When anyone starts working for themselves, they go in thinking they need the same office supplies they had where they used to work. We purchase things in volume, things such as pens and pencils, staples, notepads, and paper clips, along with a lot of other junk.
Years later I still had almost all of that stuff because, it turns out, very few small or independent businesses need things like that. It might make sense to buy one of each of those things just in case but buying in bulk as I did… stupid move. Continue reading 5 Things Small Businesses Need To Purchase At The Start→
Few of us wants to think about our future; we want to live for the here and now. However, the here and now is what we need to think about because we’ll find the future upon us quicker than we were expecting it to be. Suddenly we might find ourselves not having enough money to live on, let alone in comfort, or at least in the manner we were living when we were earning our money.
There was a report on our local news stating that most people who retire and had set up a 401K savings plan don’t have close to enough money to live the life they’re used to living. The average comes in around $149,000, which sounds like a lot of money until you think about just how long you might have to live off it. Continue reading How Much Money Do You Need For Your Retirement?→
When you feel like you can’t pay your bills, the pressure is enormous; we’re all been there. Sometimes the pressure is so great that you don’t know what to do or where to start, so you don’t do anything. Trust me, that’s the worst thing you could ever do.
At some point, when all seems hopeless, maybe you start thinking about bankruptcy. This can be a way of starting over, but bankruptcy of today isn’t like it used to be. You don’t always get everything taken care of; there are still some things you’re liable for, such as student loans and taxes. You also have to deal with that 7-year period of limbo, in some cases 10 years, where your life is pretty much on hold if you want to buy something but need credit to help you out. Continue reading 5 Things To Think About Before Declaring Bankruptcy→
Once again a timely yet not evergreen article as we close out 2019 and the decades of the 2010’s. There aren’t a lot of changes for 2020 but we still have a few things we’d like to get out to the masses.
Let’s start with personal taxes. Standard deduction has increased to $24,400 for joint fining, $12,200 for single, while the personal exemption has been eliminated. Most filers won’t be able to itemize any longer unless you have a qualified business. Child tax credit has doubled to $2000 per child under age 17. There’s also a temporary credit of $500 per dependent in 2019 called the Family Tax Credit. Continue reading Tax Law Changes 2019→
It’s been a while since we wrote about budgeting and credit cards. It’s time to reinforce the importance of understanding each of these and learning how to use your knowledge to either get control of credit cards or totally eliminate your credit card debt.
Before you decide to take action on your debt you need to know what it is. Whether it’s doing some kind of debt consolidation or filing bankruptcy, you need to know what your expenses and income is to first find out if you’re in real financial trouble or just need to get a handle on your spending. Continue reading Figuring Out Your Credit Card Debt→
Accounting & Financial Advice from the Syracuse NY area
