SHELL ASIA

Previously published on January 2011

This legal update includes background information regarding the attestation on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) nonimmigrant visa application (Form I-129) regarding export control compliance.

It’s cold. I don’t know what else to say about the last week. Actual temperatures well below zero and wind chills as low as about -30 F the past few days. I know it doesn’t do any good to complain about the weather since we can’t just pick up and move, but at the same time I’ll be quick to say I will not miss this winter and hope spring comes early like the groundhog predicted.

I hope to have some news for you in the next few weeks about some new things I have going on, but in the meantime you can catch a radio interview I did with Chris Gaddis on his radio show archive. You’ll also notice some other personal finance bloggers in the mix, so a lot of great free MP3s to check out.

One last note before getting to the links, but as you may have noticed over the last couple of weeks the website seemed to be down almost as much as it was up and when it was up it was fairly slow. Well, as of today everything should finally be working on the new, and much faster server. But if you notice anything odd such as broken images or links or other odd behavior, please let me know.

The War on Debt: The Battle Begins at Home – It’s easy to place blame on why you’re in debt. Blame credit card companies, high interest rates, government policies, or any number of things. But if we want to take down debt once and for all it all starts at home.

how to take time off from work – In America we’re all workaholics and taking much time off from work is the exception and not the norm. It isn’t healthy and people really should take more time off without feeling guilty. Here’s how.

Identify A Flat Base Chart Pattern For Stock Trades – I used to do a lot of stock trading back in the day, and when you’re holding a stock for just a few hours or day, all you really care about are the charts. Here’s one chart to look for.

Are You a Victim of Lifestyle Inflation? – When you make more money, you tend to spend more money. That’s just human nature. Unfortunately, lifestyle inflation can get a little out of hand. It might be hard to believe, but there are people out there making $250,000 a year and living paycheck to paycheck. Don’t let lifestyle inflation catch up with you.

The Five Best Countries To Retire To – Thinking about retiring outside of your home country? Well, some places are better for retirees than others. Here are five of the best countries to retire to.

Buying a Vacation/Retirement Home - Speaking of retirement, what if you don’t want to permanently move somewhere? This is where buying a separate vacation or retirement home can come in handy. But here’s what to look out for.

A Primer on ETF Terminology –  ETFs are becoming more common every day, but if you’re used to strictly investing in funds there are a few terms you may not be familiar with. Here’s some of the most important ETF terminology to help you make better decisions.

Organizing Your Finances – Farnoosh Torabi Interview – If you haven’t heard of Farnoosh Torabi, you have to check her out. She’s one of the best in personal finance there is, and Ben over at MSL interviewed her.

7 Money Traps to Avoid – There are plenty of pitfalls that can result in wasting money instead of getting the most out of it. Make sure you are avoiding the following 7 money traps.

Unemployment out of the double digits in some states, but many Americans are filing taxes while unemployed for the first time. Tax laws are governed by the state of the economy, and the government makes amendments from time to time mainly with a view to giving relief to tax payers.

Even if you have been unemployed for more than a year you still need to file a federal income tax return. It is important to remember that all unemployment compensation is taxable. In addition, because you may be in a lower income bracket, you may qualify for more deductions or different types of deductions than you have in the past. Also, keep in mind that certain job search expenses can be deductible for some taxpayers.

For 2010, all unemployment compensation is taxable. Unlike wages, no tax is withheld from unemployment unless you specifically request it by submitting a completed Form W-4V – Voluntary Withholding Request. Once your request is processed, 10% of your benefits will be withheld for federal taxes. Also, you may be able to deduct some of the expenses of finding your next job.

After the first of the year you will receive Form 1099-G from your state’s Department of Labor and Employment containing the necessary information to complete your taxes. Form 1099-G will show the total amount of benefits received and any withholding. The unemployment benefits are taxable on your federal return. H&R Block has online tax prep software for filing your taxes yourself that can help you accurately claim your deductions, credits and job-hunting expenses automatically.

You are entitled to tax deductions for expenses you incur in your job search. Deductible expenses include travel, resume preparation, printing, and postage. You can deduct job-seeking expenses as long as the amount of all miscellaneous itemized tax deductions is more than 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). To figure your tax deduction, subtract 2% of your AGI from the total amount of these expenses.

Make sure you keep the supporting receipts to make these claims. Job search expenses can be deducted as miscellaneous itemized tax deductions if you look for a job in the same field at the same level as the one you left. Job search expenses are deductible even if you don’t get the job.

You may be eligible for the following deductions while you’re searching for a job:

To qualify for the deduction, your job search must be for a job in your current, or most recent, trade or business.

In addition to getting a tax deduction for your job search, you may also want to look into some additional education or skills training that can help you land a job. Outdated job skills can prevent you from getting a job in many cases.

The Earned Income Credit (EIC) is a valuable credit for lower-income taxpayers who work. If you worked for any part of the tax year, even if you were unemployed at the end of the year, you may still be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It provides a tax credit for one child of up to $3,050. This tax credit is for people who have worked in the tax year, and have earned a low to moderate income. By reducing the amount of taxes you owe, a tax credit means more money for you- and possibly a refund. This Earned Income Credit Table for 2010 can help you determine how much you can receive in these child-related tax credits.

