moneytalks

Boy things have started to go south here with Mr. and Mrs. Moneytalks. Small paychecks from a slumping economy have put us in our worst financial situation in quite a while. I’ve actually taking money out of savings to cover our checking accounts. All of this while the Holidays quickly approach. We’re lucky that our son will only be 11 months old when Christmas time comes so if we can’t get him as much as we would have liked he won’t know the difference. Some people aren’t as lucky though, some people have children old enough to be very disappointed by a lack of Christmas gifts.

Budgets are a part of life but they seem to go out the window when it comes time to buy gifts. As nice as it sounds to splurge and give a great gift to everyone you know it just isn’t realistic.

Don’t be afraid to cut back and go the frugal route, you won’t be the only one this year. Look at clearance racks for clothing. Perhaps you can try second hand stores or Ebay for a good deal? Credit cards may seem like a nice solution but as a lot of know they can add up faster then we realize and then the next thing we know we’re paying off this years gifts until it’s time to buy next presents for next year. Just be smart and stick to a serious budget. The way my account looks my budget will be spent at the dollar store.

I couldn’t believe it when I read it, I nearly fell out of my chair. My heart ached and I mustered up any religious bones in my body to say a prayer. That’s right everybody, I heard that the CEO of Ford Motors, Alan Mulally, had to drive to government hearings about the proposed bailout. Sad but true his private jet appeared to be a bad PR move when begging the tax payers to give you billions in bailout money. Now driving a stylish Ford Fusion hybrid (a car you know he would never drive in real life) Mr. Malally arrived at another hearing with government officials.

On top of all his sorrow he claimed that he would take on a new salary of a mere $1 a year if they have to actually recieve a bailout from the government. Imagine how hungry he and his family will be with him only making a dollar a year. If this happens I will be taking up donations to send this poor man. Or better yet I’ll suggest him start blogging at Today.com where he can double his yearly salary in one day if he wrote two blogs. Perhaps a referal could be on my horizon.

Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas is on its way and with those holidays come the end of the year. As we all know the end of the year means tax time right around the corner. Some of us don’t make enough to worry about making any final actions that will make any real impact on their tax situation.

For those of us lucky enough to make enough that we have that fortunate headache here are some tips. Turbo Tax listed some end of the year advise and they tell people that one thing to do is to donate. It doesn’t even have to be money, clothes, toys, old furniture anything of value that someone could possibly use can be donated with a tax deduction. Another tip is to sell losing stocks. Keep in mind that only $3,000 can be claimed in any one year so any more than that must be carried over to your 2009 taxes. One more little idea is to pay off some bills a little early. Paying these off early can make them eligible to be written off on this years return.

Tax time is no fun for anybody but trying some of these easy ideas could make things a little more bearable.