Archives for August 2014

5 Surprising Trends in Fundraising for Charities

August 30, 2014 1 Comment

You must be aware of latest charitable campaign going on in Facebook, where many of my friends pouring buckets of ice water on top of their head.It’s the ALS ice bucket challenge, a campaign to raise fund and awareness towards ALS syndrome. For many the campaign is stupid but, it’s actually not. While the cause is great, it established on the latest social media campaign strategy. like businesses, charitable organizations are also going the social media route.

On the surface, fundraising seems simple: All you need is a worthy cause, and people will happily donate. As anyone who has ever been involved in fundraising can attest, though, it’s rarely that simple. Even the most worthy of causes have competition, and while the overall economy has improved and people are beginning to give more money to charity again, charitable giving has not yet reached pre-Recession levels.

How to Save Money on Expensive Prescription Drugs

August 25, 2014 7 Comments

Cost of healthcare is a rising worry for Americans. Seems like everyday cost of medication is going upwards. For people with lower earning it’s becoming more and more out of reach to provide for better care for patients. Health insurance premium is rising and out-of-pocket expenses are also rising. The big question is, how can we reduce cost of prescription medication?

Even with more affordable health care provisions individuals can still end up having relatively high out-of-pocket expenses, a good deal of which are due to prescription costs. The US is a popular market for new and expensive drugs due to its size and the relative ease of getting drugs into the marketplace once they have been FDA approved.

Our Mortgage Shopping Experience

August 23, 2014 15 Comments

I took a leap of faith and bought our home, our first home. In a series of posts I’ll write about the buying experience, the lessons learned and best practices. in this article I am going to write about mortgage loan shopping, and how did I shopped for mortgage loan comparing 10 different banks, sitting in my office cubicle.

I heard stories on extensive and hectic mortgage shopping that involves going around banks, making phone calls to bankers and what not. Even my colleagues had to go through hours and hours of research and travel to get the best mortgage.

Well, my method searching only lasted for 1 hour. I made no calls and received 10 calls from bankers on my cell phone.

Are You Losing your Money in Savings or CD Account?

August 22, 2014 6 Comments

Am I losing my money by saving it? With less than a percentage of return from savings accounts and CDs and more than 2% of inflation to go with, this is reality. Let’s do an analysis of this situation of losing money to inflation.

It has been ingrained and pounded into us as one of the best strategies to achieve financial freedom for decades, but saving alone, is not enough. Being Frugal and living within your means are buzz words many people gravitate to for endless guides, tips, and how-to articles. However, no one ever saved their way to financial independence with the absence of investing and it is easy to see exactly why

Income Tax Documents and Forms Needed To File IRS Return

August 21, 2014 8 Comments

There is a huge list of documents that are needed for filing taxation in 2014. Now is the right time to get prepared. Along with the documents, you also have to make it 100% sure that you have all the IRS forms that are needed.

Before moving on to the checklist of documents and forms, I would like you to consider the following steps and read these other important resources.

Read 5 things to bring to tax preparer’s office.
Add the H&R Block checklist and this checklist in file of your important documents, or attach it to the outside of the folder.
When you receive or locate tax documents, make sure to check them off the list and place them in your folder.
Remove anything on the list that you do not need for your tax situation.
Add a page to your documents file to enter all the information and amounts that are not already available on other documents. For example, you may not find bank routing number for direct deposit on any of the documents you have gathered for tax preparation.

Forms you Need for Filing IRS Tax Return

Here are the most common forms a tax payer needs to file return. all documents are in pdf version, you’ll need acrobat reader software on your computer to open. All documents are linked to IRS official site.

Solving Emergency Fund Myth – What, Why and How Much

August 20, 2014 17 Comments

What really is emergency fund? Why such a fund is needed? How can I fund it? And, most important question, how much money I should keep in emergency/contingency fund? Let me try to find answers to all those questions.