If you have questions about what qualified as a job-hunting expense, or any other tax question, you can always get a free 30-minute consultation with an H&R Block tax pro at an office near you.

The great recession, high unemployment, and the damage to your portfolio done in 2008 are probably still fresh in your mind, but did you know that even though the economy as a whole is slow to recover that the past two years the stock market has been churning out record returns? If you were one of the investors who got spooked by the stock market in 2008 and never ventured back in you may have been ignoring those news reports on purpose. After all, you’ve probably missed out on the 40-50% gains the broad market has realized since about two years ago.

Here’s the problem. Nobody can predict the future and history is no guarantee of the future, but we shouldn’t be at all surprised by this. It happened in the years following the 1987 crash and after the market bottomed out in 2003. Sharp declines are usually followed up by sharp advances. Of course at the time of a market bottom it’s usually a pretty bleak picture and it seems as if there’s nowhere to go but down, which was certainly the case this time around, but again it hasn’t happened (yet).

And others will be quick to point out that stocks still haven’t returned to their all-time highs in 2007 and the 2000s were basically a lost decade of investing anyway since markets went 10 years without seeing gains. All valid points if you focus on index prices and not real-world performance. As I’ve already discussed here before, even though the major stock indicies may not have gone up over the span of ten years, if you actually invested like a real person does and not like a hypothetical math problem, you turned a negative return in the market to a real positive return in your portfolio. Investing regularly over time, in a balanced portfolio, and rebalancing when necessary can make even a a historically bad investment period a lot better than the data shows.

These market swings are bad news for average investors. That’s because most people who get spooked out of stocks do so only after they’ve seen sizable losses. They wait until they’ve lost 10, 20, or even 30 percent before finally calling it quits and moving to safety. Then what usually happens is we see what we’ve had the last few years where the market bounces back, but the losses are still fresh in everyone’s mind so people are unsure about getting back in. So, the market goes on to realize 10, 20, or 30 percent gains before most investors feel confident enough to get back in. Big problem! What you’ve done is taken a loss and sold, therefore locking in that loss, and then you’re on the sidelines while a bulk of the gains are made before deciding to get back in, so you buy back in at a high point. It’s a vicious cycle of buying high and selling low, which is the exact opposite of what you want to be doing. That’s why trying to time the market or investing on emotion never works.

So, where has your money been over the last few years? Were you fortunate enough to stick with your diversified portfolio and keep investing? Did you bail out a long time ago and still aren’t comfortable enough to get back in? Or were you a complete contrarian and dumped even more money into the market while it was still setting record lows?

Valentine’s Day leaves a lot to the imagination.  In fact, frugal guys and gals find all sorts of ways to celebrate February 14th.  You don’t have to rely on overpriced chocolates and flower arrangements to make your sweetheart happy.  With a little imagination and even less money, you can make it a day to remember without all the clichés.   Here’s how you can make the most out of the upcoming holiday:

1)    Plan a scavenger hunt around town. Leave clues sealed in envelopes at different romantic locations.  Make the final destination somewhere the two of you really wanted to go to.  This can be an art gallery, a museum, a concert, play or movie.  Daily deal sites and group coupon sites are great for this purpose.  Visit Groupon or Living Social periodically to see what they offer. Heck, just today before I posted this my daily local groupon was for 50% off flowers. Can’t beat that.

2)    Create a bunch of love notes and place them into helium filled balloons. Help your partner pop the balloons so they can read the messages that are enclosed inside.  If time permits, fill an entire room full of these.  Make it hard for your man or woman to get through the door.

3)    Spread out a picnic blanket and have lunch in your living room. Prepare and eat some of your favorite foods.  Take off your shoes and relax for a while.  Listen to some great music.  Read a book or play a board game.

4)    Recreate your first date together. Go to the same location.  Order the same items from the menu. Get your picture taken in a photo booth.  Take a walk on the beach. Reminisce on the past and look forward to the future together as a couple.

5)    Rent a movie from Redbox and call it a night. Pick up a new release from Redbox and stay in for the evening. (There is a large selection of titles to choose from and you can even reserve one online and pick it up later. Serve movie theater style concessions and curl up together on the couch.)  A good romantic comedy is the perfect end to another great Valentine’s Day. Even if you don’t have a Redbox near you or if you don’t want to leave the house at all just pull up your cable or satellite on demand listings. A movie might cost a few dollars more, but it will still be cheaper than even a single ticket at the theater.

You don’t have to jump on a jet and fly to Paris to enjoy a romantic evening with your loved one.  With a little bit of determination, you can avoid the high costs associated with Valentine’s Day and make it as memorable as ever.

I don’t know where this past week went, but it’s Friday already. Not that it’s a bad thing, but when you don’t get all of your work done it is a bit of a bummer. It’s mostly been a lot of behind the scenes work on the site. We’ve moved to a far better server, URL structure was changed, better performance tweaks put into place. So things won’t look all that different, but at the very least you should have a better experience when visiting because of the speed and reliability enhancements.

