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How to Save on Tax Preparation
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2012 Comment (9)The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2012 electronic tax return filing season on January 17. It can cost hundreds of dollars to have your taxes prepared for you, but if you would like to reduce the cost of tax preparation, you have several options. The majority of taxpayers can use free tax software to prepare and e-file their taxes for free. Those who don't qualify have other free or low-cost options.
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7 Travel Insurance Tips for Your Next Vacation
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2012 Comment (4)The news of the cruise ship disaster off the coast of Italy was particularly noteworthy for my family. On April 1, we set sail on a seven-day Caribbean cruise. My daughter is already freaking out, and my son is not helping matters. He’s plastered pictures of the Costa Concordia all over the house.
One issue the tragedy has brought into focus for us is travel insurance. My travel agent and I discussed travel insurance when I booked our cruise. Frankly, after spending thousands of dollars on airfare and a cruise, spending even more money on insurance is not my idea of a good time. But because of the cost of our trip, it’s an issue we can’t afford to avoid.
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Travel Safety Tips: 5 Things to Remember After Costa Concordia
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2012 Comment (4)The Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner tragedy, which to date has resulted in 11 confirmed fatalities and thousands of passengers who incurred bodily and emotional damage, brings to surface an aspect of travel that's often overlooked by vacationers: safety.
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3 Tax Apps That Save Time and Cash
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2012 Comment (1)You use your phone for everything from paying bills to online shopping, maybe even GPS navigation or finding new restaurants. Why? Because it's accessible at a moment's notice and chock-full of applications that allow you to do all these things and more from anywhere. So why not take it a step further and use your phone to make filing your income tax return easier, too?
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5 Reasons You Need a Budget
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2012 Comment (2)Who wants to be bothered with a budget? It takes time to examine what you spend, where you spend it, and how much (or how little) you bring in relative to your expenses. Plus, you could be in for some unpleasant surprises.
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9 Things You Shouldn't Buy at Grocery Stores
Tweet Share on Facebook January 17, 2012 Comment (7)Grocery stores offer plenty of conveniences to make food-buying as simple as possible. Most of us head to the grocery store to pick up fresh produce, meats, cheeses, snacks, and other convenience foods, and you can pick from dozens of brands and generic items that fit your budget. Still, there are a few things you don’t want to pick up at your local supermarket. Certain types of produce are full of pesticides and you’ll be better off heading to the local farmers market or buying organic. Buying non-grocery items at the supermarket usually means you'll spend much more than the average price in your area.
Here are nine items you shouldn’t pick up from the grocery store:
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5 Ways to Become a Self-Made Millionaire
Tweet Share on Facebook January 17, 2012 Comment (10)There is much more to life than making money. But it's safe to say that earning more money can significantly change the course of your life--especially if it's $1 million or more.
If you're wondering how to become a millionaire (and who isn't?), the answer is that most of them are self-made men and women. It's certainly possible to break $1 million mark working at a corporate job, but as most employees can tell you, you often have little say in who gets promoted ahead of you. Not to mention that a big corporate payoff usually takes decades of work. You won't find many millionaires under 35 at Fortune 500 companies.
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Suze Orman Enters the Prepaid Card Market
Tweet Share on Facebook January 13, 2012 Comment (1)It’s common to see celebrities profit from their fame. We often see movie stars and professional athletes promoting products on TV or in magazines. Before his fall from grace, for example, Tiger Woods made far more money promoting the likes of Nike and Accenture than he did playing golf. And that brings us to prepaid credit cards, of all things.
Remember the Kardashian sisters’ prepaid card? It had a short shelf life because of its outrageous fees. But the Kardashians were willing to put their picture on a prepaid card for the right amount of money. More successful is the Rush Card, promoting by media mogul Russell Simmons. And then there’s the Twilight Saga prepaid card from MyPlash.
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Quick Ways to Reduce Your Expenses
Tweet Share on Facebook January 13, 2012 Comment (4)It may be time to go into emergency mode. If you just lost your job, received a giant medical bill, or otherwise experienced a huge financial setback and have an urgent need to cut your expenses, the following tips can help.
These suggestions can also be helpful if you just want to find some extra money to save or invest, but they might be more of a sacrifice than you are willing to make. If you are facing a financial emergency, these tips could be just what you need to stop the rapid depletion of your savings. You can make these changes quickly to help get a handle on your finances before things become desperate.
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How to Teach Your Kids About Credit Cards
Tweet Share on Facebook January 12, 2012 Comment (3)The Internet is full of misinformation about how to teach your kids about credit cards. There’s always been a lot of sketchy stuff online, but we just read an article from a very reputable publication that said secured credit cards are tied to savings accounts, and you should consider getting your kid a prepaid debit card.
We respect your decision as a parent if you want to get your kid a prepaid card, even if we don’t agree with it. But what about that whole thing with secured credit cards always been tied to a savings account? That’s just straight-up wrong. NerdWallet thinks you deserve better information, so we put together our own, thoroughly fact-checked Q&A on kid-friendly credit card education. Your child may not need a credit card now, but he or she should still know what a credit card is and how it works.
