Wise Finish

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life is an interesting book.   At 105 pages, it is a very quick read.

John G. Miller uses the 105 pages in QBQ to the fullest.  Over several short chapters, he uses captivating stories and real-life situations to get across his message.   The main thrust of the book is something I think we all need to work on: the area of personal responsibility and accountability, even in situations where we feel we are not responsible.  He urges his readers to ask the “Question Behind the Question” whenever we are tempted to fix blame.  Read the rest of this entry »

Bob from Christian PF wrote up a good article about taking tax deductions for volunteer work.  I itemized my deductions when I did my taxes this year, but I realized I am missing out on this deduction because I am not tracking my miles driven. This article has motivated me to look into this further, and I think I am going to start tracking miles I drive for volunteering.  Read the rest of this entry »

Reader's Digest Penny Pincher's Almanac

I have read many books that are full of tips on how to live a frugal life. I thought that I had heard just about everything, especially after reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find many new tips on how to live even more frugally.

The book covers the following categories.  For each category, I will give you a flavor of the tips by picking out a few tips that stood out to me because it was new to me or interesting. Read the rest of this entry »

If you fall into any one of the following categories, you should consider adjusting your paycheck tax withholding for 2009:

• You got a refund: the federal government is returning your money (that you loaned them interest-free) back to you
• You had to pay extra tax
• You are changing jobs
• Your income is changing
• You are expecting a child to be born or move out
• Any other changes to family situations, health situations, charitable contributions, interest paid, taxes, etc

There’s not an easier time to adjust your paycheck withholding for 2009 then immediately after you complete your 2008 taxes. Why is that?  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year when Americans thoughts turn away from football and onto perhaps one of their least favorite diversions – income tax.  I used to do my taxes completely by hand.  However, for the past several years I have purchased Turbo Tax Deluxe to assist with filling out my taxes.  I have been generally happy with Turbo Tax over the years, except for the hefty fees (typically around $20) to e-file.  Before I opened the box I  had a good feeling about Turbo Tax this year – they are now offering free federal e-file on up to 5 returns!

Here’s my experiences and observations this year, broken down by the Federal and State returns (thankfully I did not have to file any city returns this year) Read the rest of this entry »