Jan 31
Last week Amazon had the software package I use on sale – H&R Block at Home. This week it is Turbo Tax’s turn to be on sale. For all of you Turbo Tax fans who have not yet purchased your 2009 software, you may want to take advantage of this deal (on sale, free shipping, & sales tax free depending on your state). I found a $10.00 rebate (link below) which can bring the cost of this down a bit further.
– Intuit $10 Rebate for Turbo Tax
– TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State 2009 + efile
Labels: Taxes
Jan 30
The Federal Trade Commission announced this month that it has settled charges with three debt collectors accused of various types of abusive debt collection. The settlement, which reportedly includes the largest civil penalty ever levied on a debt collection agency, comes in conjunction with future restrictions for the defendants.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Violated
According to the case, the defendants violated terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which outlines acceptable behavior for agencies responsible for collecting on debts.
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Jan 29
The New York Times article: Jobless Turn to Family for Help profiles 62-year-old Jean Ley of Warrenton, Oregon who lost her job as a mental health counselor in June 2008. She has not found another job since then.
She had little savings. Unemployment benefits were not going to be enough to pay her bills. She was at risk of losing her home here on the Oregon coast.
[...]
But the assistance proved more than temporary.
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Jan 29
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Running a small business has its peaks and valleys. Sometimes you’re raking in the dough and other times you are not even able to pay the bills. What is important, however, is to have employee health insurance plans for you and your employees. You will find a plethora of small company health insurance plans to go around.
Choosing the small business health insurance policy may sometimes be difficult. Getting affordable coverage is a crucial thing for any owner to do. Should you get the least expensive protection, chances are you are going to regret it in the long run. I
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Jan 23
The USAToday story: Five-cent highway robbery? Bag fee sparks rebellion reports that the first-of-its-kind law in the nation, requiring Washington D.C. shoppers to pay five cents for each disposable bag, is prompting some strangely false frugal behavior.
The newspaper reports Saturday that the 5-cent fee, begun New Year’s Day, is causing some people to shop instead in Virginia, where there’s a higher food tax, and others to carry armloads of food and beverages to their cars or offices, sometimes with disastrous results.
Virginia Johnson, in rejecting a plastic bag, saved five pennies on her $20 sushi order but then stumbled and watched the whole tray hit the ground.
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Jan 20
High unemployment rates and sluggish recovery in the job market mean that many Americans are still budgeting carefully and watching every penny that leaves their wallets. It’s times like these when studies like the one conducted by researchers at San Francisco State University can help us make important spending decisions.
Memories Last Longer than Stuff
The new budget study examined recent purchases made by adults enrolled at SFSU. Here’s what the researchers discovered:
Happiness from things
fades. On average, researchers found, the thrill brought about by new objects faded in six weeks to three months. T
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