Senior tax tips

Whether you’re a retiree, someone helping a senior family member or friend with taxes, here are ten tax tips to help ease you through the tax season and maximize your deductions:
Senior Tax Tip 1. Don’t assume that you don’t have to file. While it’s true that Social Security income is generally not taxable, that’s not [...]

Bailout Scams

Today’s story features two readers, two governments, two media and one scam. One came via U.S. mail; the other, over the phone. One promised free money from the state government; the other, from Uncle Sam.
How it works: The caller had good news. The ” Pennsylvania Debit Card Initiative” was up and running and had money [...]

New SEC site : Teaches about investing and avoiding scams

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday launched its first investor-education Web site, investor.gov, offering tips on investing wisely, planning for the future and avoiding getting scammed.
The site includes advice on monitoring your financial health, figuring out a mortgage’s fine print, and managing debt problems, among other items. It also has a money game, investor [...]

Why It’s Time to Retire the 401(k)

Two and a half decades ago, an employer, Occidental Petroleum Corp., cut its traditional defined pension plan in favor of a 401(k)-type system. So instead of getting a guaranteed pension check of $1,308 a month for his 36 years as a full-time, salaried employee, the former chemical-factory worker receives $225 a month from his 13 [...]

Filing for Bankruptcy Protection. Will it Affect My Job?

As bankruptcy filings in the U.S. continue to rise, a growing concern among individuals is that they may be fired or face other retaliation by their employer for filing for bankruptcy protection.
Like most states, employment is considered to be “at will.” This means that an employee can generally be fired for any reason or even [...]

Overtaking inflation is the key to protect yourself from recession

Inflation is about as sure as dying & taxes. It’s only role of life-time. The saving will incessantly get good & bad rounds. Few times could be good for occupation & you shall obtain more than for less. Few times shall be bad & you will be simply barely surviving.
Likewise insurance and inflation security helps [...]

Strategies for a slow-go market

Chances are, your 401(k) is looking a lot healthier these days, now that stocks have soared more than 40% in just the past six months. But don’t get too used to investing in the fast lane.
While no one knows for certain how equities will behave going forward, the odds are good that Wall Street’s torrid [...]

One year after financial meltdown, U.S. appears in for long recovery

Now the flames are dying down, and the recession may be over.
The bad news is that the nation is in for a long, slow recovery. The U.S. has lost 6.9 million jobs since December 2007.
“We’re in the very early stages of a recovery,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas. “We could [...]

Money from Government for Going Green?

According to the Associated Press, part of the stimulus bill includes funds allocated for rebates for people who replace old appliances for more energy-efficient models.
Here are the details:
The process has just begun. Your state may not have officially started its rebate program yet, but it should be doing so soon. Apparently, the federal government was [...]

How do Savings Bonds Work

Purchasing a savings bond is a popular affordable gift that is often given to children at an early age. Most often they are given as gifts that they can later cash in after they graduate high school to use for educational purposes or towards the cost of other future purchases. Savings bonds are often purchased [...]

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