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Sunday, April 29, 2007
Weekend Quote - Domination and Self Belief
Hats off to the Australians who completely decimated their opposition teams in the 2007 Cricket World Cup held in the Carribean Islands during Mar-April, and in the process won their third back-to-back World Cup. Here're some additional weekend quotes from the Big Daddies/Masters/Champs of the Cricket World - Australia:

We've dominated this tournament like no team has dominated a tournament before
- Ricky Ponting, Australian Captain after winning the 2007 Cricket World Cup

The enjoyment I've got from playing with these guys and the self-belief that we can win every game we play
- Glenn McGrath, retiring Australian Cricket Fast Bowler on what he would take away from his team

It will be an exciting time with younger guys in and around the team. It'll be a challenge for me and the senior players. But I fully expect Australia to win every game. I know the quality of those players
- Ricky Ponting, Australian Captain on the retirement of key senior players and joining of younger players

We are never happy and satisfied with our performance and levels and continue to challenge ourselves to improve
- - Ricky Ponting, Australian Captain
posted by Ruby @ 3:05 PM   0 comments

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Weekend Quote - Quality
Our goal has never been to sell the most cars in the world. We simply want to be the best in quality. After that, sales will take care of themselves
- Paul Nolasco, Toyota spokesman, on Toyota's surpassing GM in car sales
posted by Ruby @ 8:03 AM   0 comments

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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Impact of closing old credit accounts
The Kiplinger.com article discusses the impact of closing old credit accounts on a person’s credit history, especially those that are not in good standing.

As per the article, simply closing an account doesn’t remove it from a person’s credit history. Closed accounts stay on the credit report for 10 years, while any negative info stays for 7 years.

For complete article, check out:

Kiplinger.com: Closing Credit Card Accounts
posted by Ruby @ 12:43 AM   0 comments

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Certification Info: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
The CISA is a systems accounting-related certification offered by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The certification exam focuses on information systems auditing, control and security and is divided into the following six practice areas:

- IS Audit Process
- IT Governance
- Systems and Infrastructure Lifecycle
- IT Service Delivery and Support
- Protection of Information Assets
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

A person needs to have at least 5 years of professional experience in the field of information systems auditing, control or security work experience before he/she can sit for the exam. The exam is 4 hours in duration and consists of approx 200 multiple choice questions. The exam is administered twice annually, during the months of June and December.

In addition to passing the exam, maintaining the certification requires a person to get at least 20 hours of CPE annually, and 120 hours every three years.

For more details, check out the following related links:

CISA certification overview

Exam: Practice Areas

Exam Information

FAQs

Sample Exam Questions

For posts on other accounting and finance-related certifications, check out the following links:

CPA

CMA

Enrolled Agent

CFA

CIA


posted by Ruby @ 12:36 AM   2 comments

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Sunday, April 22, 2007
Weekend Quote - Virginia Tech
We are sad today, and we will be sad for a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech....
- Nikki Giovanni, VT Distinguished Professor
posted by Ruby @ 8:34 AM   0 comments

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Friday, April 20, 2007
Saving enough for retirement?
CNNMoney.com article answers a question of a 22-year old reader who’s making $75,000 per year and saving almost 30% of his salary. His question – is he saving enough to retire at age 50? 55?

The reader definitely seems to be in a good position – he is not only saving sizable amount of money but has a huge advantage in terms of age – he is only 22 years and so has many years over which his savings can grow.

For complete article, click the following link:

CNNMoney.com - Starting early for early retirement
posted by Ruby @ 8:56 AM   0 comments

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Things to know when starting out
The Kiplinger.com's article discusses some of the things that every graduating student should know when entering the real world. One of the reality checks is that the government takes a big chunk out of each pay check. While the expenses are many, the article recommends doing the same thing that the government does to our pay checks - pay yourself first.

The article recommends staring out by building up the short-term emergency savings, and then moving out to investing for the long term. Advantage of starting saving early - a 22-year-old saving $211 every month and earning an average annual rate of 8% is expected to have about $951,000 by the time he turns 65.

For complete article, check out:

Kiplinger.com: Cost-Of-Living Reality Check
posted by Ruby @ 6:07 AM   0 comments

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Free ice cream scoop today at Ben & Jerry's
Ben and Jerry's is offering free ice cream scoop today between 12 PM - 8 PM at participating shops. For details, check out the following link:

Ben & Jerry's
posted by Ruby @ 10:34 AM   1 comments

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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Weekend Quote - Latte Factor
A latte spurned is a fortune earned
- People Magazine
posted by Ruby @ 1:20 AM   0 comments

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Friday, April 13, 2007
Filing for tax extension
With the April 17th tax deadline approaching soon, we recently filed Form 4868 to get a 6-month tax extension. The form, for most part, was pretty straight forward and we used TaxAct software to file the extension electronically for free. We are expecting a refund, so didn't have to worry about making sure that we have paid all our taxes as otherwise IRS and state tax agencies impose a hefty late fee penalty. For our state, we get automatic extension if we have filed for federal tax extension, so didn't have to file a separate extension for state taxes.

