Entries from January 2009 ↓

Bi-weekly pay periods are great. You have the luxury of knowing that every other Friday (or whichever day is pay day for you) you will be getting paid. That is great for keeping your pockets full, but it presents some real headaches when it comes to setting your budget.

Imagine this, you get paid on say the 13th and your mortgage payment is due on the 15th. Your account is full, you write the check, no problem.

What about next month? Continue reading →

Congradualtions! Once again you are getting a nice refund check from the IRS. That is great news… or is it?

As exciting as it is to be getting a big check, that money could have been in your paycheck -and from there your bank account- all along. A refund is just that. It is a refund on the taxes you paid, for most, the taxes withheld from your paycheck each week because you paid too much. Getting a refund means that you have loaned the government money for the year. Whats more, it was an interest free loan. That money could have been making you money all year. Continue reading →

This morning I was reading a post over at Free Money Finance and the article from Christianity Today.

The original piece the church and tithing, or more accurately, the lack of it. As it was said, it is “depress[ing] to think how many people of faith are putting their own desires ahead of those of others”. Continue reading →

The IRS wants its share of all the money that you make. Income from your job, income from a business you own, even income made on the side from a hobby should be included on your tax return. Wile you have to pay taxes on the full amount of income from your job, this is not always true about business and hobby income.

For those that own a business there are many deductions that can legally be taken to decrease the amount of taxes owed. Income from your hobbies might also be subject to some deductions. The deductions for hobbies however are often not as good as those of a business. It is important to know the differences and properly distinguish between the two so as not to run into trouble with the IRS. Continue reading →

The end of 2008 saw a decrease in employment as 524,000 U.S. jobs were lost in December alone. The unemployment rate has now climbed to its highest level since 1993.

See this Reuters article for more information.