Category: <span>General Topics</span>

Should There Be More Economic Stimulus Payments? Including a 4th Stimulus check?

See this article on a potential 4th economic stimulus check. _____________________________ In a recent town hall, following the approval of yet another home buyer credit extension, the President said his economic stimulus programs did their job by staving off another Great Depression. The administration often touts that the stimulus package…

How Long Should I Keep Tax Records, Medical Bills, Financial and Bank Statements

Financial Records Like me I am sure you get tons of bills and statements in the mail or delivered electronically. Most times you just action and then toss them. But you may in fact be creating legal or tax issues by not keeping certain documents. Where possible you should try and…

Making Money From the BP Oil Spill – Ambulance Chasing Lawyers, Adwords Advertising and T-Shirts

The BP oil spill has been a non-stop news item and most people are probably tired of hearing and reading about this environmental disaster due to corporate negligence. I am not going to delve into the issue, but it was kind of morbid to read that people and companies are…

How Individuals can Control and Cut Health Insurance Costs

There has been a lot of debate over health care reform the past year and how to control rising health care costs. While many experts are unsure whether the passed health care legislation will actually control costs, Americans can still work to control their own medical costs by shopping around…

Top 10 Movies About People Trying to Get Rich

Money doesn't buy happiness? Tell that to Hollywood where money is business and box office receipts are what matter! In all seriousness, the old saying might be true, but it doesn't stop most of us from trying. And, so here are the top ten movies about people trying to get rich, and in many…

Health Care Bill Hits Married Couples Harder

Did a double take when I read an article in the WSJ that said under the new health care reform bill in Congress, marriage (relative to unmarried couples) will cost you in terms of health care premiums. And quite significantly apparently. The built-in "marriage penalty" in both House and Senate…

Claiming the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit plus Employer Fines, Tax Credits and Employee Subsidies

[Updated] The IRS has released final guidance for small employers eligible to claim the new small business health care tax credit for the 2010 tax year. The IRS have also provide a one-page form and instructions for small employers to use for claiming the credit for the 2010 tax year. New…

Speed Camera Tickets – Hard to Beat Local and State Government Revenue Raiser

Doh! I just received a speeding ticket in the mail after getting booked by an automated speeding camera while driving through Maryland a couple of weeks ago. After doing some research on automated speeding cameras I found that more and more states (90%) are using fixed speeding camera's because they…

Outside of Detroit does anyone care that US Automakers GM and Chrysler are now Bankrupt

Bloomberg, along with the WSJ, bring us an interesting viewpoint on the US automakers path down bankruptcy and the debate on who really cares. Living outside Detroit, I do feel sorry for the personal and financial tragedy that many are facing due to the bankruptcy of the automakers, but from…

What is a Structured Settlement and Benefits From a Tax and Payment Perspective

I received a letter in the mail the other day from some legal firm saying that they were on the verge of winning a class action suit against a large medical corporation and that I could be entitled to part of their structured settlement; if I could prove I had…

Are so called Smart People really Smarter Than The Average Joe

When I was younger and whenever my mother took me to the doctor or a professional like her banker, accountant or stock broker, she would always say: "Don't worry son, you're in good hands, these people are super smart." Well, lets take a look at some of these "smart" professionals…

Junk Mail Revenge – How To Make Them Pay

I get so much junk mail nowadays - Credit Card Offers, Investment/Real estate flyers, Magazine offers, etc - that it is sometimes hard to find the real mail amongst all the junk. I read somewhere that by reducing your junk mail for 5 years, you’ll conserve 1.7 trees and 700…

>Week in Review: Funny Business

>I received the following comic strip via email this week and even though it was written 15 years ago, it is quite relevant for today's semi-government corporate environment. Funny business indeed. (click on image to enlarge)My Australian holiday is coming to an end and I am not looking forward to…

Setting Effective Goals Using Indicators of Performance (IOPs)

Why is the beginning of the year a time when people like to set goals; Isn't January 1 just another day like April 13th? The answer is, people like to use January 1 as a time to set goals and make resolutions because it is a quantifiable milestone - the…

Category: General Topics