income

Your Four Step Plan Towards Financial Healing – Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Syndrome

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In the current financial climate, many of us are under pressure to pay the bills, buy basic household items and meet our day to day expenses. Finding spare cash to pay off loans, save for your kids college expenses and to build up a decent retirement nest-egg seems like an impossible dream. Even having any [...]

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Poverty Guidelines, Thresholds and Income Limits for 2010 and 2011 – Nearly 50 Million Americans in Poverty

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[Updated - September 2011] According to the Census bureau, the official poverty rate in 2010 (latest data) was up to 15.1 percent, versus 14.3 percent in 2009 and 13.2 percent in 2008. This translates to nearly 50 million Americans in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008 and is the fourth consecutive annual increase, a [...]

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How to Reduce Your Tax Bill Liability By Lowering Your Taxable Income and Claiming More Deductions

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I recently filed my taxes and much to my disappointment I ended up owing taxes. While paying taxes is not itself a bad thing, after all I did not give an interest free loan to Uncle Sam, what really hurts is that if I had undertaken a few actions earlier in the year I could [...]

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2009 versus 2010 Federal Income Tax Bracket Tables and Standard Deduction Changes

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2010 Federal Income Tax Rate and Brackets and various tax benefits will remain unchanged or change only slightly over 2009 levels as shown in the table below. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), used by the IRS in calculating 2010 tax parameters, has been reviewed by many tax [...]

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Five Factors to Consider Before Buying into a Franchise Opportunity

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A slumping economy and the prospect of prolonged unemployment has led many workers to consider going to business themselves and because of the perceived safety, brand name and established support structures, franchising is often a popular option. In fact rather than use their redundancy payouts to pay off a chunk of the mortgage and other [...]

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The Many Paths to Riches and Wealth – Which One Are You On?

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We have all thought about being wealthy and rich, and what we would do if we had enough money to fund all our desires and take care of loved ones. However, how can you get rich? In reality there are only a few ways to do so and here I look at the main paths [...]

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America’s Income and Wealth Inequality

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Another great graphic from the Economist looking at income distribution across the world’s 30 OECD nations. America has by far the widest income distribution. The average American income is around $33,000 with the top 10% (or decile) of earners having an average $87,257 of disposable income, while those in the bottom decile have $5,819, among [...]

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Who Does the Finances and Money Management in Your Household?

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I do in my household. Doing the household finances is something I don’t mind, apart from seeing all the bills which means money going out the door. I also do the budgeting, taxes and investments. I have a natural affinity for all things finance, a reason I write this blog, and my wife thinks all this [...]

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Personal Budget Spreadsheet – How To Make It Work For You

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Let’s clear one misconception – creating a budget spreadsheet won’t make you any more money or make you rich. What it does is provide a framework to organize and track your finances. Ideally you would want to maintain a budget for six months to a year to get an idea of your spending patterns. You [...]

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