters and I abolished it. Credit: alancleaver_2000/Flickr
End of year tax tips are rolling in. Below I paraphrased the best 15 tax tips that I received from Grant Thorton, TurboTax, H&R Block, and Free From Broke.
1. Get a tax question answered for FREE at FreeTaxQuestion.com through Jan. 31, 2011. It can be about personal, federal, state, or business taxes. You’ll get an email or personal call back at a time you request.
2. Understand how changes to FSA’s, HSA’s, and HRA’s due to the Affordable Care Act will affect your taxes.
3. Adjust timing of income and deductions. If tax rates are expected to rise next year, see what wiggle room you have to count income and deductions in the current tax year. Paying taxes now at a (more…)
