Guide to Donate a Car for Tax Credit

Guide to Donate a Car for Tax Credit.

The tax law have been enacted recently regarding the donation of vehicles. Not only a good thing to helps the charity but it also lowes the amount of tax you owe. If you want to donate your car to charity, ensure that the agency that you donate is legitimate and please keep very good records. Here is some information that may helps you.

Instructions

1. Get a paperwork in order which have the car’s registration and title because the charity will not receive a car without enough information. Make sure that you have the key of the car and make a photocopies of the document  and include it in a file with other tax receipts.  Only donation to the  501 ( c ) corporation will deduct your tax, so find a good reputable 501 ( c ) charity.

2. Take not that the charity cannot accept a car with an outstanding  or incomplete lien on it. Make sure the vehicle is free and clear of all liens. Contact the charity which you will sign the title over to it because some states will not allowed blank titles to be transferred so fill the name of the transferee.

3. If you have vans or trucks it also can be donated because the demand was more higher than the cars. Make the arrangement to pick up the car. They will accept the cars that not running. Speaks in representative to find out its particular regulations. They usually require the keys and the notarized copy of the title to be left in the car. Get noted that taking the Blue Book value is not allowed. Ensure that you get the receipt by email or electronically. The tax deduction can be claimed when the charity sell the car and they will provide receipt which include your name, the vin of the cars and amount of the sold.

4.  Save the receipt in a tax file because it is important. The sale amount is the tax deduction that you will get. This donation must be reported on  IRS Form 8283. The tax deduction can be taken on the current year you donate the cars or the next years. It depends on when the cars was sold. If the car was sold in the late year the tax deduction may be postponed to the next year.

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Tips to Save Extra Cash When Shopping

One technique to Save Money

As part of her small home based business, my friend offers free access to a large shopping website that offers her clients cash back on all of their purchases. This website is created to find everyone the best rates for the products they're looking for. My friend has impressed me with her use of this online shopping resource as well as her other methods to save extra cash on the same purchases. Through her shopping website, she purchases frequently products online that she buys on a regular basis.


Not spending lots of Money When Shopping in a Regular Store

My friend can have her shopping web-page installed into her cell phone which means she can check the bar code about any item she wishes to purchase while shopping in a store. She can then use her cell phone to do a quick search on her shopping website. If she finds it cheaper at another store online she can order it immediately. 

Additional Savings 

By shopping on her web-page she saves time, traveling money, and the energy required to find a bargain. Her web pages has a high search engine that could search over 5000 stores to find her the best buys on each item in addition to a drop down menu for each store giving her access to all of the current store sales and coupons. Since she lives in a rural area, there are several stores she would like to shop at but are not located nearby. Now she can shop at these stores through her website, earn cash back and participate in their sales while saving herself the expense of a long trip.

MORE TIPS HERE

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Lending Money to Family, Buddies

Does it seem like each time turn around, people are asking to borrow a few extra dollars to tide them over until payday? Do you feel as if all you do is pay bills but nothing ever looks like paid off?

A recent survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) discovered that roughly one in four elderly parents has gone into debt due to financial support they're providing to their children. In trying to help, parents take on car payments and health insurance payments for their kids, and even sometimes throw in some spending money.

And it's not just children who drain them financially. Relatives and friends seem to have their hands out asking for a few bucks or a cosignature on a loan.

In my book Zero Debt, I talk about things that ruin your budget — you might think of them as SCUM, for "Something Comes Up Monthly." It's supposed to explain why you need a cash cushion: because there will always be some unexpected event that comes up, such as the roof that leaks or the tire that goes flat.

But for many of you, SCUM could be an acronym for Some Child, Uncle or Mom — the people you are always financially bailing out!

In all seriousness, I recognize that it can be hard to say no to friends and relatives and that balancing money matters with real-life family issues is no laughing matter. The answers aren't always clear-cut.

Your hard-won wisdom might help someone else who is grappling with the question, "How can I help my family financially without sacrificing my own retirement?"

Despite the debts you may be repaying, there are ways to put yourself on solid economic ground. Come join us in the Pay Down Your Debt community.

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Tips for Student Loan Debt

When students graduate from college, they're hit immediately with bills from various angles. Look on the reality that the average college graduate has over $3,173 in credit card debt alone! More than that, the national student loan debt average is approaching a historic high of $30,000. While students can eliminate unbearable credit card payments through bankruptcy, there is little room for forgiveness with this kinds of debt.


What's even worse is the fact that the economy has yet to fully recover. The fact is, the unemployment rate for new college graduates can be short of 11 percent and its also reported that wages have decreased approximately 3.6% across the nation. Plus these statistics and rising student loan debt, young adults are finding themselves in a precarious situation. Since filing for bankruptcy won't alleviate loan pains, it's crucial for young adults to handle their money wisely.

Tips to Budget for Student Loan Debt


Student loan debt payments tend to have a long-term effect on credit history, budgets, and quality of life. By incorporating these tips, current college students and new graduates have the opportunity to manage their debt before it gets out of hand. These tips may also be used on other debts such as credit card debt to keep away from financial troubles. Young adults should:

• Anticipate upcoming expenses. It isn't sufficient to simply plan for debt payments. Take into consideration entire picture including car, rent, groceries, leisure, and any other expenses. For young adults still in college, now should be the good time to start with saving for a down payment on your future apartment or car. By worrying about it now, you can surely focus on student loan debt later. Saving for anticipated expenses also enables you pay in cash instead of putting it on a credit card, which will protect you from the need for bankruptcy.

• Maintain strong communication with lenders. If you know you are going to miss a payment or are really in a financial hardship, it's much better to contact your lender and ask for a deferment, forbearance or any other options than to miss a payment.