In addition, I want to remind everyone about the TurboTax giveway I’m running right now. I’m going to be giving away four free copies of TurboTax Deluxe starting Monday and running through Thursday. Entering is as simple as leaving a comment, so give it a shot. After entering the contest be sure to come back here and check out this week’s links.

Saving Money When Dining Out – This is actually something I wrote for the relatively new Allstate Good Hands Community. If you still want to go out to eat but don’t want to break the bank, here are a few tips that can help you save.

A Grocery-Shopping Hiatus: How Long Can You Eat from the Pantry? – Now this is an interesting question. How long could you survive from just what’s in your pantry? If you saw my pantry you’d think we could last a year. But there are plenty of benefits to having a well-stocked pantry. Here’s an in-depth look.

Buying a Vacation/Retirement Home (Part 3) – Last week I highlighted the first part of this series, and Lazy Man is following up with another important post regarding buying a vacation or retirement home.

the worthlessness of net worth – You hear a lot about net worth on finance sites, but Steve isn’t too keen on the calculation. Here’s his take on why net worth really isn’t worth all that much.

Top Canadian Stock Screeners – To my Canadian friends, here is a review of some of the best Canadian stock screeners. If you trade stocks, you’ll need to check these out.

Home Security System Savings – Here is something we’ve been thinking about. We’ve often wondered about getting a home security system, but the costs really outweighed the benefits. Well, here are some ways to save.

How To Use Stop Loss Orders To Lock In A Profit – Buying a stock is the easy part. It’s knowing when to sell that’s the hard decision. After all, that’s where you lock in your profit or loss. So, using a stop loss order can take the emotion out of it.

Are Credit Card Rewards Taxable? – We all love credit card rewards, but here’s an interesting question. Are those rewards taxable?

Expensive Or Not? A Study In Market Value Measures – You’ll hear the media and other bloggers talk about whether the stock market is cheap or expensive. What does that mean exactly? Well, here is your answer.

Google Voice Number Porting: How to & Pros & Cons – Have you tried Google Voice yet? There are an increasing number of fans of the service and many are now looking to port their old numbers. Is it worth it?

Are you looking for a creative project to do this year that doesn’t require loads and loads of cash?  Life can get pretty boring if you find yourself in the same rut. Going to the movies, visiting the local theme park each year, and sitting around watching TV when you’re bored.

How about trying one of these fun and free ideas on for size.  You don’t need to open your wallet to take part in one of these five awe-inspiring classes, workshops or projects. And even better, you’ll more than likely be trying something new and may even meet new friends.

Visit Art House Co-op to sign the pledge.  Find sealable bags to put your specimens in.  (These bags should be no larger than 1 gallon.)  Empty your pockets or purse.  Place one item in each bag.  Label the bags according to the different categories that each item falls under (this info is found on the site) with a Sharpie.  Mail the sealed bags to the collection.  The address is:

Brooklyn Art Library
c/o Pockets Project
201 Richards St #16
Brooklyn, NY 11231

The items collected will be turned into a large art installation and displayed for others to see.

Sign up for the Creative Adventure Email List and get access to the course materials.  Not only will you be able to get past your creative blocks, you’ll also learn how to harness that positive energy once your creative juices start flowing.

You can sign up for this free course on creativity by going to ABC Creativity.

Letterboxing is a fun activity for the whole family.  Think of it as a modern day treasure hunt. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes containing a log book, a rubber stamp, and an ink pad in publicly-accessible places.  They then post clues to finding the box online. Once a box is found, individuals and groups stamp the log book with their own stamp and their log book with the stamp included in the letterbox.

There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone.  The most serious Letterboxers create their own stamps to use in the log books.  You can easily do this with an eraser.

Get started with letterboxing today.

Need inspiration for your Do-It-Yourself projects?  Why not check out Noah Scalin’s blog and see how you can create 365 photos, works of arts, drawings or craft items in 2011.  There are some really great blog posts on the site featuring creative people from all over the world.  Imagine writing 365 short stories, taking 365 nature photographs or creating 365 rabbit inspired craft projects.

[Jeremy's note: This is something I've taken on in 2011 and have started a 365 photo project. To check it out or follow along please feel free to check out my project.]

We all get our inspiration somewhere.  Why not help a stranger reunite themselves with that spark?  Head on over to Kind Over Matter and print out the awesome quotes.  Glue them to some card stock and leave them in place where others will find them.  If you want to be really creative, take a few pictures before you leave.  That’s what the members of this website do.

Buying a home is one of the largest purchases you’ll ever make. Because it’s such a large purchase and there is a lot of money at stake it only makes sense to get the best possible financing. After all, most home loans last for decades, so a poor choice up front can end up costing you for years to come. The problem is that not all lenders are created equal, and even trying to compare similar loans can make your head spin. So, let’s take some of the confusion out of shopping around and finding the best mortgage deals.

