Finance: Find a Methodology and Minimize Investment Madness

Find a Methodology and Minimize Investment Madness

Written by Ulli G. Niemann

There are many reasons to be investing these days, and too much opportunity to not have your money working for you.

However, I believe repparttar majority of people dread having to deal with investment matters, and tend to jump into purchases and then hold their breath hoping for repparttar 112673 best. After a long day at work and taking care of repparttar 112674 family, it's hard to get excited about reading up on your 401(k) options, Morningstar ratings and fund performances.

If this sounds like you, there are basically 3 choices.

You can have your investments professionally managed, you can continue as you have in repparttar 112675 past & keep your fingers crossed, or you can find a methodology that objectifies repparttar 112676 investing process (that's buying and selling investments) and helps you maximize your long-term results.

To determine if you need help managing your investments(and this doesn't necessarily mean having to pay for advice) you might want to ask yourself these questions:

=> Do I really have repparttar 112677 time and interest to follow repparttar 112678 market closely on a daily basis?

=> Have I done well in repparttar 112679 past managing my own investments?

=> Do I really want to add another layer of work and responsibility onto an already busy schedule?

If you're like most people, you would answer yes to some and no to others, so how do you decide? If you think you could have or should have done better with your investments, then you need some help. Don't feel bad. Having counseled hundreds of people over repparttar 112680 past 15 years I can honestly say that everybody needs some help, whether they are aware of it or not.

Why? This could come as a surprise, but, in fact, your financial life is a lot shorter than your physical life?

Most people who end up investing don't really start working and making money until they are about 25 years old. Considering repparttar 112681 average retirement age of 65, this gives you only 40 years to save and invest wisely.

If you make a poor investment decision, such as trying to stay fully invested during a bear market, you could lose big both in terms of diminished dollars and wasted time.

To drive home this important point, let me give you an actual example involving my own portfolio. For ease of illustration I have adjusted repparttar 112682 beginning portfolio balance to $10,000.

Tax Filing 101: It's Never Too Early To Procrastinate

Written by Wayne M. Davies

For all you procrastinators out there, here's a nuts 'n bolts guide on how to legally postpone repparttar

filing of your Year 2002 income tax returns.

When it comes to putting things off, you can never plan too far ahead!

In many cases repparttar 112672 IRS allows you to file a 'no-questions- asked' extension form. Which particular form you file depends on what type of entity your business happens to be.

CORPORATIONS: Whether you are a "C" Corporation or an "S" Corporation, you must file Form 7004 by March 15. Doing so grants you an automatic 6-month extension for filing Form 1120 ("C" Corp) or Form 1120S ("S" Corp). So now you have until September 15 to file your corporate income tax return.

Note: Since March 15 falls on a Saturday this year, you actually have until Monday, March 17 to either file repparttar 112673 corporate income tax return or file repparttar 112674 extension.

By repparttar 112675 way, this is true of any tax due date: if repparttar 112676 due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, then repparttar 112677 return is due on repparttar 112678 next business day.

To get a copy of Form 7004, click here:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f7004.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f7004.pdf

Note: all repparttar 112679 links in this article take you to repparttar 112680 IRS forms website. If "irs-pdf" is in repparttar 112681 link, then you will be taken to a pdf file that can be saved to your hard drive or printed out; then you can complete repparttar 112682 form by hand and mail it to repparttar 112683 IRS.

If "irs-fill" is in repparttar 112684 link, you will be taken to a pdf file with fill-in-the-blank capabilities, enabling you to complete repparttar 112685 form online and then print it out immediately, without having to complete repparttar 112686 form by hand.

PARTNERSHIPS: You need to file Form 8736 by April 15. This obtains a 3-month extension to file Form 1065.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8736.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f8736.pdf

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES (LLC): Same as partnerships -- File 8736 by April 15 to get a 3-month extension to file Form 1065.

(The LLC is a cross between a corporation and a partnership. Legally, repparttar 112687 LLC is similar to a corporation, offering limited liability to repparttar 112688 owners. For tax purposes, repparttar 112689 LLC is treated like a partnership.)

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP: You need to file Form 4868 to get an automatic 4-month extension to file your personal income tax return.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f4868.pdf

Now, before you start extending to your heart's content, please keep repparttar 112690 following guidelines in mind.

EXTENSION TIP #1:

Never forget repparttar 112691 mantra of all tax extension forms:

The extension to file repparttar 112692 return is NOT an extension to pay any tax due. It's only an extension for repparttar 112693 filing of your tax return.

In other words, do not view repparttar 112694 extension as an opportunity to legally postpone repparttar 112695 payment of your tax.

So if you have a balance due on repparttar 112696 return, then you must still pay repparttar 112697 tax by repparttar 112698 original tax return due date. If you file repparttar 112699 extension but do not pay repparttar 112700 balance due on time, then you will pay penalty and interest for late payment of tax. (You will legally avoid repparttar 112701 penalty for late filing, however.)

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