Digital Business Views » Finance

Could a Boat be a Tax Write Off?

kathrynv — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:32:52 +0000

As a freelance employee it is important for me to make sure that I keep track of every expense that could be a write-off when tax time comes around. Lately I’ve been trying to justify buying a boat. I’m hoping to figure out a way that this could be a tax write off.

My freelance business involves doing many different things for my clients. The majority of those things have to do with freelance writing. Of course, this is something that I could do from almost any location. I could definitely do it from a boat if I wanted to. So technically I could work on the boat but I don’t think that’s enough to qualify the boat as a tax write off.

Maybe if I wrote a book about the boat then it would count as a tax write off. Maybe I could write an instructional guide to help new boat owners learn about Mercruiser Parts, Evinrude Parts and whatever else they might need to buy for their boats. Ooh, or maybe I could travel around the world and write a memoir about my boating adventures.

Hm. Okay so I guess I’m not going to be able to justify the expense in this way. A boat probably isn’t going to pass as a tax write off in my line of work. But I’ll keep thinking about it just in case I come up with a more creative way to make it happen!

Technorati Tags: Evinrude Parts, Mercruiser Parts

Saving Money Starts with Thinking about Purchases

kathrynv — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:50:22 +0000

Someone who is interested in saving money needs to start with one simple rule: think before you buy! The majority of the money that we waste is spent on impulse buys and purchases that we don’t completely think through before we make them. By learning to slow down and make conscious buying a part of your daily life you’ll be able to start saving money immediately.

Some purchases are relatively easy to think through because the purchases are simple. For example, let’s say that you see a new shirt and you want to buy it. To think through this purchase you would want to ask yourself a few questions including whether you really need it, whether it supplements what’s already in your closet and whether or not you can afford it. This type of thinking helps you to see if this is really a good purchase or just an impulsive waste of money.

Some purchases take a bit more thinking through because they involve ongoing expenses. For example, you may want to get a new dog for your family. You would have to consider not only the initial cost of getting the dog but also the cost of expenses such as food, dog toys, medical care and extras like pet beds. Thinking through those purchases is a bit tougher but it’s even more important than thinking through the small buys.

Technorati Tags: dog toys, pet beds

Job fair to feature mortgage training experts

digiViewer — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:44:19 +0000

Our college placement office has started doing something that seems to hold much promise as it relates to the age old job fair. Now, instead of simply advertising that there will be a job fair on a certain date, they have begun to list out those companies that plan on being in attendance, as well as what they specialize in.

photo credit: kwalk628

And just as importantly, where available to the placement office, they are releasing any specific positions the attending firms may be looking for. And related to this, is an expanded listing of any education or certification programs that may have representation at the fair.

In the upcoming job fair, mortgage training seems to be highlighted with a number of representatives in attendance. I suppose this makes sense given the current state of economic affairs in this country.

I even noticed a listing for Safe mortgage licensing with several links to further information about how the industry is now required to have specific guidelines for ongoing education in the mortgage industry.

By providing students like myself with this sort of advance information, I can do my homework well ahead of time and really take advantage of having those company’s representatives being on our campus. And that has to help in the search for the right job for my future.

Technorati Tags: Mortgage Training, Safe mortgage licensing

My Kids are Going to College

Digi — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:09:34 +0000

When my kids were smaller it seemed like they would never grow up. It felt like they’d be little forever, but before I knew it they were growing up faster than I could keep up. I looked at a college savings fund when they were little but I kept putting it off thinking I had time to worry about matters like that. Unfortunately, I never did revisit the college funds and now my oldest is going into their first year at a university and isn’t eligible for financial aid.

I feel totally blind sided because I will not be able to comfortably pay for tuition and I don’t want them to rack up students loans. I knew I needed some help being more creative about this so I met with my financial advisor who suggested I check out my life insurance information. I wasn’t sure how that was going to help me but after reviewing the policy the advisor explained I was able to use my life insurance premiums to finance my kids college.

I am so relieved to find that premium financing was an option. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted and I can put my kids through college as planned.

Technorati Tags: college savings, life insurance information, life insurance premiums

Do Not Make a Mistake

Digi — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:15:31 +0000

Long Term Disability Insurance is something that every person should always know about and really look into because it can make a world of difference for their life and their livelihood in the terrible event that anything should ever happen to leave a person disabled and unable to function as they used to. There is Dentist Disability Insurance that is available for exactly that reason, and I would strongly recommend that all dentists look into it because I have personal experience with one who did not.

The dentist that I have gone to ever since I was a little kid was just the best guy and the best dentist any person could ever ask for. I always liked going to him, even when I was at the age that little kids do not really understand all the good that a dentist is doing for them and only sees how scary and uncomfortable it is. Even then, I loved going to him because he was so nice and always told me what was going on. But when he was injured in a car accident, his kindness could not save him or his family. They had not taken out disability insurance and they lost everything. It was very sad.

