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| Tuesday, July 29, 2008 |
| Sweepstakes winner .... or loser? |
Every once in a while, I enter sweepstakes. Recently wanted to find out about the tax implications of winning a sweepstake. As happens with most of the money we all get, IRS wants to make sure it gets it share - the same principle applies to sweepstakes winnings which are taxable. What's worse is that sometimes you may have to pay taxes even if you don't make use of the award.
As per article by Ric Edelman, a winner of a TV game show accepted the offer for a cruise worth $8,000. However, as her husband fell ill, she couldn't take the trip. Unfortunate? Yes, but what was a double-whammy for her was that in January, the TV producers sent her 1099 for the value of the trip. Result? She owed federal and state income taxes.Why?She agreed to go, and that’s what triggered the tax liability; the fact that she didn’t go is not the producer’s (or the IRS’s) problem.
People who win raffles, lotteries, and prizes on game shows often don’t realize that their winnings are considered to be taxable income. Worse, when the prize is an appliance, car, furniture, or vacation, the producer issues a 1099 based on the full retail price, even though the item can often be purchased from retailers at a substantial discount.
Before accepting a prize, make sure you truly want it. Is it worth the taxes you’ll have to pay? If yes, be prepared to receive a 1099. But before you pay the tax, shop around and obtain quotes for the actual fair market value, for this figure will often be less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (which is likely the basis for the amount on the 1099). By enlisting the aid of a talented tax advisor, you’ll be able to reduce the tax liability on that prize. Ric Edelman sums his opinion on entering sweepstakes etc pretty well when he says:I hope you can “afford” to win For details, see::
Ric Edelman: Should You Accept the Prize You Just Won?Labels: ss |
posted by Ruby @ 9:26 AM
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| Wednesday, July 23, 2008 |
| Malware problems |
I and one of my friends spent most of the past few days trying to remove malware from our computers. Both of us got messages that our computers have been infected with spyware and prompted us to buy software that will remove it.
Of course, one thing that was clear to both of us was that it was just a ploy to get us to buy the supposedly some anti-spyware application when in fact, that person/company itself installed spyware on our machines. The names of the anti-spyware app would some times be AntiSpywareMaster and some times, something else. A search on the internet confirmed that many people had similar experiences. Some of these people ended up buying the software based on the popup messages they got but the software did nothing to remove the malware.
In my friend's case, the process of removing the spyware turned out to be relatively simple. I had her install Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and after scanning her computer about 5 times, the spyware was gone and things were back to normal for her.
However, in my case, the problem turned out to be more serious. No matter how many times I scanned my PC, the malware never got removed even though a couple of times, Ad-Aware identified the malware and supposedly removed it but I still kept getting malware infected messages. In addition, the system performance was quite slow and whenever I went to sites like Yahoo and Gmail to check my email, my inboxes would never load up. When I went to a site, some times, all of a sudden, multiple windows of that site would open up. Worse, searching on Google for the malware messages I was getting automatically would load up an anti-spyware page which of course, I knew was just another way to convince me to purchase the useless antispyware. I also used anti-virus software but again, that didn't do anything to remove the malware.
Since I have Windows XP, I tried doing System Restore but that also proved fruitless. My system would show only one previous date to choose for restore and that would always fail without doing the restore. Ultimately, I gave up and had to reinstall Windows and other apps again - it was a time consuming and frustrating experience. For people who create and install such pieces of crap on others' system, I just hope that nature pays them back appropriately for the nuisance they cause to innocent people.
One thing I have learned as a result of this experience is to create frequent system restore set points. Now, every time I scan my system using Ad-Aware, after the scanning process. I use Ad-Aware's option to create a set point for system restore. Hopefully, in future, if there's ever such a problem, I can always roll my system back to a previous date using System Restore feature in XP. |
| posted by Ruby @ 12:41 AM
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| Sunday, July 20, 2008 |
| Don't Quit |
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
- by Edgar A. Guest |
| posted by Ruby @ 8:41 PM
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| Sunday, July 13, 2008 |
| Weekend Quote - Opportunities |
The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck
– Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| posted by Ruby @ 10:21 AM
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| Saturday, July 12, 2008 |
| IndyMac's foreclosure |
IndyMac joined the ranks of other failed financial institutions to go under due to the current housing/financial crisis. IndyMac was yet another victim of its loose and shoddy lending practices that came back to haunt it.
FDIC took over of the bank yesterday. Most of the bank's customers, however, should not be impacted for too long. IndyMac customers with funds in the bank were limited to taking out money via automated teller machines over the weekend, debit card transactions or checks, regulators said.
Other bank services, such as online banking and phone banking were scheduled to be made available on Monday.
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The FDIC planned to reopen the bank on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB.
Deposits are insured up to $100,000 per depositor. The bank had about 10,000 depositors who had funds in excess of the insured limit, for a total of $1 billion in potentially uninsured funds. Customers with uninsured deposits could begin making appointments to file a claim with the FDIC on Monday. The agency said it would pay unsecured depositors an advance dividend equal to half of the uninsured amount. For details, see:
AP: Government shuts down mortgage lender IndyMac
FDIC IndyMac page
Toll-Free Customer line: 1-866-806-5919. |
| posted by Ruby @ 7:41 AM
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| Wednesday, July 09, 2008 |
| Recommendations for increasing blog readership |
Was surfing the net and came across a very nice article by MomAdvice on increasing the blog readership. The article is extremely useful for novices like me. Among the key recommendations:
- joining like-minded communities such as Yahoo groups and using a link in the signature link (assuming that's allowed under the group's policy)
- share names of blogs you like
- share your content via ezines and newsletters
- update your blog site frequently
For other recommendations and the entire article, see:
MomAdvice.com: Gaining a Readership (The Frugal Way) |
| posted by Ruby @ 9:42 AM
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| Wednesday, July 02, 2008 |
| Filing for free credit monitoring service - TransUnion preliminary lawsuit settlement |
After reading an article at Kiplinger.com, recently registered for 6-months of free credit monitoring service from Transunion. Transunion is offering it as part of its preliminary lawsuit settlement.TransUnion agreed to offer free credit monitoring to more than 160 million people as part of a preliminary lawsuit settlement. The suit claims that TransUnion violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by selling lists with consumers' personal and financial information for marketing purposes. TransUnion discontinued that business several years ago. Anyone who had an open credit account or open line of credit from any lender from January 1, 1987, to May 28, 2008 is eligible to register for the service.Anyone with a credit card, car loan, mortgage, student loan or any other loan qualifies, which means most adults do. The deadline to register is September 24 and you have the option to sign up for 9-months of free credit monitoring service, or for 6-months of free credit monitoring service with the option to receiving cash benefits in the event of a cash distribution.
For details, see:
Trans Union Corporation Privacy Litigation
To register for benefits:
Trans Union Corporation Privacy Litigation: Register for Benefits
Related article:
Kiplinger.com: Get Free Credit-Monitoring Services |
| posted by Ruby @ 9:28 AM
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| Tuesday, July 01, 2008 |
| Extension deadline for filing business taxes reduced |
IRS has reduced the extension deadline for filing business tax returns from Oct. 15 to Sept. 15. The new rule will impact partnership, estate and trust tax returns.
For details, see:
WebCPA: IRS Reduces Business Tax Extension Period |
| posted by Ruby @ 9:41 AM
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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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