Most people assume that finding the best interest rate is the most important aspect of finding a loan, but that is only part of the overall picture. Interest rates are very important, but what looks like a good rate on the surface might be overshadowed by excessive costs or unfavorable terms elsewhere in the loan that aren’t immediately apparent. If you know what to look for you can be sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Having just gone through the process of trying to find a loan to buy a house there are a lot of things I noticed over the past few weeks that can help you save money when shopping for a mortgage. Here’s what you need to do to find the best possible home loan.

Before you even start shopping around for loans you should first check your credit. If you haven’t already, it’s a good time to use your free annual credit report from annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus each year. The idea here is to make sure your credit report is accurate and if there are any errors, you have enough time to fix them before applying for loans. If you do encounter an error, use this time to call the creditor and see what you can do to get it rectified. In many cases it could be just an honest mistake, but it could also be an indication of something more serious. And while it’s good to make sure there are no errors on your credit report, that alone won’t tell you your credit score, which is ultimately what lenders use to determine your rate.

You are going to want to check your credit about 30 to 60 days before you begin applying for loans if at all possible. This is because many creditors only update their records once a month, meaning even if you are able to fix an error right away it may still take another month or so before it gets updated on your credit report. It’s easier to wait for an error to be dropped from your report than to go to a lender with a blemished report and then try to explain the situation to them.

It’s also a good idea to get your credit score prior to applying for a loan. Yes, once you apply for a loan you’re going to have your credit pulled by the lender anyway and you will likely get a copy of your score, but a lot of pre-qualifications (not pre-approvals) are done with rough estimates of your income, debt, and estimated credit score without actually pulling your credit. This helps when you’re shopping rates and simply making quick phone calls to various lenders as you can give them an idea right up front as to what your credit score is so they can have a better idea of what you might qualify for. Of course, the score they actually pull once they go through the application will be what is used, but you can make things a little easier by giving them as much information as possible up front.

You won’t get your credit score with your free credit report, so this is something you’re going to have to do separately if you want to know. Two of the best options for obtaining your credit score are Go Free Credit.com and Credit Sesame. Credit Sesame is free and provides some neat features to help you monitor your score and make improvements. I used Credit Sesame while we were applying for our mortgage and one thing I did notice was that there was a huge discrepancy between my wife’s score that the banks were obtaining and what Credit Sesame was showing. The difference was nearly 100 points. At the same time, Credit Sesame  was showing my credit score as dead on. So, just keep that in mind. It might cost a few dollars to get an official credit score, but it’s worth it if you want to know what you’re up against when dealing with something as important as a mortgage. In fact, you can use your score when calling lenders to ask about rates to get a better idea of what you’re looking at long before you go through the application process. This can help you weed out the bad deals early on.

Before shopping for your home loan you should have a good idea of what you need. This means understanding what types of loans are out there and what your specific situation warrants. Do you want a 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgage? Do you qualify for FHA or will you need to seek another type of loan? Do you have 20% to put down to eliminate PMI or will you piggyback your mortgage with a second loan to eliminate PMI? These are all questions you should ask yourself before heading to a lender because if you can tell them exactly what you’re looking for, they can better find what they have available for you. Do your homework ahead of time so that you can narrow your search. If you go to the bank and simply say you want to buy a house for X amount of dollars they might come back and give you a handful of different loan options that may or may not be appropriate for you and it just makes things more confusing for you.

Not only do you need to know what you want, but you should know what to expect in the current market. First, you should check on current interest rates. One of my favorite sites for a quick update is simply bankrate.com. There you can find the average interest rates for a number of loan types. After all, if you don’t know what the going rates are, how will you ever know if the quote you get from the bank is a good one or not? This is also where knowing your credit score can come in handy. For example, if you have a score under 700 it’s safe to assume that you probably won’t be able to get the lowest rate out there. Knowing this, if you see a bank come back with a quote for a very low interest rate it might be a red flag that points to a loan that’s padded with points or other fees that ultimately make it a bad deal for you. So, if you can go into the mortgage shopping process by having some expectations of what you might qualify for and for what rate, you can better determine whether or not your quote is a good deal or not.

Once you’ve determined what you want and know what to expect in the current market, it’s time to start checking with various lenders to see what they can offer. At this stage you should expect to inquire with at least 5-10 different lenders. A lot of people are concerned that this could be detrimental to their credit score because of all the credit inquiries, but don’t worry. Hard inquiries made during the most recent 30 days are not factored into your current credit score. In addition, any inquiries within the 14-day period before that only count as one inquiry. So, as long as you plan ahead and do your loan shopping within a month or so you’ll have no negative impact on your credit score.

To start, you might as well check with the institutions where you currently have your finances. Whether it’s a bank or credit union, existing customers can often get slight discounts. Plus, since you already have a relationship with them it’s easy enough for them to pull a lot of your information and see what you might qualify for. This doesn’t mean you’ll get the best rates, but it’s a good starting point.

After you’ve talked to your current bank you might want to make a few phone calls to other local banks that you might not currently do business with. Banks and credit unions are always looking for new business and will be more than happy to take your call. So, see what kind of rates they can offer and see if it’s worth pursuing.

