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Make Your Accountant Your Best Friend
By Richard A. Chapo
Many people just assume their accountant will cut their taxes as much as possible. To get the biggest benefit from them, you need to be a bit more proactive.
Make Your Accountant Your Best Friend
Accountants tend to come in two types. The first is a reactive accountant, one that waits for you to send in your financial information and then prepares your taxes. The second asks you to come in and fill in annoying questionnaires about your life and so on. You want to go with this second accountant.
To truly save money on your taxes, you want a proactive accountant. A proactive accountant recognizes that the best way to cut tax bills is to plan ahead. They do not want to see you in April when it is time to prepare last years taxes. Instead, they want to see you in January every year to have a lengthy discussion about your finances, changes you foresee in your life that year and your plans for the future. Once they have this information, they
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Keep Spending Under Control By Using Cash<p>If you're like most people, you probably use plastic for many of your daily purchases. Since more places take credit or debit cards and many of these cards offer rewards or cash back, it is no wonder they are so easy to use. But this convenience can come at a cost. If you don't keep detailed records of your spending, using the card can lead to spending more than you normally would.</p>
<p>When you use cash for your regular daily purchases, you have a physical connection to your available money, and you can visually see how much you have and how much you spend. With a card, it's all digital and you may not review your purchases until the end of the day, week, or even month. By then, the money has long been spent. But with cash, you open your wallet or purse and immediately know how much you have available to spend, and it may keep you from buying something you don't need. So, if you have trouble keeping your spending under control, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/a/usecash.htm">you may want to consider giving cash a try</a>.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/31/keep-spending-under-control-by-using-cash.htm">Keep Spending Under Control By Using Cash</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/">About.com Financial Planning</a> on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 20:42:52.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/31/keep-spending-under-control-by-using-cash.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/31/keep-spending-under-control-by-using-cash.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://financialplan.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/31/keep-spending-under-control-by-using-cash.htm&zItl=Keep Spending Under Control By Using Cash">Email this</a></p>Ready to Buy a Home?<p>With the housing market still in the dumps and mortgage rates at record lows, a lot of people are considering buying a home for the first time. Taking advantage of depressed real estate prices and cheap lending does indeed make this a buyer's market. But buying a home is no simple decision. In fact, it may be one of the largest financial decisions many people make in their lifetime. So rather than jump in head first it pays to make sure owning a home is really the right decision. Here's how to determine <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/realestatemortgages/a/Are-You-Ready-To-Buy-A-Home.htm">if you are ready to buy a home</a>.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/24/ready-to-buy-a-home.htm">Ready to Buy a Home?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/">About.com Financial Planning</a> on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 11:44:57.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/24/ready-to-buy-a-home.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/24/ready-to-buy-a-home.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://financialplan.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/24/ready-to-buy-a-home.htm&zItl=Ready to Buy a Home?">Email this</a></p>Pick The Right Mortgage<p>People love the idea of owning a home, and sometimes that allure makes people do the wrong thing. That's where risky mortgages come in. For decades, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was the gold standard. You put 20 percent down, you got a 30-year loan, and that was all she wrote. But in recent years the types of mortgages offered have made a mess of the marketplace, as can be seen with the current financial crisis. Now you can get interest-only loans, 40-year loans, adjustable rate mortgages, and so on. All of these new loans make it easier to make payments on a house, but the problem is they usually put you in a worse financial situation. Here's what you need to know to avoid some of the more <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/realestatemortgages/a/Risky-Mortgage-Rundown.htm">risky home loans</a> out there.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/22/pick-the-right-mortgage.htm">Pick The Right Mortgage</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/">About.com Financial Planning</a> on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 20:02:50.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/22/pick-the-right-mortgage.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/22/pick-the-right-mortgage.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://financialplan.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/22/pick-the-right-mortgage.htm&zItl=Pick The Right Mortgage">Email this</a></p>Saving Money in a Tough Economy<p>Gas prices are relatively high and the cost of groceries are increasing faster than inflation. People everywhere are feeling the financial pressures of today's economy, and for most, the thought of saving money is a distant one. When times are tough, saving money can be difficult. Even if you're living paycheck to paycheck, there are ways you can save if you follow a few simple rules</p>
<h3>Start Small</h3>
<p>Saving money is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to save up $1,000, it is much easier to accomplish that goal in a year compared to two months. In order to <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/a/wheretokeepsave.htm">put your savings plan to work</a>, the key is to start small. Can you find a way to save $5 each week? Think about it--five dollars a week is less than a lot of fast food value meals or even a few fancy coffees. Five dollars could be shaved off of each weekly grocery bill by buying a few things on sale or buying store brands. When you start with a small amount, you can find ways to save, and it adds up over time.</p>
<p>So, saving five dollars a week doesn't sound like much, but that's okay. If you saved just the five dollars a week for a year, you'd have $260, less any interest. If you're married and your spouse does the same, you will have amassed over $500 painlessly. But the idea isn't to start small and stay small. You may start at five dollars a week, but once a few weeks or a month goes by and you're used to saving that money, bump it up to $7 or even $10 each week. If you could live without five extra dollars, you could probably find you can get by without seven dollars just as easily.</p>
<p>These small incremental weekly increases will gradually change your spending habits so that you become accustomed to how much money you have available, and before you know it, you're stashing away a nice amount of money.</p>
<h3>Make Saving Automatic</h3>
<p>You've heard it before, but to make saving work, you need to pay yourself first. If you wait until all the bills are paid, groceries bought, and money otherwise spent before seeing what is left over at the end of the week, you'll always come up empty. The key to saving is to treat your savings as a bill. You find a way to pay the phone bill each month, don't you? Well, think of your weekly or monthly savings as a bill that has to be paid, and pay it before it gets spent on frivolous things.</p>
<p>To make sure you pay yourself first, you need to <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/a/automaticsave.htm">create an automatic savings plan</a>. This is best accomplished by setting up direct deposit with your paychecks so that a little bit goes into savings on the day you get paid. That way, on payday you don't have to worry about making a deposit yourself, and you have already put that savings out of sight and out of mind.</p>
