A question that I see often on forums for small and home based business owners is…

Why should I hire a tax professional?

There are several tax programs available to help you prepare your income taxes.  These programs work great for taxpayers with typical tax situations. 

However, when you are a small business owner, an off-the-shelf tax program may not be enough.  Even though a tax program may ask you a series of questions, it can’t anticipate every situation and every deduction that you may be eligible for.

If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you know that Kiplinger.com is one of my favorite websites for personal finance articles.  Kimberly Lankford does an Ask Kim column that I really enjoy.

This week’s question is about…

Investing for a Child
by Kimberly Lankford at Kiplinger.com

My son is 14 months old, and I would like to place a one-time lump sum amount ($2,000 to $4,000) in either mutual funds or a Roth IRA. I understand that the account will become his once he hits 18, but I would hope that the money could continue growing until he turns 65. What issues do I need to be aware of and which investment vehicle is preferred?

by Jenny McKinney of About.com

The Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement recently released a free online book entitled, What Women Need to Understand About Retirement.

According to this book,

• two-thirds of working women earn less than $30,000 a year
• almost one-half of all women work at jobs that don’t offer any retirement plans
• median income for retired women in 2004 was $12,080 as compared to men’s income of $21,102

This book is available to download or read online at www.womensretirement.org.

See also, Women Need Retirement Plans Too.