• Avoid paying student loan debt by using a credit card. For many young people struggling financially, there is the temptation to pay bills with a credit card. However, this only pushes over the eventual payment instead of actually paying it. Credit cards are going to have aggressive interest rates that accumulate quickly. Paying student loan debt with a credit card isn't a solid money management strategy and will cause further financial trouble down the road.

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Keys to Financial Success

Although making resolutions to develop your financial situation is a good action to take at any time of year, most people find it easier at the beginning of a new year. Regardless of when you begin, the basics remain the same. Here are top keys to getting ahead financially.

1. Get Paid What You're Worth and Spend Less Than You Earn

It sounds simplistic, but some people struggle with this first basic rule. Ensure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, by conducting an analysis of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do. Being underpaid even a thousand dollars annually may have a significant cumulative effect over the course of your working life.


No matter how much or how little you're paid, you'll never succeed in case you spend more than you earn. Often it's much easier to spend less than it is to earn more, and a little cost-cutting effort in a number of areas can lead to big savings. It doesn't always have to involve making big sacrifices.


2. Stick to a BudgetOne of the best subjects: budgeting. How can you know where your money is going if you don't budget? How can you set spending and saving goals if you don't know where your money is going? You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.


3. Pay Off Credit Card DebtCredit card debt is the primary obstacle to getting ahead financially. Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it's so simple to forget that it's real money we're dealing with when we whip them out to pay for a purchase, small or large. Despite our good resolves to pay the balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don't, and end up paying much more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash.


4. Lead to a Retirement PlanIf your employer has a 401(k) plan and you don't contribute to it, you're walking away from one of the best deals out there. Ask your employer if they have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan), and register today. In case you're already contributing, try to raise your contribution. In case your employer doesn't offer a retirement plan, consider an IRA.



5. Have a good Savings PlanYou've heard it before: Pay yourself first! If you delay until you've met all your other financial obligations before seeing what's left over for saving, chances are you'll never have a healthy savings account or investments. Resolve to reserved a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.


6. Invest!If you are truly contributing to a retirement plan and a savings account and you can still manage to put some money into other investments, all the better.


7. Maximize Your Employment BenefitsEmployment benefits such as a 401(k) plan, flexible spending accounts, medical and dental insurance, etc., are worth big bucks. Be sure that you're maximizing yours and taking advantage of the ones that could save you money by reducing taxes or out-of-pocket expenses.


8. Review Your Insurance CoveragesQuite a lot of people are talked into paying too much for life and disability insurance, whether it's by adding these coverages to car loans, buying whole-life insurance policies when term-life makes more sense, or buying life insurance when you have no dependents. However, it's important that you have enough insurance to protect your dependents and your income in the case of death or disability.


9. Update Your Will70% of Americans don't have a will. If you've got dependents, no matter how little or how much you own, you need a will. In case your situation isn't too complicated you can even do your own with software like WillMaker from Nolo Press. Protect anyone you care about. Write a will.


10. Keep Good Records

If you neglect to keep good records, you might be not claiming your entire allowable income tax deductions and credits. Setup a system now and apply it all year. It's much simpler than scrambling to find everything at tax time, only to miss items that might have saved you money.

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Financial Tips for Unmarried Couples

As well as young couples, older people tend to have a combination of incentives for establishing housekeeping together. Mutual attraction surely tops the list, but finances are often another driving force and might cause complications sometimes.

However before you consume the leap:

1. Record your arrangement on paper. “Don’t go into it without a written cohabitation agreement, same a ‘pre-nup,’ ” says Daniel Timins, a certified financial planner and estate-planning attorney in White Plains, N.Y. This is even more important, according to him, to protect the interests of your children or other kin.

Best drawn up by a lawyer and notarized, the agreement should spell out financial responsibilities — such as who pays what portion of the household expenses, how assets and debts will be divided if you break-up, and who gets the deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes.


2. Update your wills. An unmarried partner would not automatically inherit the other’s estate, so if you wish that to happen, you must modify will accordingly. You are also able to name your partner as the beneficiary of your retirement funds and life insurance policies. Before you decide to do this, however, make very sure that “your relationship has actually been thoroughly tested,” says Timins.

Do the right financial decisions before moving in together.


3. Keep assets separate. At least in the beginning, do this to keep away from disputes later, says Timins. This is a particular concern for older people, who are going to have more assets than younger singles. Stabilize own checking and savings accounts, credit cards, car payments, memberships, etc.



4. Decide who’ll own. In case you purchase a house together, consider what will be the effects if just one or both of you are on the title. If just one is there, that person is the legal owner of the property. The other, who may have contributed half of the mortgage payments, owns nothing and could get just that at the end of a relationship. 


If one of you moves into the other’s home, the person on the title owns the property at the end of the relationship, no importance who pays what portion of the bills. 


As for a mortgage, if you take one out jointly, you’ll both be responsible for paying it whether you remain to live together or not. If considered one of you stops, the other will be on the hook for the full amount. Because these matters are complicated and vital, always consult an expert before acting. 


5. Purchasing your health care papers in order. If you’re older, health care concerns loom larger. You’ll not have the legal right in order to make medical decisions for a partner who becomes incapacitated. You may even be denied visitation rights at the hospital. 
In order to avoid this situation, you can each sign a health medical release to allow the other to see medical information. A health-care proxy will permit you to make health care decisions on the other’s behalf.


6. Think power of attorney. If you’re certain you’ll be together till death do you part, you may wish to sign durable power-of-attorney documents conferring rights to make one another’s financial decisions and to get access to bank accounts if necessary.

Remember that you probably should limit some of your partner’s ability to manage your funds, especially regarding the possible transfer of your funds to his or her accounts.


7. Taking action immediately if things go sour. Finally, advises Timins, “If your predictions for the future don’t work out and you do part company, make haste to change all of the above!”

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