Finance

So it’s that time of year again when you get all of your documents together and hurry down to the local income tax preparer with hopes of getting a big fat refund from Uncle Sam. There’s just one problem; according to WebCPA, the average cost of preparing an itemized 1040 with a Schedule A and a state tax return is $229. Is it really that difficult that we need to hire a professional to fill out a few forms? The answer is absolutely not.

I began preparing my own tax forms long before any software was created to help me do them. The only computer I had was a calculator and if I needed to make copies I had to drive to the library! In those days you had no choice but to mail the forms so your refund was partially in the hands of the U.S. Postal Service. No, I didn’t have any special training or college classes to teach me how to fill out the forms; I simply read the instructions and filled them out to the best of my ability.

The basic formula for the income tax form is simple; you list how much income you had during the year minus whatever deductions the IRS allows and the rest is taxed. This tax value is then compared with the amount of money you had your employer to withhold during the year and the difference is the amount you either receive or owe. Pretty simple, huh?

For most households it really is that simple and there lots of tools available to help you do it. You can prepare and file your income tax returns for free on the IRS website or if you prefer you can purchase a nifty software application that simply asks all the necessary questions and quietly fills out the returns in the background. When you’re finished, you can print a copy for your records and send the returns electronically to the IRS over the internet (called e-file). You can also elect to have the refund deposited into your bank account electronically which significantly decreases the amount of time it takes to receive your money.

You can purchase tax preparation software at nearly any of the large retail chains or the software manufacturer’s website and prices range anywhere from about $20 to $50. I began purchasing a brand of this software about 10 years ago and now they send the disk in the mail every year and I just activate it and pay for it online when I’m ready to prepare my forms. The software is designed to look for deductions so you don’t need to be a tax professional to use it. Most have a basic version and a deluxe package that will go even further to help find deductions and make your tax bill lower. You may also opt to consider FMD accounting service Singapore. This is more ideal if you own a business and having a hard time to hire an accountant because of the high cost of the hiring process. This kind of service can be cost efficient for your firm.

So what are you waiting for? Stop paying someone to prepare your forms and do it yourself. One warning – once you begin doing your own taxes your friends and relatives will be asking you to do theirs also!

In any field, it is very necessary to pay attention to the financial situation because it is directly related to other elements. In the case of a company, it is very normal to have a target that needs to be achieved during a set time and resource. This will motivate the members and employees to work harder. Many of the targets are affected by the financial situation of your company. With the evolving technology, it has become very easy to find a financial advisor in Napa who can work according to your business idea to get to the required level in the business industry.

How can a financial advisor help in growing your business?

In the case of a big company, the level of finances involved is very high. There are many consignments and clients involved which comes with a lot of finances and financial situations. To handle the finances, it is very important to appoint someone professional in the finance field so that you get the best services. In a big company, a little financial crisis can make the situation worse and lower their reputation. Not only for big businesses, but financial advisors have a positive effect on small businesses also. To establish a business, a solid plan with finance is very important so that things work out perfectly. By associating with a financial advisor, your business can find ways to save money from different sectors of the business. With a clear vision and resource, it is very convenient to appoint a financial advisor in Napa to develop your company quickly. Your business or company will be on the way to achieve great financial stability because of the skills used by the financial advisor.

What is the procedure of finding the best financial advisor?

When you have decided to associate your company or business with a financial institution to make your work financially stable, you have to stick to the right path. This will ensure that you get the best financial service without losing any reputation and money over small issues. The financial advisors are trained to perform different functions so that their clients are happy with their service. The interest of the clients should be put first on the list. For the convenience of the clients, there are different kinds of financial advisors for the clients to make a detailed decision. The main difference is created among the financial advisors through the payment method. The advisor can be appointed after checking on the resources of your company. 

Your company can also put their shares in line if a fee-based financial advisor is appointed. The second thing to check is your financial needs. If you want to ask them for some financial advice or appoint them to handle your company financially, you should be clear with the motive. This will help you in finding the best financial advisor easily. The skills and the method of working of the financial advisor should be taken into consideration to avoid any mismatch with your company policy.

We all know the phrase, “let me offer my two cents.” Regardless of who says it, it only ever means one thing- unsolicited advice is coming. Sometimes the advice is actually worth two cents, but often the advice offerer has overvalued their opinion. In that case, you’re stuck with what I call Penny Advice- those unsolicited opinions that no one really wants, and that just end up clinking around loudly in your head until you can “accidentally” drop them on the sidewalk and leave them behind.

As a finance blogger, I hear a lot of penny advice about debt and student loans. Each time I hear a new one, I write it down and add it to the list. The following are the top 10 worst pieces of debt advice that I’ve heard, presented for your enjoyment.