Finally, thanks to the internet you have a vast number of lenders available at your fingertips. You can look to banks that might not even be in your area or find lenders that otherwise would have gone undiscovered if you stuck to your local yellow pages. Again, this doesn’t always mean you’ll get the best deal with a company you see online, but it can at least be worth a shot. You might also want to look at lendingtree.com for some good comparison shopping.

After you go through a quick phone call or initial meeting with a lender the next step will be to submit various financial documents that the bank will use to get you pre-qualified. Generally speaking, the bank wants to see verified sources of income, debt obligations, employment history, and so on. To make both your job and the lender’s job easier, you should start getting these documents prepared ahead of time and make multiple copies. If you’re going to be applying with a half dozen lenders you don’t want to rely on one set of originals and have to wait for each bank to get those back to you before applying with another.

Documents typically requested:

If you have all of these documents ready to go you’re going to save yourself a lot of time. And the sooner you can present these to the lender, the sooner they can get you pre-approved. The lender will appreciate the fact that you’re prepared and this can help ensure your application gets through the process as fast as possible.

It is very important to note that during your initial shopping stages you will most likely be doing a pre-qualification and not pre-approval. There is a big difference and both consumers and lenders often mix and match the words. Pre-qualification is simply when a lender asks you for some basic information such as income, debt levels, assets, and estimated credit score to determine if you’ll likely qualify for a loan or not. At this stage nothing is verified, no credit reports are pulled, and the loan officer is simply trying to see if you might be someone they can do business with. Getting pre-qualified does not mean the bank will lend you the money, but it gives you a rough idea of what you might qualify for with that specific lender.

When you get to the process of actually having the lender pull your credit report, submit W-2s, tax returns, verify employment, and fill out all of the disclosures, then you’re looking to get pre-approved. Once you’re pre-approved that means based on the information you’ve provided and subsequently verified by the bank, the lender is willing to lend you the money baring any major changes to your credit or income and the appraisal and title search on the house you wish to buy come up ok. It is at the pre-approval stage where you will receive a good-faith estimate and can tell sellers and real estate agents that you’re a qualified buyer.

Once you go through the application process if you come back approved, you’ll typically get what’s called a good faith estimate. There is where you’ll begin to see the nuts and bolts of the loan and can hopefully spot what makes one particular lender’s offer better than another. Generally speaking, they must provide this to you within three days of applying for the loan.

The GFE will contain a lot of information regarding the closing or settlement costs. As I mentioned above, getting a good interest rate is important, but even more important can be the closing costs and how the fees are structured. The closing costs are also where a lot of lenders make their money by sticking it to borrowers with inflated or unnecessary fees and then just rolling them into the loan. Your GFE should itemize all of the closing costs, how much you’re being charged, and who is responsible for paying them. Some of the fees you might encounter are:

If you’ve never purchased a home before this list might scare you. Yes, there are a ton of fees that are involved with buying a home, and as you can see, a lot of opportunities for the bank to make money on your behalf. So, it’s when you get your good faith estimate that you need to scrutinize each quote to see what kind of a deal you’re really getting. Is that 0.25% lower loan such a good idea when it’s padded with excessive fees at closing that ultimately get rolled into the loan? That’s what you need to determine.

As an example, while we were looking over our loan offers I was simply shocked to see how different banks are when it comes to some of the fees. For instance, one lender only charged $12 for the credit check while another listed it at $60. One lender had a wire transfer fee of $20 while another had it listed at $125. And even the appraisal itself often came in more than $100 different between lenders. If some of these fees seem out of line, they may be negotiable so it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Finally, keep in mind that the good faith estimate is just that, an estimate. While it should be reasonably close to what you finally expect to pay, things can change.

I hope this has helped you understand some of what is involved with finding the best deal on a mortgage. It can be a time-consuming and tedious process, but the more you know and the more prepared you are, the better off you’ll be. This is a major financial decision in your life so it pays to put in a little work to make sure you’re getting the best deal available to you.  If you know what kind of loan you want, what terms to expect, and know how to spot the features of a low-cost loan you’ll be well on your way to finding the best mortgage.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had a chance to experiment with a new financial service that’s aimed to help regular people improve their finances. It’s called MyJibe. MyJibe is a unique, easy-to-use, web-based software for helping people manage their money, make spending decisions and plan for the future so they can have more financial confidence, purpose and peace of mind.

MyJibe is for people who want a plan; who want to know what they can spend; who want to know that they are prepared for the future. Maybe they’ve not known where to start, have found the easier tools lacking or the more complex tools too clunky and bloated. MyJibe provides the power, ease, and guidance individuals need to help themselves, coupled with a real-time portal for their financial advisor when they need expert advice.

I know what you’re thinking—there are already a bunch of online budgeting tools out there like Mint, YNAB, and Bundle, so this doesn’t bring anything new to the table. That was my first assumption as well, but to my surprise there’s actually much more to it.

MyJibe does many of the same budgeting items that other platforms use, but it also picks up where they leave off. Forward-looking & goal-focused. MyJibe doesn’t just show you your bank account balances and where you spent your money in the past. It magically answers the tough questions like “How much can I safely spend?”, “When can I afford what I want?”, and “Am I on track for my future goals?”

