|
|
|
African Americans: A Look in the Mirror, Part 2
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. James 1:23-24 The black community...
Deliberate Attraction
Learn how to put the Law of Attraction to work for you. Learn how to let the cosmic waitress deliver exactly what you order!
Deliberate Attraction Ive known about the law of attraction ever since I said to my kids, Dont spill your milk,...
Don't Ignore The Signs: How Emotional Infidelity Can Ruin Your Relationship
Emotional infidelity can start with a simple hi or a wink. It begins in a boardroom or a chatroom.
One spouse says, "What's the problem? We're only friends."
The other spouse can't believe the reassurances. So the jealousy builds and a wedge is...
Self Esteem
Self Esteem, how does one find it, low self esteem, how
does one get it?
Esteem: (definition according to Websters Dictionary) to value,
appraise, estimate, to have great regard for; value highly;
favorable opinion, high regard
To have...
What's Your Communication Style?
If you experience more conflict than contentment in your relationships, it might be due to mismatched communication styles. See if you can identify your relationship communication style...
If you find yourself frustrated, stifled, pushed, or...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where Does Your Money Go? Taxes
Trying to stay within the theme of Budget Stretcher, I thought
a series of articles on knowing where your money is going may
help some of you understand just how much you pay on certain
expenses.
I've decided to start this series of articles with information
about the amount and type of taxes you pay. I won't be able to
cover all of the types of taxes that are paid by Americans
because that would turn this article into a book. I'm just
going to list a few of the most common taxes that most of us
have to pay.
How much do you pay in taxes every year? I can bet many of you
don't have any idea. You may think you can just look at your
tax forms for last year and have the answer. I guarantee that
would be just the beginning.
Just take a look at the below list of various taxes and do the
math yourself:
Federal Income Taxes - Uncle Sam is currently taking between
15% and 39% of our Adjusted Gross Income to pay for what ever
it is that they spend money on in Washington. The main point
I want to make here is that many people feel that because they
received a refund, they didn't pay any taxes. For some people,
this is true. However, the vast majority of people that receive
a refund are just getting back the money they already paid in
through withholding, minus the taxes they owed. HOW MUCH DID
YOU PAY LAST YEAR?
Income Tax Preparation - Yes, I consider the cost of having our
taxes prepared by a professional as a tax. If the federal tax
code was published in english, maybe more of us could prepare
our own taxes.
Social Security - 15.3% of your income goes directly to the
federal government for social security and medicare and is
conveniently deducted from your paycheck. The myth about your
employer paying half is just that. If you weren't required to
pay social security, that is another 7.65% that your employer
could pay you.
Sales Taxes - Unless you live in a state that doesn't have a
state sales tax, this costs you around 6% to 7% of every penny
you spend. Wouldn't it be nice to buy something for $99.95,
hand the clerk a $100 bill and get a nickle back.
Property Taxes and Real Estate Taxes - These taxes can run into
the thousands of dollars a year. I know, there are some places
you aren't required to pay these taxes either, however, you can
bet they get this money in other ways. Before you renters start
smiling, remember that
your landlord has to pay these taxes.
Want to guess where he gets the money?
The Other Guys Taxes - What do you mean "The Other Guys Taxes"?
He can pay his own. For each item you buy, the manufacturers
and distributors have expenses like the cost of production,
packaging, shipping, etc. They also have to pay taxes. Who do
you think actually winds up paying these expenses? If you buy
it, you do. I have seen estimates that between 20% and 25% of
the cost of most items is for taxes that they have to pay. To
make a profit, all companies must pass all expenses they have
along to the consumer.
Gas Tax - With federal gasoline taxes over 18 cents per gallon
and state gasoline taxes as high as 35 cents per gallon it isn't
hard to see that, with the price of gas currently under a dollar
in most places, over half of the cost of your gas could be going
for taxes.
Self Employment Taxes - This is simply the way a self employed
person pays their Social Security and Medicare. They are
required to pay 15.3% of their gross income to cover these
expenses. These are the people that really know how much taxes
they pay. This is because they are required to write a check
for them four times a year and, if they underpaid throughout the
year, they may have to write another check on April 15th.
