Money Quote

Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.  ~Author Unknown

I had to laugh when I read this quote.  I have suffered from car sickness my whole life, so I can relate. 

I paid off my car loan about a year ago, and this is the first time in my adult life that I have not had a car payment.  While I never suffered "car sickness" when I was making my car payments, the feeling of freedom that I have now that the loan is gone is incredible!

No Need to File a Second Tax Extension

Haven’t filed your taxes yet?  No problem. 

If you requested an automatic extension, you’ve got an additional two months to file.

The automatic extension used to be just for four months, but starting in 2006, it has been extended to six months.

So if you still haven’t filed and are frantically searching for the second extension form, you can relax. 

The next filing deadline isn’t until October 15, 2007.

(Note: the extension only extends the time to file, not the time to pay.  If you expect to owe taxes, you should file your tax return as soon as possible.)

Paying Down Debt on Mom’s Money

I was recently interviewed by Carrie Lauth of Mom’s Money about paying down debt. On this show, we talked about the two most popular debt repayment plans – paying the highest interest debts first or paying the smallest balance debts first.

To listen, go to Mom’s Money and click on show #8.

To learn more about getting out of debt, please check out my new ebook, Living Debt Free .

New! Tax and Accounting Solutions for WAHMs

As a home based business owner and a CPA, I get a lot of questions about taxes.  WAHMs and home based business owners want to know how to report their income, whether they need a tax ID number, how to make estimated tax payments, and many more questions. 

I have been answering questions on my blog and on several WAHM forums for a while now, but as the questions keep coming, I realize that home based business owners need more help than I can provide on a blog/forum.  As a result, I am now offering the following services to help other home based business owners with their financial and tax planning needs:

What’s all this talk about a Subprime Meltdown?

You’ve probably heard about the subprime meltdown in the news lately.  You may even know that it’s about mortgages.  But do you really understand what the subprime meltdown is, and how it affects the economy?

It’s important that you understand events that affect the economy and how they may affect your own finances. 

Bankrate.com has a special section that talks about the subprime meltdown, including what it is, what the government is doing to avoid similar problems in the future, and how this impacts consumers.

Special Section: Subprime Mortgage Industry Meltdown

The Kiddie Tax Rules Change – Again

If your children have custodial accounts – a UTMA or UGMA – and they will have college costs soon, you should consider taking account gains this year. 

The Kiddie Tax used to be for children under age 14.  In 2006 the rule was changed so that kids under the age of 18 were affected.  Starting in 2008 children under age 19 and children who are still dependents who are under age 24 will be subject to the Kiddie Tax rules. 

Under the Kiddie Tax rules, income over $1,700 earned by children (as defined above) is taxed at the parent’s tax rate instead of the child’s tax rate. 

Money Quotes

"You must become a financial success in your thinking long before you achieve it in your reality"  –Brian Tracey

I love quotes, poems and prayers.  I have decided to add any that catch my attention – and that relate to money or personal finance – as I see them.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Rates Left Unchanged

As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates alone at their meeting today.

They did express concerns about the credit industry however.  Problems in the debt and housing markets could lead to rate cuts later this year.

Click here to read more about the meeting today and to read the Fed’s statement.

Do You Need a Resale Certificate?

A few days ago I blogged about how to get your Federal tax ID number.  Today I want to talk about the resale certificate. 

If you purchase items to sell on the internet, or if you purchase materials/supplies to make items to sell on the internet, you are not required to pay sales tax on the items you purchase that are for resale or go into the final product for resale.

When you purchase items or materials, the vendor you are buying from will want to see a "resale certificate" before they will remove the sales tax from your order.

How to Entertain Children for $1 or Less (Without TV)

by Trent at The Simple Dollar

A brilliant article appeared on Lifehacker today entitled 10 Ways To Entertain Young Children For $1 Or Less (Without The TV). Here are the author’s ten suggestions in a nutshell, but the article itself is well worth reading:

Large cardboard boxes
Rubber band and pencil crazy bot
Make a paper popper
Home Depot Kids Workshop
Plant something
Water sprinkler
Bubbles bubbles everywhere
Catch fireflies
Paper airplanes
Tin can and string telephone

I will say that I do several of these with my toddler son on a regular basis. He is a huge fan of cardboard boxes and bubbles are a regular yard activity.

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