Not just a cool tool or slightly different spin. It’s built from a whole different budgeting approach. A variation of envelope style budgeting, it’s simpler, more flexible, and more powerful. If you’re already an envelope style budgeter, you’ll feel right at home. Not only that, but you can get real-time advice from advisors if you need a little help.

So for the past few weeks I’ve been giving the site a bit of a test drive and checking out the features. It’s quite intuitive and easy to set up. The best part is how it integrates with your financial accounts and pulls in the transactions and data automatically. After the initial setup it’s almost hands-free. Here is an example of the transactions page while looking at all accounts. You’ll see it lists the date of the transaction, which account it was for, where it happened, and even what category. Of course, you can always select individual accounts from the left as well, but the key thing to note here is that MyJibe pulls this information in securely and automatically once set up.

In addition to tracking all of your individual spending data, it also helps you get a high level overview of your financial situation. Assets, liabilities, net worth, and all that.

While all of that information is great, it’s pretty standard stuff. So, here is where MyJibe really shines. At the core of all the data is the ability to create a detailed budget complete with goals. MyJibe makes it easy for you to determine what you can afford without picking up debt or blowing your goals. With the “Currently Available” as your guide, just tweak your expenses and goals to accommodate those especially irresistible or unavoidable expenses with confidence. And that’s the great part of the budgeting tool. Each item has sliders that make it easy to allocate money from one item to another. So, if an extra bill comes up or another added expense is going to take $100 out of your budget this month you can dictate how you want to allocate that money. So, you can pull a little out of the grocery or dining out budget to cover it.

It’s easy to get a visual representation of where your money is going each month, what goals are funded, what needs to be funded, and what items are coming up on the calendar. And speaking of a calendar, that’s another great tool you’ll find in MyJibe. I know it can be a nightmare trying to keep tabs on when all your bills are due, when money is coming in, and so on. So, MyJibe integrates your budget automatically with an easy to understand calendar.

Finally, one of the last big features that sets MyJibe apart is the integration with financial professionals. Being able to manage your money better with a budget is great, but that often isn’t enough. Working with a professional can help provide the added guidance needed to make sure you’re really on track. So, MyJibe also has a professional back-end that allows for a financial advisor, planner, or CPA to pull up your account in real time and work with you over the phone or in person to analyze your situation, make suggestions, and give advice.

If you’re looking for something to take your budgeting to the next level and haven’t had much success with doing it on your own or using other software, I’d say MyJibe is worth a try. It isn’t a free product, but to be honest, haven’t we all learned that you get what you pay for? Plus unlike Mint, because you pay a few dollars a month you won’t be subjected to financial offers and nobody is making money off of you by getting you to switch or add new accounts. On top of that you get even better budgeting tools and the ability to get real actionable financial advice to help you succeed.

Best of all, it’s free to try. You can sign up now and get a 10 day free trial. This is plenty of time to get your accounts set up and begin creating budget items and see how it works over the course of a week and a half. If you like it, you can keep your account going for just $7.99 a month. If you don’t find it useful you can just cancel. If your budget needs help or you need to get out of a financial rut, I think this is a pretty good starting point.

It’s tax time once again, and that means many of you are in the process of filing your tax returns. The IRS just started processing returns that were initially delayed due to the new tax laws, but now that everybody is eligible to file things are kicking into high gear. But before you rush off and file your return, I have some free tax software to give away!

What I have this year are four copies of TurboTax Deluxe Online (a $30 value each) and I will be giving them all away in the coming days. Now, I can personally vouch for TurboTax Online because I used it to file my own taxes for a few years before eventually having to hire a CPA for my taxes. So I can say that the software is easy to use and it does work. The nice thing about it being online is that you can work from any computer with an internet connection and there’s no clunky software to install.

So, before I get to the giveaway details I wanted to highlight some key aspects of the program.

TurboTax Deluxe was designed to do the hard work for you, so you can be confident that you’re finding all the deductions you qualify for, the calculations are guaranteed 100% accurate, and you’re getting your biggest tax refund possible. Choose TurboTax Deluxe if any of the following apply to you:

Speaking of charitable deductions, TurboTax Deluxe comes with ItsDeductible and it helps you accurately value items you donate to charity–no more guessing. Plus, it tracks other donations such as cash, mileage and stocks, to help you get every charitable deduction you’re entitled to.

Easy Questions, Tailored to You — TurboTax will ask questions in plain English and then put your answers on the right forms for you, including 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040. TurboTax skips interview questions that don’t apply to you, so you can finish your return faster.

Automatically Fill in W-2 and 1099 Info — Get your W-2 and 1099 data directly from over 100,000 participating employers and financial institutions. TurboTax automatically places it in the right tax forms. A brief summary lets you review and edit downloaded information if necessary. If your W-2 doesn’t import automatically that’s okay. It only takes a minute to punch in the numbers found on your form.

Transfer Last Year’s Tax Info — No retyping necessary. TurboTax fills in information from your previous year’s return to help save time and increase accuracy. You’ll be shown what you’re importing and where it goes in your tax return. You can also import from other tax software including TaxACT and H&R Block At Home.

