Finance: SuperCharged Secret 1 - LIVING IN CREDIT CARD UTOPIA!

SuperCharged Secret 1 - LIVING IN CREDIT CARD UTOPIA!

Written by Tom Levine

5 SuperCharged Secrets to Credit Card Utopia! Secret 1 of 5 I AM THE CONSUMER. AND I HAVE LOW-RATE SUPER-POWERS!

Note: The following is part 1 of a 5 part series, Over repparttar course of these next 5 articles, I am going to introduce you to several methods for maximizing repparttar 112271 use and benefits of repparttar 112272 best Credit Cards and offers on repparttar 112273 market today. This information, when used in conjunction with one another, is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I like to call this approach, repparttar 112274 “5 SuperCharged Secrets to Credit Card Utopia.”

1.SECRET 1: I AM THE CONSUMER. AND I HAVE LOW-RATE SUPER-POWERS! 2.SECRET 2: INTEREST BEWARE, THERE’S SAFETY IN NUMBERS! 3.SECRET 3: TURBO-CHARGED KILLER RATE SAVING INFORMATION! 4.SECRET 4: YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, AND I’LL BUY SOME MORE BEER! 5.SECRET 5: LIVING IN CREDIT CARD UTOPIA

Without further Ado, let’s get started:

SECRET 1: I AM THE CONSUMER. AND I HAVE LOW-RATE SUPER-POWERS!

1)How would you like a zero interest credit card?

WHAT? Did you say ZERO interest? That’s like 0.00%, or .0000000%, or nothing, or nada, or no interest? Tom! Can’t be!!!

2)Actually, that’s exactly what I mean.

You can have zero interest on a perfect day, or, can you live with 4% interest? I just received a credit card offer for 4% interest (which I turned down…), but if I needed it, that is completely reasonable, don’t you think?

3)You see, you are repparttar 112275 consumer, and you have Low-Rate Super Powers!

This is a hot, credit-hungry market we’re in. There are banks and lending institutions that would do just about anything to entice you in to their little web of plastic loanery.

4)Here’s Secret #1 revealed:

Credit Card companies are competing with each other, by offering consumers like us, low-interest, to no interest, balance transfers on already existing debt. Granted, these are usually (but not always…) limited to a time period like 6 months…

But, what do you care? 6 months of zero interest is certainly MUCH better than 6 months of 19% interest, RIGHT?

5)The first, most important thing you need to do, is examine if you have outstanding balances on other credit cards. If you do, then wisen up!

YEAR END TAX PLANNING AND PREPARATION FOR INDIVIDUALS – Tax Tips for 2004 including new tax relief due to the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004

Written by Dianne Goodman, CPA

Now is repparttar

best time to start thinking about your year end tax planning. These tax strategies can be put into effect by repparttar 112270

end of

year and some as late as when repparttar 112272

tax return is due. Planning now will save you money and reduce your tax liability not only with your IRS taxes but also with your state taxes. Here are tax tips that will help you accomplish your goal.

MINIMIZE YOUR CAPITAL GAINS

Review your capital gains and losses for repparttar 112273 year including taxable investment accounts and taxable real estate sales. If you have net capital gains, you may want to sell some of your investments that have a loss to offset repparttar 112274 gain. You should also check your 2003 tax return for any loss carry forwards to 2004.

NEW SALES TAX DEDUCTION

New in 2004 taxpayers who itemize deductions can now choose between claiming repparttar 112275 state income tax or sales tax as a deduction. The IRS will provide optional tables for use in determining this sales tax deduction if tax payers don’t keep their receipts throughout repparttar 112276 year. Sales tax paid on motor vehicles and boats may be added to repparttar 112277 table amount up to repparttar 112278 general sales tax rate.

EDUCATOR’S DEDUCTION

Renewed for 2004 and 2005, eligible educators are permitted an “above-the-line” deduction up to $250 per year for non-reimbursed expenses incurred in connection with books, supplies, computer equipment and supplementary materials used in repparttar 112279 classroom.

COMBAT PAY

Due to repparttar 112280 Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 military personnel receiving combat pay can get larger tax credits in 2004. The new law counts excludable combat pay as income when figuring repparttar 112281 Child Tax Credit. The taxpayer also has repparttar 112282 option of including or excluding combat pay when figuring repparttar 112283 Earned Income Tax Credit. As always, combat pay is excluded from taxable income.

OPEN AN INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT PLAN ACCOUNT (IRA)

See http://www.dgoodmancpa.com/smallbusinessretirementplan.htm#INDPLAN for an example of what you can do to defer income until retirement. You can open your 2004 IRA as late as April 15th of 2005. You may want to consider a Roth IRA. They are not tax deductible but also are not taxable when withdrawn at retirement.

GET ORGANIZED

Clients always ask me what I need in order to do their taxes. For 90% of repparttar 112284 population, with a little organization, your tax preparation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. First, when you get those tax documents in repparttar 112285 mail, have a folder ready to just drop it in there and forget about it until tax time. Most tax documents are required to be mailed by January 31st so you should have almost everything by repparttar 112286 first week of February. If not, call to have them send a duplicate. Next, go through your check book, credit card statements and cash payouts for repparttar 112287 basic deductible items. This would include your medical expenses including eye glasses, taxes paid including vehicle registrations, donations and any employer expenses that were not reimbursed. Don’t forget day care expenses, student loan interest and tuition if any of those apply to you.

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