Mar
08
2023

How to Finance the American Dream! What You Need to Know

You have heard the saying before “home is where the heart is”. There isn’t anything more true in America. A major part of the American dream is owning your own home. Our homes are a place to raise our children, where we retire, and where we feel safe. Each and every American has a different vision of where they want to call home. For some it is a city condo, others somewhere with a big back yard far away from others. Whatever the dream for a home most Americans are unable to achieve this dream without financing.

Financing is our pathway to owning a home we may not have the cash for. For example, most people don’t have 200.000 cash in the bank to purchase their family a nice home but if you have a job and decent credit financing will provide you shelter within that home and allow you to pay toward that dream over time.

Getting the right loan and getting approved for your home loan can be one of the most important steps of building your American dream. There are several factors to keep in mind when considering financing for your future home.

1. Stay within your means.

Remember, just because you may be approved for 600,000 dollars does not mean you should borrow that much money. Why? Consider your monthly payments with interest rates included on a 600,000 dollar loan. Will your job cover those payments each month with room to breath? What if you get fired or sick or hurt? Will you be able to continue to make your payments without that job? A wise home buyer will stay far within his or her financial means. It can even be wise to save an emergency mortgage payment fund in case you lose your job or someone in your family falls ill.

2. Consider your interest rate.

A home is the most solid investment you can make, however, it is important you fully understand how much you will be investing in that house over time. When adding up what you are willing to pay for a home consider the interest rate you will be paying. If you plan to pay on your home for 30 years calculate the interest rate in addition to the asking price of that home. You will see the actual amount you will be paying for the house when it is all said and done.

3. Don’t over pay.

Never buy a home or agree to an asking price without first considering all of the comparisons in the area. What are other homes selling for in the area? In addition, ask yourself “what repairs and renovations will I need to do?” Add these cost onto the asking price.

Consider the area. Is it up and coming? Are the schools good? Does this home have resale value? For example, a really beautiful home in a lousy neighborhood is an unwise investment as is a home that has four bedrooms but only one bathroom. Consider the layout, the practicality, and age of the home. Even if you plan to own your home until you die you never know what is waiting around the corner. You may have to sell even though you don’t “plan” to. All of these factors do weigh into what a bank or a lender will finance that home for.

4. Do your research.

When choosing your financing be sure to do your research. Just because one lender tells you he is giving you a good deal up front does not mean he isn’t over charging you on the back. Ask “what am I being charged on the back?” Make sure it is standard and fair.

Beware deals that seem to good to be true and ask as many questions as possible. Get the full story on closing costs and how long your loan will take to close. Make sure your lender offers a “closing on time” guarantee. When your loan is ready to close ask your lender about the amortization schedule and how to pay more toward the principle.

There is no better security for your future than owning your own home and building that homes equity. Make a wise purchase and choose financing you can afford from the start. If you follow that rule you will end up with a valuable investment. Remember, the American dream is that much sweeter when you make the right choices from the start. Happy home hunting!

Feb
04
2023

ABC of US Federal Income Tax Returns

In United States of America the filing of taxes is mandatory as per law and is an annual affair. Both State and Federal Government have their respective tax systems and qualifying individuals and entities must file their returns to both separately in most of the cases. The standard deadline to file federal income tax return each year is April 15th, therefore typically the tax season in United States would start with the beginning of New Year. Government has different forms for different category of tax payers which they need to fill and submit as their annual tax. These forms are available at various government agencies or can also be downloaded from the internet.

The Internal Revenue Service department which is more popularly known as IRS handles all federal tax related activities throughout the country. IRS is branch of branch of US federal government which functions directly under Department of Treasury. A tax return filed with IRS contains information related to the computation of the income, tax liability and deductions. Along with the same one also needs to pay for their due share of tax. As majority of population is working as salaried or wage earners their employers are entrusted with the responsibility to provide details pertaining to income earned by the employees by the means of Form W-2 and 1099. Most of the information required by a salaried individual to file his/her taxes is available in this form. For people those who have multiple sources of earnings may use different forms to file their tax returns to the federal government.

The process of computing tax and filing it kept as simple as possible by the IRS so that most people do not face difficulty in filing their tax. However still many would like some assistance in doing so. Such people have the option of taking help from a registered Tax Preparer or a CPA. Most of the information and process of filing of income tax has become electronic and can be done through the official website of IRS for free.

Every citizen of the country and the expats those who are earning and living in America have to file their tax returns. For people those due to different reasons cannot file their tax returns on time can also apply for a six month extension. Such an extension can give them extra time to prepare and file their returns.

Jan
03
2023

Tips To Becoming A Success At A Home Business

Have you ever noticed how many work at home ads there are? Actually, there are many work-at-home schemes in existence. You can do it, but there are no hidden tricks to it. This article will provide you with the basic information you need to begin a business from your home.

When approaching a home business, it is important to know where the biggest opportunity lies. Internet-based businesses are the biggest thing in today’s world, but they also come with some of the biggest risks. Therefore, one of the most important parts of starting a home business is making sure that your product or service is going to fit a profitable niche.

