Businesses Built on Fear
Have you ever purchased a product because you were afraid of what would happened if you didn’t? Many businesses in the United States thrive due to the emotional response of its customer base. One of…
Category Archives: Finance
Want to Get Audited? Apply for Homebuyer Credit
WASHINGTON — Here’s a good way to get audited by the Internal Revenue Service this year: claim the new homebuyer tax credit. About a fifth of all IRS examinations done by mail in the past…
America’s Back! Let’s Just Hope Newsweek Doesn’t Jinx the Recovery
America is Back!, Newsweek declares this week. Cover-story author Daniel Gross says the economy is making a strong comeback, defying the odds and surprising the naysayers. “The turnaround we’ve had since [Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy], while…
How to Not Get Audited by the IRS
With increased computer power and more money for staff from the Obama administration, the IRS is gearing up to intensify its audits of individual taxpayers. High income alone is far from the only factor triggering…
11 Tax Deductions You Can’t Actually Write Off
Although the tax code permits a wide range of deductions for taxpayers in various situations, thousands of filers routinely claim deductions for various types of expenses that are in fact non-deductible. Here is a list…
Doing the Math on Coupons
They’re back in fashion, with good reason: An hour spent cutting and clipping can yield about $100 in savings. Clipping coupons hardly sounds like the subject of high finance — or even medium finance. Save…
Issuer of 79.9% Interest Rate Credit Card Defends Its Product
APR Shocks Many, but Issuer Says They Are Pricing for the Risk If you have bad credit in the new era of credit card regulation, be prepared to pay — dearly — for the privilege…
Avoid an Audit: 6 ‘Red Flags’ You Should Know
If history is any indicator, less than 1% of Americans will be audited by the Internal Revenue Service in the coming year. And while some of these audits are totally random, and there’s nothing that…
A Roomy 178 Square Feet
THE tins of seasoning on top of Zach Motl’s refrigerator – Old Bay, Hungarian paprika, Madras curry powder – are for show only, chosen for their graphic punch and nifty typefaces. Living in a room…
5 Reasons You Should Consider a Roth IRA
When it comes to opening an individual retirement account, should you go with a traditional IRA or a Roth? Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs have their own unique benefits, but new rules in 2010 allow…
Forget the Mortgage, I’m Paying My Credit Card Bill
Amid high unemployment and sliding home prices, a growing number of struggling consumers are doing what was once considered unthinkable: paying their credit card bills instead of their mortgages. A recent study developed by TransUnion…
The Least-Trusted Banks in America
Customers of the biggest banks in the United States are the least likely to believe their financial institution does what’s best for them as opposed to what’s best for the bottom line, according to a…
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