Unemployment. Over 14 Million People. For 3 Years. One Idea You Can Use To Do Something About It.

There are 14,000,000 people in the United States who are unemployed.  Stop for a moment to think about that number.  Then consider that unemployment has been consistently that high throughout 2009, 2010, and 2011.

For a time each of these 14,000,000 can collect unemployment benefits while they are trying to find a new job.  While the benefits are a help, they are rarely enough.  Too many people slowly sink financially until they find new work.  In these economic times, that often takes a very long time.

Bad as that is, underemployment is worse for millions more when it lasts for many years.  Underemployment occurs when you can only find work at jobs that do not utilize all of your education and training, like the scientist who can only find work as a taxi driver.  It also occurs when your working hours are reduced long-term and you can't find equivalent full-time work anywhere else.

We can blame the economy.  But many jobs were in industries that no longer exist, or have been replaced by machines.  We can also try blaming large corporations or governments that seem too large to care.

This might be you now.  If not, it is likely to happen to you at some point in the future.  Playing the blame game won't put food on your table or keep the electricity on.

So really ... what are you going to do about it?

Should My IRA Make Charitable Contributions?

An important benefit of an individual retirement account (IRA) is that you can accumulate earnings on your savings dollars without paying taxes on them until you start withdrawing from the account.  This can go on for many years, but at age 70 1/2 you are required to start taking yearly minimum distributions from the account.  The amount of these distributions depends on your life expectancy according to tables published by the IRS.  Gradually as you get older, your yearly minimum distributions will get larger as your life expectancy shortens.

You are fully taxed on these distributions.  In addition, your IRA distributions may cause more of the social security payments you receive to be taxed.

Some kind people choose to donate their IRA distribution to their favorite charity.  They want to benefit the charity, obviously, but they also hope to offset the IRA income with a charitable contribution deduction.  

In some recent years, and again in 2011, the law allows for people to instruct their IRA administrator to make a contribution from their IRA directly to the charity rather than to take the money personally and then donate it.

The question is:  Should I have my IRA make my charitable contributions for me?

Collecting Social Security While Continuing To Work - What Are The Rules?

"Isn't there an age that I don't have to worry about it anymore ... when I can work as much as I want without losing my social security?  In fact, I thought at age 65 I didn't have to pay tax on it anymore either!

I have been asked these questions enough times that I realize there are many misconceptions about them.  Please continue reading to get some of the answers ...

How To Increase Your Take-Home Pay By Asking Your Boss For A Pay Cut

If you work at a job where you have out of pocket expenses, this article is for you.  This could include driving your personal car to visit customers (or prospects, vendors, etc.), paying for your company uniform by payroll deduction, using some of your own tools or supplies on the job -- just to give a few examples.

Please read on to see how much both you and your employer could save on taxes by agreeing to work for less pay in exchange for having your employer pay for these items.

Don't Miss The Beautiful "Ugly Trailor"!

I'd like to share a blog post with you that I read and enjoyed from CraftoManiac about my friends at Ugly Trailor Antiques (click here to read it:  http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/11/do-you-have-store-love.html)  The Ugly Trailor is a very distinctive store owned and operated by Fred and Sue Thomas.  Their love of art and all things nostalgic is evident as you walk through their store.  It's located a few blocks up State Street from my office in Hurricane, Utah, which makes it very convenient for me when I want to find just the right unique gift -- which has already happened more than once!  If you're headed to Zion National Park it's convenient for you too, as you can't miss their trademark Ugly Trailor (pictured here) in the parking lot as you are driving there on Utah state highway 9.

If you take a moment to read on, I'll share some nice pictures of typical items you can find there and also what you can learn about business success from this store. 

Our Federal Budget: How It Impacts You (In Plain English)

You've heard that our President has submitted his budget proposal for the coming year.  $3,728,686,000,000.  That number is so big, who could comprehend it? Try this: Your share is $11,892. Get enough money out of one of your board games to represent your yearly gross income and put it on a table.  Then divide it into two stacks:  (1) Your share (or your family's -- multiply $11,892 by your family size) of federal government spending and (2) what's left.  Your job with each stack: 

You Wouldn't Leave Dollar Coins On The Ground ... Why Do It On Your Tax Return?

Chances are you do little things here and there for charitable causes that you forget about.  It's one of the few tax deductions that isn't limited by income or AMT.  Here's an easy way to make sure you don't forget some of what you're entitled to claim ...