Live Tax Answers — Get answers online from TurboTax experts and other TurboTax users in our Live Community. Plus, you’ll have instant access to answers to commonly asked tax questions on every screen.

Straightforward Guidance & Advice — Find answers on any tax topic from anywhere within TurboTax. Get explanations of specific tax areas in plain English and helpful examples when you need them.

EasyGuide™ — Not sure how to answer a tax question? We’ll guide you to the right answer, making your taxes even easier.

Ok, so you’re ready to enter for a chance to win, so what are the rules? It’s pretty simple this year and you have three separate ways to enter for a total of three entries per person.

So, enter one way, or enter with each method. It’s up to you. Starting on Monday, February 21st at noon I’ll randomly select one winner from all entries. I will repeat the drawing at noon on the following three days. Winners will be notified by the method they entered and will have 24 hours to acknowledge so I can provide the promo code information to get the free copy. If a winner fails to respond a second random drawing will be held.

Winners will be posted here shortly after the drawing, so please bookmark and check back!

Disclosure: I am a TurboTax affiliate and do occasionally write for Intuit, but they did not pay for this review. They did, however, provide the free copies of the software to give away.

You’ve dealt with the accident, made sure everyone involved is safe, and filed your auto insurance claim. But, what’s next? I’m sure there are a million questions going through your head – “What do I do next?” “When will I hear from the insurance agency?” And perhaps most importantly – “Did I do everything I could have?”

The following article will help guide you through the “after events” of an accident and guide you towards the best returns on your insurance claim. We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 things you should know and do to get maximum return from an auto insurance claim.

1.) Check for rental car coverage
If your car isn’t drivable, check your auto insurance policy to find out it if covers the expenses related to a rental car. Talk with your agent to determine if you’re still liable for collision damage to the rental car, as it can vary by policy.

If a rental car isn’t covered, consider asking to borrow a car from family or friends for the time being – so at least you have a way to get around in the meantime. Or, look into public transportation. Some larger cities have great public subway or bus systems, as well as car share programs.

2.) Review your insurance policy
Check to see if you have more than one insurance policy that can provide coverage for the accident. Many people have more than one policy under which they can file an insurance claim. In particular, look for “umbrella” policies, credit card paperwork, and homeowner policies. If you realize during this event that your insurance isn’t very good, you’ll want to find the best auto insurance policy for the future.

3.) Prepare for a phone call
After you’ve filed your insurance claim, the insurance company will call you to get more details about the accident. The phone call will usually be made by an insurance agent or claims adjuster. If your claim is approved, the company will send out an adjuster to assess the damage, or may recommend local body shop where you can get it fixed.

4.) Prepare for a phone call from the other party
If there is a dispute about the accident, you may get a call from the other person’s insurance company, who will ask you your version of the night of the accident. Be sure to record the details of the call and ask for the name of the agent you’re speaking with.

5.) Don’t give anything in writing
Until you fully understand your coverage, don’t give anything to your insurer in writing. You’re also not required to let the insurance company record your phone conversation. If you have any doubts about your rights, don’t be afraid to ask an attorney.

6.) Keep good records
As you’re talking with the insurance company or others involved in the claims process, make sure you keep a good record of who you talked to, when you talked to them, and what was discussed.

7.) Save receipts
Being overly prepared when it comes to an auto insurance claim can definitely work in your favor. Be sure to save any and all receipts that are related to your insurance claim, repair work on the vehicle, and any medical costs for treatment of injuries. Keep these receipts from the time of the accident until you get your final insurance settlement.

8.) Find out how much your car was worth
Research what your car was worth before the accident. Claims adjustors use a variety of resources (like online pricing sites and guide books) to determine the car’s value. Factors like registration, title costs, and sales tax are often figured in as well.

Since this can vary from company to company, it’s important you do research on your own – and don’t just take their word for it. Check websites like Edmund’s and Kelley Blue Book to determine your car’s value. If the claims adjuster presents you with a lower offer, don’t be afraid to come forward with what you’ve found.

9.) Decide if you want your car back
– After an accident, many people decide to purchase a comparable replacement or even upgrade to a nicer car since repairs can’t always return the car to its original state. Even if it can be repaired to a “like new” condition, it’s lost significant value because it was involved in a major accident.

10.) Get your car repaired or replaced
– If you got a rental car through your insurance company, the agreement will only provide the car for so long. Soon after the accident, you should begin looking for a replacement car. Or, if you decide to repair your car, look for a reliable repair shop in your city. Some insurance companies will recommend places to use, but ultimately, it’s your choice – talk to friends and colleagues to see which shop they prefer.

About the Author:
Pam King writes on frugality and insurance literacy for Direct General, a low cost car insurance provider. When not saving money on her insurance, Pam enjoys knitting, NASCAR and family (usually all 3 at once)

Times have definitely changed in the investing world. Many years ago, before computerized trading was a possibility, an argument was easily made that investing on fundamentals and very little chart reading could lead to successful returns. Even today, many investors wave off the charts in favor of fundamental analysis. One of their arguments is that stocks are based on companies. The way companies are run should give you some idea on how their stocks are faring.

