Growing a garden can be very rewarding, providing you with food, flowers, and a beautiful landscape all season long - but buying an instant garden at full retail can be very costly. Fortunately, it's easy to cut your costs if you have patience and keep your eyes open for opportunities. Here are a few tips to get you started: Buy smaller woody plants. Cut costs on permanent landscaping by starting with smaller trees and shrubs and space them according...
The IRS estimates that approximately 10 million taxpayers wait until the last days before the deadline and millions more will request an extension. If you haven't filed yet, you may be relieved to hear that this year tax returns are due on April 18th instead of the usual deadline of April 15th due to the observation of Emancipation Day. Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19th due to the observation of Patriot's Day. The...
Cooler weather may be a welcome change from the summer's heat, but it won't be long before you'll need to crank up your home's heating system. Now is the time to get prepared and check that everything is working properly so you'll be cozy at home when it turns cold outside. Maximize your heating system's efficiency. Vacuum your air vents, clean or replace your furnace filter every month, and clear debris such as leaves, dirt, and grass...
As the holiday approaches, you may be thinking of how to spend your Labor Day weekend. Here are a few ideas on getting out on Labor Day without spending too much of the cash you've been laboring for. Have a potluck get-together. Good food and good people are a normal part of any holiday, but you can spread the cost by having friends or family bring their favorite dish and drinks or something to throw on the grill. It's...
It's important to have a plan for extra cash when you find a way to spend less or make more. No amount is too small to have a plan for - even an extra hundred dollars a month can make a big difference over the long run. With a good plan, you can be sure that extra cash goes towards building more financial security while also allowing for some fun stuff. Pay off your credit cards. It's time to change...
The federal government on Tuesday ordered Citibank and its subsidiaries to pay back consumers approximately $700 million harmed by the bank's illegal practices conducted from 2003 through 2012. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said that roughly 7 million of the bank's customers were affected by Citibank and its vendor's deceptive marketing, unfair billing practices, and administration of debt protection and credit monitoring services. Citibank's debt protection services "AccountCare," "Balance Protector," "Credit Protection," "Credit Protector," and "Payment...
It's not hard to find ways to save a few dollars here and there, and those few dollars can easily add up to $100 or more per month. Consider making changes to your routine to find the cash to put into your emergency fund, savings for a down payment on a home, your retirement account, a long overdue vacation, or your children's future education. Look at your daily habits. Cutting out relatively small expenditures like a daily...
Your credit card issuers gave you a Cardholder Agreement with their terms and conditions when you opened a new account, and it's your responsibility as the card holder to abide by them, or be hit with fees and interest charges. But we're all human and make the occasional mistake, or life happens beyond our control. While a creditor may seem like the last one to be understanding of personal excuses, it never hurts to speak to a customer...
Your rights as taxpayer may not always be clear or easy to find answers to, but that should change with the newly released Taxpayer Bill of Rights that was announced on Tuesday by the IRS. Publication 1, “Your Rights as a Taxpayer” has been redesigned with the 10 rights and will be sent to millions of taxpayers this year when they receive IRS notifications on tax issues ranging from audits to collection. The information will also...
If you haven't already done so, today's the day to file your return and pay your 2013 taxes. If you need more time to complete your return, you can submit IRS Form 4868 to request a six-month extension. Taxpayers don’t need a special reason for an extension; they are granted to anyone who needs more time. The fastest and easiest way to get extra time is to head over to IRS.gov and submit your form electronically...