As per an article I read recently, it's better to pay late fee penalty rather than filing late (ie, without requesting an extension). As per the article, IRS charges 0.5% monthly late-payment fee while the fee is much bigger for filing late - a whopping 5% monthly!

For complete article, check out:

Pantagraph.com: Paying late better than filing late
posted by Ruby @ 7:47 AM   0 comments

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Thursday, April 12, 2007
Free tickets for the Millionaire Inside show (Apr 17 - Englewood Cliffs, NJ)
CNBC is offering free tickets to join the studio audience for the Millionaire Inside show. The show features well-known financial professionals such as David Bach, Barbara Corcoran, Phil Town and Loral Langemeier.

There will be two tapings on April 17 in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Tickets can be obtained by emailing WealthSummitTickets@cnbc.com or by
using the following link:

Tickets

Studio Address:

CNBC Global Headquarters
900 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

For details on the Millionaire Inside show, check out:

Millionaire Inside show
posted by Ruby @ 3:12 PM   0 comments

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Check fraud
The Kiplinger.com article answers a question regarding the growing scam, involving check fraud.

Many sellers are getting overpayments from people pretending to be buyers. These fake buyers issue checks for greater than the selling price of the merchandise and ask the seller to refund the difference, keeping back a certain percentage for the trouble of refunding the difference. The catch - the fake check bounces later on, and the buyer may be out of the money, in case he has already refunded the fake buyer.

The article suggests sellers to ask payments in the form of money order from the U.S. Postal Service. However, even with this method care needs to be exercised. I once listed an item on Craigslist and a buyer sent me an electronic money order issued by USPS. When I checked with the post office, they told me that there's no such thing as an electronic money order. The lesson - be careful when selling anything online and where feasible, cash is probably the best method for accepting payments from strangers.

For complete article, click the following link:

Kiplinger.com - Watch Out for Check Fraud
posted by Ruby @ 7:17 AM   0 comments

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Monday, April 09, 2007
Get up to $500 for rolling over IRA
ETrade is offering from $50 - $500 for rolling over IRA depending on the dollar amount being rolled over. For details, check out:

ETrade: IRA Rollover
posted by Ruby @ 7:10 AM   0 comments

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Sunday, April 08, 2007
Weekend Quote - the Right Model
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy
- Olivia Goldsmith
posted by Ruby @ 7:34 AM   0 comments

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Friday, April 06, 2007
Salary survey: Accountants and Engineers remain in high demand
CNNMoney.com's article discusses the entry level salaries of graduates from different fields. Among the highest earners are Chemical Engineers ($60k approx), Electrical and Mechanical Engineers ($55k approx), and Computer Scientists ($52k approx). Accountanting graduates continue to remain in high demand although their salaries are slightly lower at $47k approx.

For complete details, check out:

CNNMoney.com - Grad salary offers on the rise

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Thursday, April 05, 2007
Free magazine subscriptions
Mercury magazine and FreeBizMag are offering free subscriptions of PC Magazine and Caribbean Travel and Life, respectively to qualified customers. For details, check out:

Free PC Magazine

Caribbean Travel and Life
posted by Ruby @ 6:59 AM   0 comments

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Guilty for tax fraud but problems for DOJ in recouping over $100m
WebCPA article mentions about a person who was jailed for cheating on taxes but so far, the Dept of Justice has failed to get its hands on over $100m he was supposed to pay in restitution. Reason: prosecutors listed the wrong statute in the person’s plea agreement! For details, check out:

DOJ Puts Tax Cheat in Jail, But Doesn't Get Hands on $100M
posted by Ruby @ 9:22 AM   0 comments

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Monday, April 02, 2007
BEAT the STREET stock trading competition
TheStreet.com and OptionsExpress are holding a trading competition for a chance to win $50,000 and meet Jim Cramer. For complete details, check out:

BEAT the STREET game

Also check out the following link:

Beat the Street, and win $100,000
posted by Ruby @ 5:00 AM   0 comments

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Sunday, April 01, 2007
Weekend Quote - Deed
One small good deed is better than a grand intention
- Author Unknown
posted by Ruby @ 7:12 AM   0 comments

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Favorite Quote
"If you look at what you have in life, you will always have more. If you look at what you do not have in life, you will never have enough".
                - Author Unknown
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