• “Spend within your means.” This makes the list for being both stupidly common sense, and wonderfully ambiguous. It’s the corporate jargon of the debt world. We’ve all heard it, but do we really know what it means? Obviously, don’t spend more than I make, but in what time frame? Don’t spend more than I make in a week? In a month? In a year? Society tells men to spend 2-3 months salary on an engagement ring, and the general rule for car buying is to not spend more than you make in a year. Nowhere in this advice do you mention that I ought to have that money in my hand (ie SAVE IT FIRST ) before making a purchase. This leads right into number 9.
• “Credit cards are evil.” Once again, fairly common sense but ambiguous advice. For the younger sect like me, we need a credit card to build our credit rating. Even if we don’t plan to finance anything, potential employers will pull our credit scores to see how we are managing our money. No credit card means no credit score, and therefore no job. Also, let’s face it- we don’t all have emergency funds. We should, but we don’t. It boils down to this: don’t go crazy with the credit card. Just because we have a $5,000 line of credit doesn’t mean we need to use it. Spend within predetermined monthly means. If we carefully examine the pros and cons of credit cards, we would realize that it is still better to consider money lender Singapore than to empty our pockets by just paying credit card obligations. So we really have to be careful on when we spend our money.
• This implies that I have not fully explored all my options, and that I’m making a yet another poor financial decision. It also sort of implies that I’m not smart enough to navigate the perilous financial waters on my own. Now, it is possible that you have some knowledge of a new program that I am not familiar with, but there is a better way to frame this question. Ask me why I’ve picked a certain debt-reduction program. That gives me the chance to prove that I’ve done my research. If I haven’t, then you can bring up what you know.
• “Things will get better soon.” This is a wonderful sentiment, and I thank you for the encouragement. It is not, however, actually helpful. Please do be supportive, as I need to hear that, but maybe only say these sorts of things after you’ve let me whine about my debt over a cup of coffee, or as I launch into a monologue about debt for the hundredth time.
• “You could always sell your iPad/car/computer/blood/soul.” All right. Can we all assume that if I’m serious about getting out of debt, I’ve already taken inventory of my possessions? Perhaps I’ve even, as Dave Ramsey says, “sold so much that the kids think they’re next.” Even if I haven’t sold off all my worldly possessions, you can rest assured that I’ve looked into it. The price of a soul is not what it used to be, you know. Also, I probably need those “fancy” things like a car and a computer to earn money- after all, don’t you?
• “That’s nothing, my best friend’s daughter went to Harvard medical school and she owes $200k” DO NOT BELITTLE MY DEBT. Pure and simple. I know you’re trying to put it all in a rosy perspective for me, but I can assure you that telling a bill collector, “Well, Mrs. Donavan’s daughter, Nancy, has a much higher balance than me” will not get said bill collector to hang up and call Nancy instead. Rather, they will continue to insist that *I* send them a check. Tell me that Nancy owes $200,000. That actually will make me feel better about my current balance, but don’t try to one-up me.

• “How did you ever get yourself into this mess?” Don’t ask me to relive my financial mistakes for you. If you don’t already know, chances are that you’re not a good enough friend to need such information . Spilling my financial guts to you will only a) make me feel bad about the choices I’ve made, and b) make you think less of me because I’ve made poor decisions. Save us both the grief, and compliment me on my efforts to get out of debt. It doesn’t matter how I got into the hole, what matters is that I’m trying to climb out.
• “Here’s $20‚Ķ” While most of us will very rarely turn down the offer of free money, this doesn’t really help (unless you are planning to write a check for the entire balance of my student loans, at which point let me mention that it is currently $69,318.15 ). True, I may need that $20 to get groceries, gas, or clothes (or CDs, DVDs, video games, etc ), but you’re also wounding my pride by handing me cash. You’re implying that I can’t manage my money well enough to keep myself fed or clothed (or entertained ). If I haven’t asked you for money, don’t offer it. Instead, fill a specific need like paying this month’s water bill or buying an extra loaf of bread and jug of milk at the store (or let me burn a copy of that new Coldplay album ). It will let you help me without beating me down more.
• “You should have known better.” Ok, how is this advice? It’s not, and it makes me furious every time I hear it. It’s arrogance and prejudice and a few other things that would make this entry NSFW. Of course I should have known better. I get it. In fact, I’d wager that everyone in debt understands that concept. You reminding us of our mistakes doesn’t help us get out of debt any faster, just like shaming a person with depression will not make them snap out of it. Either offer some good advice or please keep your opinions to yourself.
• “It’s not your fault.” This one is my absolute least favorite bit of debt advice. It’s a cop-out, and it’s a lazy cop-out at that. Of course it’s my fault that I’m in debt. No one held a gun to my head and forced me to sign the promissory note. (Note- if someone has done this to you, I’m pretty sure that makes your debt invalid ). This is true for all kinds of debt. We all got ourselves into this mess: we spent beyond our means, we didn’t take the time to make sure we understood all our options, we let ourselves get sweet-talked into refinancing, etc. We all made our choices. We gambled on the world being different, and we lost. Now we have to pick ourselves up and dust off our wallets. It’s time to take personal responsibility and teach future generations that blaming others isn’t going to fix anything. Leave behind a financial legacy that you can be proud of, rather than one from which you spent your life running.