Tax Credit

A tax credit is a direct credit off your taxes. This makes tax credits well worth looking into. Usually they are done as an incentive for taxpayers to buy or engage in some kind of new purchase that is good for the environment or the community. For example there is a tax credit for buying one of those new hybrid cars for something like the first 60,000 cars sold to incentivize people to go out and buy them, so the car companies can afford the R&D to make the hybrid cars that will be good for the environment successfully. The credit gets deducted straight from the total amount of taxes that normally would be due.
There are generally all sorts of tax credits like:

• Child tax credits ??so much for each child


• Working tax credit ??for certain types of work


• Working family tax credits


• Family tax credit


• Inland revenue tax credit


• Disabled person tax credit


• Pensioners tax credit

Definitely look up the tax credits you are entitled to by the city, state, and country in which you live. There are different tax credits for the UK and the US and even within the US they tend to vary from state to state. Nowdays it is relatively easy to look up your tax credits at your local governments website online. Some tax authorities even have tax credit forms online or applications for working family tax credits online. New tax credits come and go every year, so check each year both before you do your taxes and whenever you hear about new laws being passed for new tax credits to plan ahead to use them.

Laying Down a Solid Financial Foundation for Your Future Retirement

Laying Down a Solid Financial Foundation for Your Future Retirement

Many Americans are spending more and saving less than they need to in order to assure the kind of retirement many hope to have.  Here are 6 tips for preparing for your retirement.

Don't Depend On the Government or Your Employer - Social Security is getting perilously close to going bankrupt.  When Social Security started, there were 40+ workers for each beneficiary.  Now it's down to 3.4 workers supporting each beneficiary.  Because workers are living into their eighties and nineties, employee pensions plans are also having trouble staying afloat.  Already, failing pension plans are "overwhelming the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which insures private pensions. The PBGC could require a taxpayer bailout in coming years, which no doubt would come with significantly reduced guarantees."

Spend Less:  the Latte Factor - If you were to save that $5 you spend on a cup of coffee and a muffin each day, you could save $1,825 a year.  A 401(k) with  a 50% company match you help you build up $1.7 million over 40 years.

Pay Off Your Credit Cards - Commit 5% of your income (pre-tax) to paying off your credit card balance.

Pay Down Your Mortgage - Add 2 extra mortgage payments each year and retire a 30-year mortgage in just 15 years.

Be Realistic about Potential Inheritances - Don't expect to receive a significant inheritance.  If you do receive an inheritance, don't blow it on a fun toy instead of paying off debt.  Expect that this inheritance is the one chance you?™ll have to help pay off your car or house debt.

Prepare for Your Future With Long-Term Insurance - Avoid paying substantial nursing home or extensive in-home costs out-of-pocket.  Along with getting generous life insurance to support your family, make sure your health insurance includes long-term care.

Ken Dychtwald is a financial columnist for Yahoo! Finance.  This is a summary taken from his article ?œLay Down the Foundations of Your Financial Freedom??  You can find the full text at http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/retirement/4996

How Costly is a Lower Credit Score?

More than you think.??According to MyFico and Bankrate.com, a person with a credit score between 675 and 699 can pay over $30,000 (on a $200,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage) more than a person with a credit score between 720 and 850.??$30,000 more over the life of the loan!??That?™s $30,000 than could have been invested toward retirement.??A consumer with a credit card score between 620 and 674 would pay about $87,000 more, and one with a score between 560 and 619 could pay an astonishing $127,000 more.Common sense and an MIT study have confirmed that people are willing to spend more money when they have a credit card in hand instead of cash.??Oftentimes it?™s the series of little unnecessary, impulse purchases that start to get us in trouble.??So when you feel like a shopping pick-me-up or you?™re looking for lower-end item or two, bring a shopping list and cash and leave your credit card at home.For more info, go to http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/060420/17601.html?.v=1 (The lowdown on low scores: Real cost is staggering) and http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/moneyhappy/2227 (Beware Credit Cards Bearing Gifts).

Setting Financial Priorities

Do you find that in chasing the good life you don?™t have much left over at the end of the month?  Do you keep making resolutions to start saving more but find you keep running out of money and time?

Sit down and write down your basic goals.  What do you do you value the most?  Is it time with your kids?  Maybe you can pare down their after-school activities to one a week and instead have them home working on projects and homework with you.  Do you pride yourself on how you dress?  Plan a basic wardrobe that you can mix and match.  Buy quality (clothes that will last for years and not be out of fashion) and consider buying a couple of designer pieces that are gently used.  You might find you need a much smaller wardrobe that you thought.  Are you buying more things than you need to fill a space of loneliness inside?  Fill your time doing activities with friends or joining clubs instead of using retail therapy.  Examine your goals.  Maybe belonging to a gym is right for you, or maybe you have the self-discipline to do well with exercise videos and a daily walk around the block.  Money.com has more suggestions that function well as a starting point.  As you go forward you?™ll find more specific and advanced financial suggestions on this site, but these function well as a starting point.

1. Narrow your objectives.
2. Focus first on the goals that matter.
3. Be prepared for conflicts.
4. Put time on your side.
5. Choose carefully.
6. Include family members.
7. Start now.
8. Sweat the big stuff.
9. Don't sweat the small stuff.
10. Be prepared for change.

See http://money.cnn.com/pf/101/lessons/1/index.html for the entire article.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a way to fool consumers into giving up their credit account information.  E-mails are sent to you that appear to be from Ebay, PayPal, or another legitimate organization.  The e-mail says that there is a problem with your account and you need to log on with your credit account password or credit information in order to take care of the problem.  It might ask you to reply with that information.  It might have a link that takes you to a website that appears legitimate.  However, when these criminals get a hold of even your password, they can charge things on your account before you know it.

What should you do if you?™re not sure if an e-mail is legitimate or not?  Go to the actual website instead of clicking on the link in your e-mail.  Log in and check your account information. Another option is to call the official phone number.  For example, clicking on a link on a fake e-mail might take you to an official-sounding site like www.ebaysupport.com or www.paypalhelp.com (these are examples I made up,) that has nothing to do with the real site.  Instead, go to www.ebay.com or www.paypal.com (or whatever the official site is for the company listed on the e-mail) and log in.  Ebay will have a Messages section that will include a message from Ebay if the issue is real.  If you would rather phone via the 1 (800) number, look at the bottom of the home page or click on a Contact Us link to find the phone number.  

The bottom line is, never give your personal or credit information to anyone who contacts YOU, unless you know them well.  Instead, you can go to the official website or company phone number and verify that you are really speaking to Ebay, PayPal, or whatever company the e-mail purports to be from.  Never be in a rush to give your information out.

For more information, read ??em>How Do I Spot, Avoid 'Phishing' Scams???at http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060502/biz_good_question.html?.v=1.

Welcome to Credit Straight Talk

Hello & Welcome to Credit Straight Talk - A site dedicated to researching and informing the public about ways to manage and improve their credit