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Relieving Recession Related Stress

: Image via Wikipedia

Whether you have a home business, or work for someone else, chances are that you are feeling a little bit of recession related stress. This is normal. Concerns about cash flow are real, and are thinking that they haven’t exactly done all that they could in terms of furgal living and financial planning. But, before you move to an extreme version of personal finance, consider these suggestions from Ginger at Girls Just Want to Have Funds:

1. Be realistic. Are you setting unachievable goals? Are you pushing things to the limit, trying to amass 8 months of expenses in 3 months so that you are safe? Step back and reconsider. Set reasonable goals that you can achieve.

2. Be in tune to your body. Recognize your body’s stress signals. This can even include keeping track of your eating habits, and understanding illnesses related to stress. If your body is showing signs of stress, consider some exercises or meditation or some soothing and relaxing activity each day.

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Work from Home: More Room in Your Budget

by Miranda Marquit 3 Comments

You don’t have to own a home business to work from home. Indeed, there are companies out there that allow its workers to telecommute on a regular business. This can be very helpful on a number of levels. Not only does telecommuting help companies slash costs in terms of overhead, it also helps you save money. Gather Little By Little looks at some of the ways he has saved money through telecommuting:

* Spend less money on gas for the commute.

* Spend less money on office clothes.

* Spend less money eating out or using the vending machines.

* More productivity without wasting time on socializing or the commute.

I thought that these were great points to make about being able to work from home. Plus, in addition to saving money directly, it is also possible to enjoy tax benefits. You can deduct expenses associated with your home office on your taxes, even if you don’t have a home business. Be sure to talk to a tax professional about the possibilities.

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Friday Fun Video: Stanley Marsh Loses His Money

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

A great clip from South Park about banking. Don’t worry; it’s family friendly.

Happy Friday!

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Does Your Spouse Work? You Should Be Seeing an Increase in Take Home Pay

by Miranda Marquit Leave a Comment

April 1st was the deadline for the Making Work Pay credit to start being applied. For those of us with a home business, it might mean waiting until the end of the year to claim this credit (unless you want to adjust your withholdings). However, if you have a spouse, you may not need to worry about applying for the credit. This is because employers are supposed to automatically adjust the withholding. I saw this in my husband’s direct deposit. The information on the W-4 he filled out shows that we are entitled to an $800 tax credit, so it’s being parsed out in his pay. Not that it makes a huge difference. But that’s less paperwork for me.

Another thing to watch out for includes families in which both spouses work. Both employers may be withholding the total $800, and that could mean that you get the double the credit you should have. And that means you might owe at the end of the year. Check with your HR department to see how things are working out, and make the necessary adjustments.

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Freelance Cat Caption Contest at Sparkplugging

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

If you are looking for a fun contest, head on over to Freelance Parent at Sparkplugging. The gals at Freelance Parent are holding a caption contest for a picture of a cat trapped beneath a laptop. Leave a comment with your caption, and you could win a really cool prize.

This is the sort of picture that helps you get through the day: a freelance cat. The contest is open until April 5th.

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Skype Ready to Launch iPhone Application

by Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

: Image by ebayink via Flickr

Yesterday, I mentioned that it is possible to run your home business from anywhere with the help of a PDA. Now your smart phone is about to get, well, smarter. Skype has announced that it will be providing applications for iPhone and for BlackBerry. This will allow callers to use a wi-fi network to place VoIP calls. This could be helpful for those making international calls — or for those who are approaching the limit on their minutes.

Personally, I find Skype exceptionally helpful for my home business: I can make international phone calls at a mere fraction of what I am charged by the landline or my wireless carrier. I love Skype, and this move makes the service even more lovable. The release of the iPhone app is imminent, while it will be May before Skype is available on BlackBerry.

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Can Your PDA Run Your Home Business?

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

Okay, so your PDA probably can’t run your home business. But you can run your home business using a PDA. Jean Murray over at Home Biz Notes has written an excellent post about the pros and cons of having your PDA as your primary mode of doing business. And it can be rather helpful, for the following reasons:

* You can keep all the information you need in one place that’s easy for you to access.

* You can easily address work-related issues while you are away.

* Your PDA can be outfitted with mobile versions of different software programs that you use for your business.

Of course, there are drawbacks: What happens when you lose your PDA? It has everything on it. I figure that I’d sync it up to a laptop, and keep the main stuff on the laptop. If my home business stuff was really involved, I’d also use an online data backup service — just to be sure.

At any rate, right now the only thing I use a PDA for is to check my email while I’m traveling. But I have dream of having my own laptop (not using my husband’s for emergencies) and my own PDA at some point, and when that happens, I’ll truly be mobile.

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Friday Fun Video: “Stupidity and Incompetance”

by Miranda Marquit Leave a Comment

Explaining the financial crisis, and the way opaque and complex financial instruments work. It’s really quite funny. These Brits are hilarious geniuses.

Happy Friday!

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Income Diversity: Where Does Your Money Come From?

by Miranda Marquit 3 Comments

One of the important considerations to make when you have a home business — or even when you are working a more traditional job — is income diversity. It is important to understand where your money is coming from, and to work on make sure that it is coming from more than one source. (As unemployment continues to show discouraging numbers, this is especially important for those with 9-5 jobs.)

In my work from home situation, I look for income diversity in a number of ways. While a great deal of money comes from my blogging, I am careful to make sure that no one client has an overwhelming amount of my work. I also try to diversify the kinds of things I write. In addition to blogs, I write for a science Web site as a reporter, provide non-blog Web content, and write for my local newspaper. Sometimes I even do some editing. And, just in case, I have accounts at Associated Content, eHow and Text Broker. This way, if I need to, I can write for immediate payment. I also have Google AdSense and arrangements for residual income on some of my blog posts.

But income diversity isn’t just about diversifying the types of business you do. It is also about finding other sources of income. You can do this by making money through sales on eBay, getting another job, investing in dividend paying stocks or participating in P2P lending. The income streams you have, the more secure you are. And if you can earn more through passive income options, that’s even better.

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Tax Credit About to Appear in Paychecks

by Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

That $400 (single), $800 (joint) tax credit promised in the recent economic stimulus package is about ready to start appearing. This tax credit will be spread out over 9 months, so it won’t be a huge improvement. But it is something. If you work for someone else, you will automatically see an adjustment. You won’t have to do anything — not even submit a new W-4. Your employer should adjust your withholding.

What to do if you are self-employed

If you have a home business, the story changes. You have two options:

1. Have your estimated taxes amount adjusted. You can learn how to do this by looking at IRS Publication 15-T.

2. Wait and claim it as a credit on your taxes next year. You can simply wait and claim it next year on your taxes. This is what I will do, since I’m already on track to make more this year, and without the credit my estimated tax payments are not likely to be sufficient.

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