<p>If you don't have direct deposit set up, you can always create an automatic transfer between accounts with your bank. You can schedule a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly automatic transfer that moves money from your checking to savings. If you don't have to think about it, it's much more likely to get done.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/15/saving-money-in-a-tough-economy.htm">Saving Money in a Tough Economy</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/">About.com Financial Planning</a> on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 18:46:50.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/15/saving-money-in-a-tough-economy.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/15/saving-money-in-a-tough-economy.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://financialplan.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/15/saving-money-in-a-tough-economy.htm&zItl=Saving Money in a Tough Economy">Email this</a></p>Dealing With Low Interest Rates<p>For a few years now interest rates as a whole have generally been falling or remain very low. Of course you may have some instances where rates are increasing, for the most part when it comes to savings accounts, CDs, and even mortgage rates, they are down sharply compared to a few years ago.</p>
<h3>Good for Debt, Bad for Savings</h3>
<p>Lower interest rates are good for borrowing money since it means you will be paying less in interest. The bad news is that the Fed rate cuts don't directly translate into lower rates for consumers. These cuts can take many months before the effects are felt on your bottom line, but you can begin shopping for lower rates now. Once you can begin to benefit from the lower rates, you'll have more money in your pocket as less is being spent on interest payments.</p>
<p>While lower interest rates saves you money when borrowing, the opposite is true when you are saving money at the bank. As interest rates fall, the rate of return on your checking, savings and CD accounts will likely follow suit. If you enjoyed the comfortable savings rates during most of 2007, you're probably not very excited as many rates have now dropped below the rate of inflation. If you can, make sure you're getting the best rate possible and explore other banks to ensure you're getting as much interest on your savings as possible.</p>
<p><strong>Learn more about interest rates:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/a/lowerinterest.htm">How to Plan for Lower Interest Rates</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://economics.about.com/cs/studentresources/f/interest_rate.htm">What Are Interest Rates?</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://beginnersinvest.about.com/od/banking/a/aa062405.htm">The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates</a> </li>
</ul><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/08/dealing-with-low-interest-rates.htm">Dealing With Low Interest Rates</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/">About.com Financial Planning</a> on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 18:56:10.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/08/dealing-with-low-interest-rates.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/08/dealing-with-low-interest-rates.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://financialplan.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://financialplan.about.com/b/2012/01/08/dealing-with-low-interest-rates.htm&zItl=Dealing With Low Interest Rates">Email this</a></p>
can give you definitive direction on steps to take to cut down on your taxes. Despite what you may have heard, accountants are just as human as you and I. If you don’t make any effort to get your tax strategy sorted out, they probably will not either. If they give you advice and you don’t follow it, you have no one to blame but yourself. To get the biggest benefit you must avoid procrastination. They are going to save you thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars, so do your part. So, how do you find a proactive accountant? You can look around the net or ask friends. You will never really know what you have, however, until you meet with one. When you do, you need to ask them what steps they will take to handle your taxes. If they make no mention of a review of your finances for the purpose of making recommendations, it is time to move to the next one. To get the biggest benefit from your tax professional, you need two things. First, find a proactive one. Second, follow their directives immediately. Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - providing information on taxes.
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Farm bill on the move as Senate hearings set
<div class="field-byline">
NAWG
</div>
The agriculture community took a number of important steps toward a 2012 Farm Bill, with commodity groups meeting in Washington to discuss the issues and the Senate Agriculture Committee announcing a hearing schedule.
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div><p><a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/government/farm-bill-move-senate-hearings-set" target="_blank">read more</a></p>DOL re-proposing part of child labor rule
<div class="field-byline">
NCC
</div>
In response to requests from congressional members and the public, including comments submitted by the NCC and other agricultural interest organizations, the Department of Labor (DOL) is ?re-proposing? the portion of their proposed child labor rule regarding the agricultural parental exemption.
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div><p><a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/government/dol-re-proposing-part-child-labor-rule" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Cotton flow strides conveyed to USDA
<div class="field-byline">
NCC
</div>
During a Washington, D.C., meeting, cotton industry representatives briefed USDA officials on industry efforts to improve cotton flow and sought the agency?s cooperation with future industry initiatives.
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div><p><a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/government/cotton-flow-strides-conveyed-usda" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Farm groups discuss next farm bill
<div class="field-byline">
NCC
</div>
In a statement issued by 13 farm and commodity groups, the organizations stated they are committed to work together to come up with a viable farm policy. Also confirmed is their common belief that Congress should pass and the President should sign a strong new farm bill into law this year. The law expires at year?s end and producers ? like all job creators ? need certainty from Washington.
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div><p><a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/government/farm-groups-discuss-next-farm-bill" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Super Bowl goes organic
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Shayla Mae Bailey, AMS Public Affairs
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The push to bring organic and locally-grown options to the concession stand came from a partnership between non-profits that support family farms, celebrities and Centerplate, the NFL?s largest concession provider.
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div><p><a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/management/super-bowl-goes-organic" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Skin in the game may help dairy industry
<div class="field-byline">
Phil Durst, Michigan State University Extension
</div>
One of the complaints that dairy owners often have about employees is they don?t seem to care or that they don?t take ownership in the operation. Yet, should we be surprised when employees don?t take ownership in a business in which they have no ownership?
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The preparation of a plan of administration and disposition of one's estate using a will, trusts, gifts, power of attorney, etc.
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