Archive for February, 2009:
40% off 1 item at Old Navy
I got a flier in the mail with a decent offer, so I thought I’d pass it on:
Take 40% off one adult item when you use any Visa card now through Feb. 19. Non-clearance merchandise only. Use code: OUR365
The fine print states that it’ll work for Gap.com, Bananarepublic.com, and Piperlime.com as well.
Access OldNavy.com via Ebates first, and you’ll get 3 percent back (referral link).
Unfortunately, the site charges $7 for shipping, so of course make sure this is worth your while!
A few tax credits and deductions to consider
I’m rounding up financial documents so that I can file my taxes, and I came across some info that might apply to you.
The retirement savings tax credit is a credit designed to reward low to moderate income earners for saving for retirement. If you have made contributions to various retirement accounts and meet certain income requirements, you’ll be able to take a credit for a percentage of your contributions.
You qualify for this credit if:
- $26,500 or less for single, married filing separately, and qualifying widow(er).
- $39,750 for head of household.
- $53,000 for married filing jointly.
To learn more, read this article on About.com and access the form from the IRS here.
For people who pay property taxes but don’t itemize their deductions, you’ll be happy to know that you can now increase your standard deduction by the amount of real property tax you could have claimed if you itemized. (See No. 2 for this tip, or info on the TurboTax site).
Don’t miss 14 ways to slash your taxes here.
If you want control of your life, take control of your money
This is a guest post from Trisha Wagner, who is a freelance writer for DestroyDebt.com, a debt community and debt forum. Trisha writes regularly on the topics of getting out of debt and personal finance.
Money isn’t everything…….right? Of course not, and each of us know this; however money (or in many instances the lack of it) tends to have a HUGE amount of control over our lives. The last several months have brought money and the importance of it into each of our homes every day. You would be hard pressed to read a newspaper, watch the news or surf the internet without finding dozens of stories lamenting the current economic crisis. Do you feel that money has taken control over your life: either the quest for it OR more likely the quest to pay off mounting debt? To take back control you must first have a solid understanding of your financial situation.
Understand where your money is coming from.
For most people knowing where your money is coming from is not terribly complicated. The main source of income for many people would be their job. Additional sources of income may include: interest income, dividends, partnerships and tips. If you don’t want money to control your life, you must first not only know where your money comes from but also the stability of that income. Ask yourself these questions to help determine if your income is risky or stable:
Who signs your paycheck? The source -such as an individual, a private or public company, the government or yourself contributes to the stablity of your income.
Do you get paid on commission, hourly or do you count on heavy bonuses?
Will periods of slowdown affect my employers ability to pay? (construction, retail or seasonal work)
Understand where you are spending your money.
This concept is actually very simple and has been covered extensively on various forums so I will not spend a lot of time covering this topic. Basically you must know where your money is going. If you do not know how much you are paying on what, start today and begin tracking your expenses on a daily basis. Pretend you are a corporation, separate your expenses by fixed, variable and one-time/unusual expenses. If you discover you need to cut costs you will have a better idea where to begin if you know what areas can be cut.
Understand where you are investing or saving your money.
You can either spend your money today or save it for the future. Either way you must know where you are putting your money. If you are not investing in the future, research the best deals on banking institutions so you money is at least earning interest. If you are investing your money, keep your finger on the pulse of your investments. If you give up control of your money to someone else to make the decisions you cannot complain when those decisions are wrong. Think independently and take responsibility for your choices.
