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April 15th has come and gone. Many of us are still wiping the sweat off of our brows from all the frantic activities of saving some tax and filing our returns. And many of us have made a new new-year resolution—one that we make every year around this time—to never leave our tax planning and filing for the last minute. If only we could hold ourselves to that one.

But, for those who are more determined than last year to take this latest resolution more seriously, here are some tips on better tax planning for the next year from Adam Ginsberg, one of the leading coaches on wealth building and management.

Tax Tip #1
Itemized Tax Deductions Vs Standard Tax Deductions

The 2009 IRS data shows that 45 million Americans claimed more than $1 trillion in tax deductions by itemizing them compared to the 92 million tax payers who only claimed $700 million by way of standardized deductions. Going by these statistics, it does not take a math genius to figure out that itemized deductions are better for your financial health. This should be incentive enough to get you started on next year’s tax planning early. Adam Ginsberg suggests that you consult a tax accountant as soon as you can and understand the various heads that you can itemize your deductions under. Next, you keep track of any expenses that you incur under these heads and bring them to your accountant before you file your returns next year. Be sure to pat yourself on the back when you compare your tax savings on itemized deductions with your standard deductions that you claimed this year.

Tip #2
Make Money on Your Tax Money

If you are already saving some dollars on your taxes by filing for itemized deductions, you could make some more money still by planning your taxes in advance. Adam Ginsberg suggests that you bring out your calculator and figure out how much tax will you owe Uncle Sam next year by taking your current tax payout and adding what you estimate will your tax grow by in the coming year (forecast your income growth etc.). Now divide that figure by 12 and what you get is your monthly tax liability. Now, instead of foraging into your savings, taking a loan, or using your credit card to pay the tax collector together at the end of the year, you could put aside the monthly installment of your estimated tax liability into a short-term deposit or look for other interest-earning venues where your tax money would not only be safe, but will also earn interest for you the entire year. So, not only do you earn interest on your tax money, but also save interest on a possible loan or credit card payment of your tax.

While these two tips should be motivation enough to make an appointment with your tax accountant today, we would love to hear your thoughts on why we should start our tax planning early this year. Leave a feedback comment or drop us a line.

Adam Ginsberg wants to help you to save money by educating you on taxes, which would help you have a financially sound 2013.  Read more of Adam Ginsberg Resources for other tips.


 
It’s that time of the year again. Time to bring out the calculator, bank statements, the folder with all your investment receipts and everything else needed to do the one thing that cannot be put off for later….file your Tax Returns!

Adam Ginsberg, one of the foremost authorities on wealth building and internet entrepreneurship offers some useful, practical tips that could save you time, and possibly, some money too!

Tax Tip #1

Don’t leave it to the last minute

Here’s a last minute advice for all those who are waiting for the last minute to file their tax returns. It may not be a good idea to leave filing your tax returns till April 15th. As it often happens, you may miss out on saving some tax by forgetting to attach a deductible expense or by some other foresight. While it may be late for this year, you could start early in the next. Filing taxes and financial planning are very important for every earning individual and should not be treated as low-priority chores. Instead take out a few days in the beginning of April (take off from work if you have to) and get your tax filing paperwork in order.

Tax Tip #2

Get Professional Help

It is always a good idea to take the help of a professional tax preparer to prepare your returns if you fall under a high tax bracket. There are many provisions in the tax law to reduce your taxable income, and hence your tax liability. Besides a professional tax preparer will be updated with the latest revisions in the tax law, which will help you in filing your returns more accurately.

Tax Tip #3

Invest to Save

If you fall under a higher tax bracket and suddenly realize that you could save some tax by making a few investments, then go ahead and do it while you still have time till April 15th. The best investments are in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that can help you reduce your taxable income by $5,000, and in a Health Savings Account (HSA), which can reduce your taxable income by $6,250 on a family policy. Again, get in touch with a professional tax advisor to explore more ways to save your tax liability.

While these tips may be of some help for the last-minute filers of tax returns, you could also use them to start early for the next year.

Check this space for more tax tips from Adam Ginsberg…coming soon! 

For more on eBay business resources and tools you can check out my Secrets of an Auction Millionaire or Success with Adam.  Also you get a free eBay report from me by following the given link and sharing your name and valid email address.
 
For some people it is very difficult to talk over money issues with their spouse. This topic may bring stress in their relationships, but the fact is that it is a very serious issue. The Adam Ginsberg team brings this article written by Trent Hamm on thesimpledollar.com. We hope you will find this article helpful and interesting, and after reading this you will find ways to talk over money issues with your spouse.

Sometimes it’s easier not to talk about it, because at times what happens if you try to deal with this issue is that it converts into an argument.

Before starting up any discussion, remind yourself that the person sitting across from you is a human being. It sounds like common sense, but common sense goes out the window when heated discussions begin. You have to understand humans aren’t perfect. Humans wish to be understood and accepted and loved by others, even when they mess up.

The second thing is to bring your own flaws, and other flaws you see in your partner to the table. When someone comes to the table with a litany of things that you’ve done wrong, it can feel very much like an attack. When you feel attacked, you’re going to respond with either fight (you get angry) or flight (you shut it out). So how will you start?

Before going into any really deep money discussions, make some notes about what you want to talk, and work through things beforehand. Also ensure that your spouse is aware that you intent to discuss these financial details with them.  Don’t make your spouse look bad by being taken unaware about your decision to discuss these matters.  Let he/she also be prepared to give their take on this issue.

It’s awfully hard to come to the table as an inquisitor when you’re holding a long list of your own mistakes.

Note that you don’t necessarily have to keep this purely within money mistakes. Often, overspending and other financial errors are tied to other aspects of marital life, even in ways you don’t initially see. Don’t be afraid to bring your own mistakes in other areas to the table.

But don’t use it as a trick to blame your partner, by telling him or her, we are here to sort out your “huge” mistakes and compare to your mistakes mine are “smaller”. Here what you have to remember is that you both make mistakes, and you’re going to work through fixing those mistakes together.

The final step is, before mentioning your fact, do your homework first. This mean if you’re going to talk about credit card debt, have credit card statements at the ready. If you’re going to talk about mutual overspending, have that credit card statement itemized in advance.

Remember, though, you need to bring your own mistakes to the table, too. This means showing your partner the places where you’ve made poor decisions, even if it’s painful.

We hope these tactics will help you to make your financial relationship better with your spouse and it will guide you, how to deal with money issues whether it’s about saving money or future planning without hurting you partner’s emotions.

Adam Ginsberg is helping people with his online money making formulas, and if you want to know more about his resources like eBay tools, eBay templates and eBay auction templates you can visit Success With Adam or Secrets of an Auction Millionaire. You can also listen to testimonials from  his satisfied customers.