As we enter tax season, it’s time to examine a variety of deductions you may be eligible to take. Home office deductions are a simple way to recoup money when using your home as an office space. Those who are self-employed or part of an LLC have one form to complete this process, but S-Corp brings a new challenge. Thank you to wilsonrogers.net for this detailed description of how to legally claim this important deduction.
Save A Penny, Watch It Grow
Did you know that saving $667.95 in a year is as easy as putting your spare change into a jar each night? With this simple formula and free printable provided by Smart School House, you could be on your way to a great weekend trip or some extra Christmas cheer. It also makes a good savings activity for children. Try it and let us know how it goes for you!
Tips For Personal Finances When the Fed Hikes Rates
With the recent rise of the benchmark federal funds rate, Karla Bowsher for Money Talks News suggests three simple steps individuals can take to reduce the impact on their finances.
- Look for a better credit card rate.
- Lock in a mortgage rate.
- Compare rates on savings (plans and funds).
This is the third hike in recent months following an eight year period where the rates were held in a range of zero to 0.25. For more information on how to best utilize these tips, read the full article here, The Fed Hikes Rates Again: 3 Steps You Should Take Now.
Time to Un-Plug?
Empathy, intimacy, learning to read body language and understanding how to talk face-to-face are crucial parts of being human, but now that we spend hours in front of our tiny glowing smartphone screens, scientists fear we are losing our ability to communicate. According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, these hours devoted to Facebook, games and texts are hurting our capacity to be present with other humans.
When was the last time you chose a walk with a friend over a text or PM chat?
What are we teaching all the children who are playing on phones instead of interacting with those around them?
How Smartphones Are Killing Conversation
Money Matters
Think about the last time you shook your head or rolled your eyes at another’s financial decisions.
Ever felt like your parents spent too much on one of your siblings?
Money has a special way of bringing out our sense of fairness and our frustrations.
Michelle Singletary for The Washington Post points out that we have two choices when dealing with our feelings about others money decisions, and both require acceptance. Family and money: A lesson in accepting what you cannot change
Childhood Trauma = Chronic Illness?
Studies have shown that childhood trauma may lead to chronic illness in adulthood. Even with this information available, most medical schools elect not to incorporate these findings into their curriculum.
“But shouldn’t physicians consider the whole patient–body and mind…” Donna Jackson Nakazawa asks in her article, Childhood trauma leads to lifelong chronic illness–so why isn’t the medical community helping patients?
Nakazawa lost her father at age twelve and began experiencing health issues at fourteen. These increased and followed her throughout adulthood. Finally, at 51, a physician mentioned various studies that suggested childhood trauma could lead to cancer, heart disease and autoimmune disease later in life. Two-thirds of Americans report some form of childhood trauma. Could we be overlooking a huge factor in adult illness, one that is treatable or even preventable earlier in life?
Work Hard, Be Nice
What is the key component to professional teams who work well together? Turns out it’s the ability to ‘be nice’ and truly care for one another. When co-workers like and trust each other, it creates the feeling of a supportive family. One that each member is willing to work their hardest for. This sounds like just the kind of advice that would come from the Disney Institute!
What’s The Secret To Successful Teamwork? Just Be Nice
Save Money
Ever read an article with tips for saving money and thought how easy it could be to reign in your budget? This couple saved over $50,000 in 2014 by downsizing, eating at home more often, canceling unused subscriptions and going car free. Although the last one is feasible only if you live in an area with public transportation, the rest are simple and applicable to all.
8 strategies for saving money from a couple that banked $50,000 last year
“We stopped a nasty habit we had of reading about great tips and then failing to implement them,” Matt writes. “Avoid our mistakes. … Literally, do something today from this list and start saving money.”
Savings For All
Millennials are often seen as “financial freewheelers,” Zach Witcher says in the first line of his New York Times article, For Millennials, It’s Never Too Early to Save for Retirement. This label actually doesn’t fit all of the 20-30 year olds currently in the workforce, many of whom are already putting money into savings. One important aspect of beginning to save early in life is the amount of time your investment has to grow. Check out the five examples in this article and see how your savings plan stacks up to these young workers.
Pink Collar?
As more and more traditionally male, “blue-collar” jobs disappear, a new trend of “pink-collar” work is on the rise. This is causing an interesting divide in the workplace where unemployed men are not willing to move into these jobs such as health aide. One that takes soothing and calm, a “woman’s touch,” one man quipped in the article, Why Men Don’t Want the Jobs Done Mostly by Women. Even as factories continue to close or automate, men are not seeking these types of middle-skill jobs. Although lack of training and need for extra schooling play a part, researchers and sociologists are finding that the biggest reason is how the jobs are viewed. At this point, many employers are turning to rebranding to encourage more men to apply. One such ad in a hospital compared the excitement of being a surgery nurse to the rush of mountain climbing.