Technorati Tags: dentist, dentist disability insurance, Long Term Disability Insurance

I Wish I Was Like My Brother

Dianne — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:55:10 +0000

I feel like I have been trying to pay off all of my stupid student credit cards and personal loans for the last twenty years of my life. I do not know how I got into this massive load of debt but I sure regret having let it happen because it is not any fun having to dig and dig and dig your way back out of it. I have worked so many jobs over the past few years to try to make ends meet while still paying off these bills that they have completely killed my morale and some of them even my sense of self esteem. I mean let’s face it; no one wants to work at McDonald’s after finishing a full day of work at another job.

I am really envious of my little brother. He is younger than me and yet he must be smarter than me because he has not encountered any of this debt stuff that has so completely taken over and run my life for me for the past twenty years. He has never gotten into trouble either financially or legally and is just the luckiest guy to be able to do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it because he does not have to worry about how is he going to pay off the next bill.

Technorati Tags: brother, personal loans, student credit cards

Taking Advantage of my Christmas Bonus

DigiBi — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:36:01 +0000

Though Christmas has been here and gone, I have just started to think about how I am going to use my Christmas bonus. The company that I work for had a really great year last year, and their bonuses were much more generous than normal.

I know that we could use the money to pay down our mortgage, buy the kids new bikes, or even reduce our credit card debt. But quite frankly, none of those choices gets me excited at all, and I feel that since it is a “bonus” that I would be doing a disservice to myself if I just used it for something practical.

So, I have been eyeing some sites that offer Orlando Florida villas as a possible use for the money. We haven’t had the chance to take a real vacation for some time now, but since we only have one kid left at home, I think it is about time that we treat ourselves for a change.

All I have to do now is convince my wife that staying at an Orlando villa will be a relaxing experience for both of us - I might just have to offer to cook for us while we are there so she does get a real break.

Technorati Tags: Orlando Florida villas, Orlando villa

Life Insurance Financing Help

Digi — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:54:26 +0000

As you consider the many ways to add protection to your investments, consider life insurance financing. This is what I am doing and I am seeing a much better bottom line in my future than I would have with other policies. The goal here is to know what you need and what you do not need. This is where the problem often lies when you talk about any type of insurance. That and there are countless problems with premium finance theft and other programs that just do not put the funds in the right hands. I have not had to deal with these in my history and because I have taken steps to avoid it, I will not be dealing with it in the future, either.

I am not an expert in premium finance life insurance, but I do know that there are some great programs out there that can help individuals who have worked hard all their lives to be rewarded for it. It does take some qualifications but if you have to ask yourself about these, then the policy is not right for you. Take a few minutes to consider the cost of retiring and the cost of medical expenses in later years of life. It is amazing the cost and little anyone can do to defray them.

Technorati Tags: life insurance financing, premium finance life insurance, premium finance theft

How to Raise Money Fast Online

swan480 — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:31:03 +0000

Making money online is fast and easy

The Internet is great not only as a place to find free information and shop, but also for raising money quickly and easily.

For instance, one way that people can make money quickly online is to sell off their unwanted (or unneeded) valuables, i.e., sell gold jewelry. There are sites such as eBay, Craigslist, online newspapers and classifieds, and even online pawn shops that enable you to have a sort of online garage sale and raise money quickly and easily.

PayPal makes it extremely easy to sell gold for cash and raise money online. This service allows you to receive money quickly and easily using your email address as your account ID. There are also protections for the buyer and seller built into PayPal, which helps you out when you are selling jewelry at the current gold value.

I personally love selling online. You get the money so quickly that selling online can really help you if you get into a bind. And if you don’t have any valuables to sell, you can also sell services online — i.e. freelancing writers, graphic artists, typists, etc. all can sell their skills online, and their income is limited only by how many extra hours they want to work.

[tags]sell gold jewelry, sell gold for cash, PayPal, gold value, freelance writers, graphic artists[/Tags]

Technorati Tags: freelance writers, gold value, graphic artists, PayPal, sell gold for cash, sell gold jewelry

How To Simplify Your Life

Digi — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:23:07 +0000

I must admit I have never been very interested in all the issues around financial management and dealing with credit. Unfortunately this lack of interest, no pun intended, resulted in some rather poor decisions and soon I found myself behind on my payments. Everything really snowballed and I though that I was sinking in debt and was probably going to have to declare bankruptcy to finally get out from under.

That didn’t happen because I found out that I was able to qualify for a debt consolidation loan. This program allowed me to combine my student loan payments, payments on my credit card; some cash advance loans that were outstanding as well as some outstanding medical bills all on one lower monthly payment. Debt consolidation programs work with both the borrower and the lender to set up a reasonable schedule of payments while helping to control the interest and even lower the full amount of the outstanding balance. I am now working closely with an advisor that has been really helpful in organizing my finances and helping me to learn what I need to know to keep moving forward in paying off everything. If everything keeps going on track I will be completely debt free in just two years, something that I am definitely going to look forward too.

Technorati Tags: cash advance loans, consolidation loan, credit card