Keep in mind that the stock market technical analysis vs fundamental analysis argument will come to an end about the same time as the PC vs. Mac debate (these are along the lines of religious debates). These matters have been argued for decades and the only thing that is for certain is that in the end, it’s all about the returns. Take a look at your online broker accounts and the returns they’ve been earning. Is your system working?

To illustrate this point, answer this question: How much of the daily volume is traded using purely technical analysis? The answer is 70% and rising! The reason for this is because 70% of all stock trades in the United States is computerized. A computer system doesn’t care who the management team is. It doesn’t care if a company has a new product coming out, if a drug fails to gain FAA approval or if there are any other newsworthy events that a human trader would find interesting.

To be fair, fundamental analysis includes a look at the balance sheets, P/E ratio and other metrics. But often, computers are made to analyze price action alone. For this reason, we can conclude that a large portion of the price action in a particular stock is the result of a computer, so it helps to think like one.

Charts are a graphical representation of the raw data evaluated by computers, and for that reason, it’s a good idea to take the same stance. So consider making technical analysis a part of your strategy (for the active part of your portfolio; preferably, it should also be a pretty small part of your assets).

Let’s examine a stock chart pattern that you can spot without having a lot of technical analysis know-how. Let’s look at the flat base pattern.

A flat base is a prolonged period of time where a stock trades with low volume and in a very tight range. The base doesn’t have to be perfectly flat, but you should be able to draw a straight line across the area of the tight trading range. Here’s a theoretical illustration:

Now let’s check out a real life example.

The above example is Cisco (CSCO). For those familiar with CSCO in November of 2010, we know that they had a severe earnings miss and as a result, saw a very large sell off. Like many stocks after a big event, CSCO has spent some time resting.

What happens after the base pattern is great news for the investor. Often, the stock begins to trend up and gain steam along the way. It may not go straight up but when you look back on a flat base, you will often see a very pronounced uptrend. Did that happen in the case of CSCO?

As we can see, it did happen. Since the flat base was formed, CSCO has added nearly $2 to its price (from a little over $19 to around $21 and change) which translates to a healthy gain for the investor who recognized the base pattern. As a trader, how should you play a flat base pattern?

Our Cisco example is a very short flat base pattern and for that reason, a trader should normally look for a longer duration base. In general, a base pattern of 2 months is a strong indication. Once you identify a stock that has set up a 2 month flat base, draw a straight line identifying the top of the base pattern. When the stock closes above that level, open a small position. The stock may be poised to go up.

If it ends up going back down to close below the top of the base, then close your position. But as long as it stays above the top, hold the position. Some stocks will break the top of their initial base and begin forming another base that’s slightly higher. If this happens, sell the position and collect your small gain.

There are various options available when it comes to which modular stage to choose. Some of the available options are:

1. Size of the platform
2. Do I need railing?
3. Do I need barricades?
4. Level of the ground
5. Importance of stage skirting
6. Time to complete setup/breakdown
7. Total cost incurred

No matter whether your company is staging for events like a concert, show, organizing a conference, putting on exhibitions or panning another type of event, these temporary platforms are always easier to setup and install in advance including your modular stage. These platforms are multi-functional and can provide advanced surfaces to make the event successful without any issues.

Staging for events is always an important thing that needs to be considered with proper care. While choosing a unit it is important to understand what type of platform you will need and of what size and strength. It is advised to plan your event in advice in order to avoid any hustle. Look for a company which offers a professional staff to take care of all your issues that may arise. You can also choose to fix your own staff to ensure better coordination.

The major benefit of a modular stage is that it can be setup quickly. The whole thing can be done within few hours depending on the size and the team involved. Determining which is best for your business is generally determined by your budget and the amount of time you will be using the platform.

Concept Staging Ltd holds one of UK's largest stocks and ranges of staging for events systems from scaffolding based to modular.

With the kind of expertise and notoriety he has gained over the past twenty five years,Carlos Gallastegui has become a common name in many facets of the business world.Basically he is an industrial strategist and an operational management professional with broad-based experience.Carlos Gallastegui is leading the rapid growth of Pangea Fine Foods, where he currently serves as president, building on the firm?s relatively unknown status into a brand that is well-regarded in the gourmet market circles across the Western US region.So with such vast experience gathered over the years,he has invariably become the main reason for the success of many organizations during his tenure.

Employing the right strategies at the opportune time and making them work to his benefit is the main edge that this pragmatic man has over the others.With traveling as the main source of inspiration,he has picked up many details over the span of twenty five years and has come to be known as a man who possesses excellent strategic,technical,people as well as tactical skills.For these qualities and many virtues that have made him the man he is, Carlos Gallastegui has become a noted and successful operations leader.

Even if Carlos Gallastegui makes a foray into the traveling industry, he will contribute way beyond the essentials.He will see that such an effort will lead to a profitable enterprise making use of his vast business experience and rich leadership and managerial skills.Whatever be the kind of business industry he forays into, success follows automatically!