Make sure you keep accurate records of all your home business activity. It’s easy to put off pesky record-keeping tasks till you feel like doing them, but strive to keep everything pertaining to your business up-to-date so that you won’t be confused and stressed out later on.

When you are just starting with your home business, it can be difficult to separate home life and work. You can find yourself in situations where you are trying to do work around the house, do work related to your business, and also relax at the same time. This can lead either burn out from working too much or not enough productivity by focusing too much time on other things. It is important to set boundaries between your home life and your home business, and allocate specific times during the day that you devote to each.

Keep a detailed log of all business expenses, including miles driven and supplies purchased. Make sure to attach relevant receipts. This will help you when you need to file taxes. Additionally, if your business is ever audited, it will be much easier to face the audit if you already have detailed, day-by-day accounts.

You can write off the cost of new furniture, electronics and other expensive items for your office, on your tax returns. Having an up-to-date computer and a comfortable work-space, can help your efficiency greatly. However, to avoid trouble with audits, make sure that anything you write off is being used mostly or exclusively for your business.

Take advantage of your tax deductions to optimize the profits for your home business. You can save a significant amount of money by claiming the right deductions.

It is essential to give your web site address to as many search engines as possible, even the small, unknown ones. You want to do everything you can to increase the likelihood that a potential client will come across your site. This step does not take long and could have positive results for you in the future.

As you have just learned, there are many people trying to sell you on scams. However, as you’ve learned throughout this article, there are also many common-sense tips and tactics that you can use in order to grow your home business. If you’re willing to put in the work, you can certainly be successful.

Dec
04
2022

Where to Invest in a Roth IRA Depends on Your Investment Intentions

If you’re looking to find out where to invest in a Roth IRA, then I’m sure you’ve already realized all the benefits a Roth IRA can provide for your retirement future. Roth IRAs a a great way to build a substantial retirement nest egg and capitalize on tax-free investment profits. Can you imagine how fast your nest egg will grow when you are able to put 100% of all your profits earned with your retirement savings back into your account? Where to invest in an IRA depends on what type of investing you plan on practicing, which we will go over in this article.

First of all, it’s worth mentioning the maximum income for a Roth IRA. The maximum income for a Roth IRA is $100,000 if you’re single and $159,000 if your married filing jointly. This means that if you’re even thinking of opening a Roth IRA, you must make less than the amounts above. If you meet the maximum income for a Roth IRA requirements, then keep reading.

Alright so like a said before, where to invest in a Roth IRA depends on what kind of investing you plan on doing. Not sure what it is you want to invest it yet? I suggest that you decide this first so you can choose a Roth IRA provider that can meet your individual needs.

One place where you can invest in a Roth IRA is the bank. Banks are the best place to invest if you don’t have much money to invest at the beginning, as their minimum investment amounts are usually much lower than other providers. However, banks tend to provide very little choices as to what you can invest in with your account. Most of the time, they only allow you to invest in company stock or other securities that they can profit from. And, even though they can guarantee you a certain return, it’s often a very low one.

Another place to invest in a Roth IRA is a mutual fund company. These companies allow you to choose which of their mutual funds you’d like to invest in- whether it be stocks, bonds, or other securities. But again, your choices of investments are very limited. Nonetheless, this tends to be the most popular route people take when opening a Roth IRA. This is also why so many people’s retirement accounts are hurting right now.

You can also invest in a Roth IRA at brokerage firms. Brokerage firms are like investment “middle-men,” so be ready to pay various fees and expenses. They are most often connected to purchasing stock shares (which they suggest to their clients). But, some do allow people to research and decide which stocks they would like to invest in.

Here’s an option where to invest in a Roth IRA that I strongly recommend you consider. You can open a Roth IRA with a trust company. Retirement accounts managed by a trust company are usually self directed IRAs. The account holder is in sole control over a self directed IRA and chooses which assets to invest in. You can also choose from a much wider array of investments besides your ordinary volatile securities. With a self directed IRA, you can invest in real estate, energy properties, green energy, businesses, gold, tax liens, and much more. You can find out more about self directed IRAs by reading more of my other articles.

In today’s current economy, real estate provides investors with huge opportunities. Before the housing bubble burst, many contractors were concentrated on building elaborate, “McMansion” type homes that cost over $250,000. As a result, many people could not afford or handle the payments on these homes, and defaulted (you can leave these homes for Realtors to deal with).

Today, there is a hidden real estate market out there that has recently formed, and people are taking advantage of it as we speak. Many working class families are searching for a home they can afford, preferably under $150,000. But with all the recent concentration on selling huge, expensive homes, these families are left with no place to call “home.”

I know of a company that has taken the initiative to provide affordable housing to these kind of families. What they are doing is allowing private investors to get in on all the action! Many investors are experiencing huge returns around 15%, 25%, and even 40% each and every year. And since they are investing with a Roth IRA, all the profits they make are never taxed!