When you look at your budget and wonder where all of your money
is going, you may want to consider what you are paying in taxes.
There are taxpayers in this country that are paying over 50% of
their income in one tax or another.
Here are links to a couple of other articles I've written on
taxes:
I Love That Big Tax Refund
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/taxrefund.html
A 23% Federal Sales Tax!! But Wait!
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/fedsalestax.html
I'm not trying to make a political statement here. I just believe
that everybody should be aware of where their money goes. If you
take a few minutes to think about it, I think you will realize
that a good percentage goes to the federal, state and local
governments.
About the Author
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy
Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor
of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher
web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of
experience counseling individuals and families concerning their
personal finances.
|
|
|
|
|
| Kiplinger.com - Timely, Trusted Personal Finance Advice, Financial ... |
| Investing, personal finance, calculators and financial advice. |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine - Your Guide to Making Money ... |
| Subscibe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine to help you manage your finances. Achieve your financial goals and objectives with help from our ... |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Personal finance advice, news - CNNMoney |
| News & advice on retirement planning, college saving, taxes, mortgages, autos, real estate, investing and more from CNNMoney.com. |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney |
| Combines practical personal finance advice, calculators and investing tips with business news, stock quotes, and financial market coverage from the editors ... |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Personal Finance, Personal Finances, and Financial Advice - Forbes.com |
| Personal Finance - Get financial advice and information from Forbes.com. |
| www.forbes.com |
|
| SmartMoney.com Investing, Saving and Personal Finance |
| SmartMoney has daily stock and mutual fund recommendations, hourly market updates, personal finance investing research tools and advice, ... |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance Home (Personal Finance: Personal Finance ... |
| Links to articles covering a range of topics where monetary planning is or should be involved. |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance - Front Page |
| Read the details in Personal Finance this Saturday. Also in this weekend's edition:; You should take financial services companies' marketing material with a ... |
| www.persfin.co.za |
|
| Get stock quotes, market news, rates, and more - Netscape Money ... |
| Market News. Market News. News Search. Financial Planning. Finance Calculators. Saving for College. Personal Finance ... |
| money.netscape.cnn.com |
|
| globeandmail.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance. Home · National · British Columbia · Prairies · Ontario · Quebec · Atlantic · Politics · World · Americas · Europe · Asia-Pacific ... |
| www.theglobeandmail.com |
|
| Personal Finance - MSNBC.com |
| Answer Desk: Submit your question about personal finance or the world of business ... Personal Finance. Learn more about RSS ... |
| www.msnbc.msn.com |
|
| Personal Finance Newsletter |
| 7600 Leesburg Pike, West Building Suite 300 Falls Church, VA 22043 703-394-4931 (ph) 703-905-8100 (fax) personalfinance@kci-com.com ... |
| www.pfnewsletter.com |
|
| Personal Finance Advice - Personal Finance Management - Personal ... |
| Tips and stories for managing your personal finances. |
| www.marketwatch.com |
|
| CNBC.com: Personal Finance |
| Investing home page features investment tools like stock quotes, charts, a portfolio manager and much more. Plus market news and financial commentary from ... |
| moneycentral.msn.com |
|
| Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Business: Personal ... |
| Knowing retirement, health plans can help avert disaster · At one firm, financial crisis crushed 401(k)s, insurance · Personal finance news briefs ... |
| www.dallasnews.com |
|
| Morningstar: Personal Finance |
| Sharpen your personal finance and investing skills with Morningstar. Access articles covering stocks, mutual funds, bonds, retirement, 401(k)s and 529 plans ... |
| www.morningstar.com |
|
| Fool.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance - The Motley Fool exists to educate, amuse, and enrich the individual investor; to prove to you that the best person to manage your money ... |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Fool.com: Investing, Stock Research, and Personal Finance |
| Expert advice on picking stocks, investing for retirement, and dealing with life's major personal finance decisions. |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Telegraph | Money |
| Market news from the Telegraph newspaper online. Includes money product finders. |
| www.telegraph.co.uk |
|
| Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Personal Finance at Epinions.com |
| Epinions has the best comparison shopping information on Personal Finance. Compare prices from across the web and read reviews from other consumers on ... |
| www.epinions.com |
|
|