I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Increase Your Tax Return through Deductibles

Now that the holidays are over many have begun thinking in advance about their taxes. The tax return is often that way that many households get their finances back on track and put a little extra in their savings accounts for rainy days. However, simply filing your taxes as quickly as possible isn’t always the best way to get the most out your return.

If you are looking to get a few extra dollars back on your return this year, make sure that you check over your taxes twice to see if there are any write offs you qualify for. Deductibles can quickly add up and can dramatically increase your return if filed for properly. A few deductions that are often over looked include:

Student Loan Interest

If you’ve been paying down student loans all year, you will definitely be able to write off the amount you have paid in interest. As long as you have paid over $600 in interest, the company from which you are borrowing from will send you Form 1098-E which will show you just how much interest you have paid and can write off.

Relocation Expenses

If you were lucky enough to secure a new job in 2011, there is a good chance that you will be able to write off the cost of moving. As long as your new job was 50 miles or more away from your previous residence, you can write off the cost of gas, accommodations, and other necessities needed for moving.

Job Hunting Expenses

Whether or not your job hunt was successful, you may be entitled to a deduction for even trying to hunt for a new job. In order to qualify for the deduction, you must be searching for a job in your related field and the expenses incurred must total more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income.

Volunteer Mileage

When most people think of charitable contributions, they think that only the dollar amount donated can be considered a tax write off. However, this isn’t true. If you donated goods, you can write the dollar amount off, and if you spent gas money driving to and from a volunteer destination, that can also be written off.

Going Green

If you purchased energy efficient appliances or made green updates to your home in 2011, you can write those purchases off on your taxes. Just make sure that all of those appliance and home updates are actually Energy Star or deemed EPA efficient in order to qualify. While some updates may not be written down as a deduction, you may be able to receive tax credits for them.

In order to get the most out of your tax return, make sure that you take the time needed to run through all your old receipts and purchases to see if there aren’t a few extra things that can be written off. Who knows. You may find just enough deductions to get your savings back in the black, and still have enough left over to give yourself a bit of a vacation.

Avoiding Hidden Costs in Your Apartment Search

If you’re in the hunt for a new apartment, you probably have a pretty good conception of your target neighborhood, your ideal price range, and the amenities you expect to find in any prospective place. You can walk into a building, quickly assess the kitchen, size, and upkeep, and easily arrive at verdict regarding that property. The apartment search can certainly be long, overwhelming, and challenging, but most people will know what they like – and what they don’t – as soon as they see it.

But all the while, it’s always important to keep an eye out for hidden costs and fees. While an apartment may seem great on the surface, and although it might rent for a price that perfectly fits your budget, an assortment of sneaky charges could quickly make you regret your decision as soon as that lease is signed.

On this note, here are some of those hidden fees are charges that you should look for (and avoid) during your apartment search:

Added Maintenance and Utilities Charges

While the rental market differs from place to place, in most cities there is a standard arrangement when it comes to utilities costs: the tenant pays for gas, electric, and cable, while the landlord covers water, sewer, and general maintenance costs. Many people will sign a lease without even considering whether this standard arrangement is in place. Some sneaky landlords will charge for water and sewer. Some will even pass the cuts for snow shoveling, lawn moving, and bush trimming onto the renter. Since these maintenance costs can run high at certain times of the year, make sure that these expenses are not your responsibility.

General Apartment Repairs

Most apartment leases will stipulate that the tenant is responsible for damages if, for example, they break the front window during a night of intoxication. This is a fair policy. But the tenant should not be liable for general upkeep charges, such as if the dishwasher stops working or the ceiling fan breaks. It is therefore important that you discuss these hypotheticals with your landlord before even signing the lease. At the same time, you may want to request that the landlord upgrade the bathroom or bring in residential painters before the lease is signed. They are more likely to be amenable to such costs while you still possess the leverage.

Rent Penalties

All apartment leases will mention the penalties that are charged for rent checks that arrive late. Even if you are a highly responsible tenant, there’s always the chance that your rental check may be a day or two late from time to time. For this reason, you may want to assess the leniency of the landlord before signing a lease. Ask them if they’ll charge you for the occasional late payment. If they give you a promise of leniency, you can probably take them at their word.

These are just a few of the major hidden costs that can be buried deep within an apartment lease. Before you make any commitment to a new place, make sure that you assess the landlord and read the lease closely. You’ll likely be glad that you did.

DIY Projects that Will Save You Money in Winter

Winter is upon us and for many that means bundling up and dealing with high heating bills. While many find paying the utility bill a bit troublesome in the summer due to high AC costs, a bitter winter can lead to even higher bills. However, there are a few quick projects you can do around your home to keep that heating bill low during those cold winter months:

Weatherstripping

If you have an older home, there is a good chance that your home has settled over the last couple of years leaving slight cracks between your doors and windows and their frames. These slight gaps between your windows and doors and their frames can cause major cold air drafts to enter your home, forcing your heater to work even harder. To prevent these drafts, place weatherstripping around your doors and windows.