I always had 40,000+ in my Checking and Savings account at any given time in last 5 years. I felt that’s absolutely minimum. I read prominent personal finance expert Suze Orman’s advice at Oprah’s web site. He first advice was to have 8 month’s worth of expenses saved in emergency fund. So, I thought that’s normal. Now we are a hoe owner and all those cash cushion went in to pay for down payment, closing and home repair cost. We now have around $5,000 lying in a saving bank account.

As they say, buying home prompts home owners to become financially more prudent, I started reading about emergency fund and started listening to podcast, right after paying our mortgage down payment.

Need Finance Now? Choose an Online Personal Loan

August 18, 2014 7 Comments

In the days before the Internet, applying for a loan was a long, involved and not to mention an expensive process. It was difficult to compare loan rates, hard to find information about your proposed lender and the application process could run to many pages, with one mistake meaning you had to restart the whole thing!

Nowadays, you can easily compare rates from hundreds of organisations, use a personal loan calculator to see how much the monthly payments are going to be and if you are in need of quick finance, get a decision within minutes! You can even apply 24/7 as websites are never closed.

How to Do Corporate Branding Right

August 16, 2014 Leave a Comment

Trade and business expos are the place to meet face-to-face with your potential clients. It’s all about interaction and engagement. But, before any of this can happen you have to get your potential customers to stop and notice you in the first place. The design and quality of your branded products set the atmosphere for your booth or pitch. Your corporate exhibit needs to be positive, attractive and interesting, while representing your brand and letting people know what you do. This is a guest post geared towards businesses.

This was a guest post geared towards businesses. Selecting the right products for the right situation, whether it’s a vibrantly printed Pull Up Banner for an indoor expo or a durable Branded Marquee for an outdoor event, is crucial to making sure your brand stands out from the crowd.

Secure Financial Future After Graduation

August 12, 2014 16 Comments

Welcome to the world of young adult finances, readers! After yesterday’s post on the need of retirement planning in early 20’s , this is an excellent followup post. Here I’ll do less talking and let the infographic speak about what I wanted to say.

Early 20’s or late 20’s whenever you join in to work force is the best time to start financial planning. The other day I was talking to an intern in our office. He’s just out of college. To him the life’s all about spending money, partying, seeing places. I tried convincing him and he seemed interested to know more. I didn’t tell him about my blog but we planed to meet again for next round of talk.

Perhaps I got my first mentee whom I can teach about best practices of personal finance. He’s one of the typical generation X population. Years ahead of them before retirement, they don’t care. perhaps we were like the same when we were in our 20’s.

How Young Adults Can Start Planning for Retirement

August 10, 2014 6 Comments

When I started saving for retirement, I was not exactly young adult. I was about to enter into my 30’s. Partly because I immigrated to this country late and initially thought of returning back home. Things didn’t turn as per that plan. Now I am resident and will stay here for a long long time. I am now playing a catch-up game, a catch up to have my retirement saving on track and overcome the late start. In this post, I’ll give one of the most important financial advice for young adults, about planning for retirement.

Especially if you’re in your early to mid 20’s this post is really for you to help get your retirement saving started and get going. You’d like to retire rich, right? Of course you would, and while retirement seems like a long way off for those of you in your twenties, if you haven’t given it at least a little thought you could be missing out on a massive wealth creation opportunity.

Archives for August 2014

5 Surprising Trends in Fundraising for Charities

How to Save Money on Expensive Prescription Drugs

Our Mortgage Shopping Experience

Are You Losing your Money in Savings or CD Account?

Income Tax Documents and Forms Needed To File IRS Return

Forms you Need for Filing IRS Tax Return

Solving Emergency Fund Myth – What, Why and How Much

Need Finance Now? Choose an Online Personal Loan

How to Do Corporate Branding Right

Secure Financial Future After Graduation

How Young Adults Can Start Planning for Retirement

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Forms you Need for Filing IRS Tax Return

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