Uncover All Vents

Due to the placement of many vents, several households may block a couple of their household vents for the better placement of furniture or area rugs. Before firing up that heater, be sure to uncover all the vents in your household – even if it requires some rearranging – so that you can allow your heater to be more efficient.

Insulating Curtains

Surprisingly enough, your windows themselves allow for the passing of a lot of cold air, unless they are multi-paned newer windows. To keep the cold air outside, consider hanging some thicker, insulated curtains during the winter. They will also prevent light from coming in, but the savings they will add to your utility bill is definitely worth it. If you don’t want to sacrifice natural light, however, you can also choose to purchase insulating film – a clear, plastic wrap looking film that adheres to your windows via a hair dryer.

Avoid the Fireplace

Unless you have a fireplace insert, using it to supplement your heater this winter may actually cost you more. Fires actually suck heat out of a room so a fire in a traditional fireplace won’t provide much for your home besides ambiance. If you want to keep the heat in your home, keep the fire out and the fireplace damper closed as heat rises and will escape from the chimney if it is not closed.

Even with colder temps and numerous holidays, winter doesn’t need to be synonymous with high spending. In fact, by keeping a little more vigilant about your home, and of that thermostat, you can easily keep your spending reasonable, and keep a few extra dollars in your pocket this winter.

Keeping Track Of Finances The Old Fashioned Way

A good way to save money is to keep track of the money you do spend. This seems fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people do not tabulate their daily, weekly, or monthly expenses. Before you know it, you can’t pay your rent and you’re taking out a loan in order to pay for your groceries. This could have been avoided by simply being aware of the money that’s in your bank account.

Whats interesting is that money mismanagement actually seems to affect working people more than the unemployed, as unemployed people tend to be more aware of the money in their account, down to the last dollar. Working people tend to think that with their bi-weekly influx of money, they no longer have to worry about their spending habits. Yet, it’s pretty well established that many Americans live at the edge of their income and often fall into debt in spite of a high income. Why? Excessive spending? Well, yes. But more to blame is a failure to track finances.

There are a number of software programs and mobile apps that can help you add up and archive your expenses but sometimes the best way to do it is the old fashioned way. Get a big dry erase board calendar or make your own (your first savings of the day). Start by tabulating how much money you make everyday. Go ahead and deduct taxes. This gives you a truer picture of your take-home income. Next, on a day to day basis, keep the receipts of every dollar you spend. At the end of each day add them up and write how much money you spent. To the right of that number write how much money you earned that day. Hopefully, the number on the left is considerably smaller. If on a consistent basis it’s not, you’re probably in debt.

Assuming the number on the left is smaller, you must next add up the costs of your monthly bills—including cell phones, car insurance, credit card, groceries, utilities, rent etc—and then divide by thirty. This will help you determine how much money per day you must spend on the cost of living. Once you have this number, add it to the number on the left. This is how much money you actually spent that day. It’s probably not so much less than the number on the right now. This will give you an illustration of how much money you actually save each day. From there you can begin to tweak your discretionary spending.

Finally, especially now during tax season, you might want to take some time to confirm that you did your taxes properly. Take a quick peek at the 2011 tax brackets and your withholding to see if you’re paying the right amount. If not, start saving now as part of your budget so you don’t get a shock in April.

Finances, whether it’s the old fashioned way or not, is about planning and preparation.

Why You Shouldn’t Open a Store Card

We’ve all had it happen. You walk into your favorite department or retail store and are quickly greeted by an employee asking you if you want to sign up for an in-store card. If they don’t catch you there, the store clerk will put you on the spot at the register and ask you if you’d like to sign up to receive 15 percent off today’s purchase. While in-store cards may seem harmless and like a good way to build up credit, they can actually do more harm than good.

You’ll Spend More

Retail stores offer in-store cards because they know they will make money off the interest and because they know you will spend more. Because you have an in-store card in hand that promises 5 percent off every purchase you make in-store with it, you will be more likely to return to that store and be more likely to spend more to increase your “savings.” The concept is much like couponing. Sure, you didn’t need 10 cans of Manwich, but you bought them all because you had a coupon to get 10 for $10 when you really only needed one for a $1.40.

The Benefits Are Terrible

Most credit cards offer cash back rewards, frequent flyer miles, or even college savings programs. In-store cards only give you benefits to be used in-store such as 10 percent discounts or $5 off your next purchase. Not only are the benefits bad, but you can only earn them by shopping in store – yet another way the card gets you to spend more money than you intended.

You Can’t Use it Anywhere Else

Another drawback of an in-store card is that you can’t use it anywhere but the store in which it came from. While this may seem like a perk, if you are actually interested in a credit card for credit building purposes, this is actually a detriment. Instead of getting a card that can be used only in one place, get one that can be used for an occasional gas purchase or dinner out – and that will give you points for those types of purchases.

The only time you should ever consider applying for a store based credit card is when a Visa or Mastercard logo is attached. Usually stores that offer cards backed by major credit card companies have better rewards programs, better interest rates, and can be used on outside purchases. Otherwise, stay away from the in-store credit card, and clip the Sunday coupon to get that 20 percent off your purchase that clerk keeps offering you.