Here is a handy iPhone app that helps document and record expenses that are eligible tax deductions. Write It Off App is a simple, easy-to-use application for the iPhone or iPad that allows you to capture, document, and save your tax expense records in a simple and organized fashion. Once you create a user account and log in, it is easy to operate. Write It Off App makes it easy to keep track of your life’s daily expenses throughout the year. You can export your entire list of records into a spreadsheet file for or email to your accountant. The program was developed by Todd Kisicki and Bryan D’arcangelo.

Download

Save Money on Buying/Selling
Bullion Vault offers the users a facility to save on the buying and selling of gold and silver. You save the money because you get everything at the lowest cost. If you want to know what pushes this market to come with low rate then I need to tell you that economies of scale are the single but important reason. You get the lowest or simply close to wholesale market price for any size of gold and silver.

Enjoy Low Cost of Insurance
When you are going to trade into the gold and silver market then you surely need to avail insurance services. If you take this service from the bank then definitely you have to bear high cost due to high risk. However, Bullion Vault offers low cost of insurance for its users. I don’t think such saving is available through any other bullion market.

High Quality Storage Facilities
I must admit that Bullion vault offer high and optimum quality range of storage vault for the users. Good thing is that these vaults are accessible for both professional and private individuals, there is no discrimination. Whether you belong to a professional hub or an ordinary trader, you can avail this facility any time. Another positive aspect related to bullion vault is the competitively lower cost of storage. In simple words, the rates charges for gold/silver bar storage is lower as compare to other bullion markets.

Save on Currency Conversion
Bank surely charges high price for currency conversion but when you are a part of Bullion market, you will have to pay lower cost. This is indeed the best feature of this market. You can get more money and thus, you are in a position to buy or sell more. Why to pay high charges of conversion when you can easily get a lower rate from the Bullion vault?

According to my own viewpoint, when a person wants to save cost of management, storage, insurance and currency conversion then he simply needs to start using Bullion vault. Perfect saving and comfortable gold/silver trading are x-factors of this bullion market. You don’t need to pay a single penny for becoming a user of this market as entry is free for every one. Go and try it. Don’t forget to share your experience with us.

Here are some resolutions that could lower your insurance rates.

Lose Weight
By lowering the number on the scale, you can save 5 to 15 percent on the cost of life insurance. These savings can apply to new or existing policies. However, not all insurance companies allow existing policyholders to apply for better rates.

Quitting Smoking
Smoking significantly increases the cost of life insurance as well as disability and long-term care insurance. Generally, insurance companies will require 12 months tobacco-free before allowing nonsmoker rates for an individual. Although, there are programs are available to help with insurance rates for those intending to quit.

Improve Credit
Your credit rating can affect your auto and homeowners insurance premiums. Insurance credit scores rely on many of the same factors to determine your rates. To improve your credit score, review your credit report for inaccuracies, pay all bills on time and keep credit card balances below 30 percent.

Go Green
Cutting your mileage is a great way to help the environment and possibly cut your auto insurance premiums. Many insurance companies offer low mileage discounts for customers who drive less than 12,000 miles a year. If you also resolve to be a safer driver, consider a pay-as-you-drive program offered by several insurers. By enrolling in these programs, you agree to install a device that tracks your car’s mileage and driving performance.

Don’t Talk or Text While Driving
While keeping your hands off your cellphone may not directly impact your insurance premiums, it may help prevent accidents and traffic tickets, which can raise your rates.

Find out more about insurance needs and possible savings by visiting the Oklahoma Insurance Department at www.oid.ok.gov or call Consumer Assistance at 1-800-522-0071.

• THE TALK: Dial down the holidays. Consider asking family and friends to downsize the holidays to something less commercial, with fewer purchased gifts, more valuable time spent together and a “less is more” sentiment. You’ll be well on your way to a very meaningful holiday that doesn’t evolve into overwhelming financial stress in early 2013.
• THE LIMIT: Start saving and budgeting now. Set a specific and reasonable amount for each person on your “must-buy-for” list. Before you start socking the money away, make certain the amount won’t impact your ability to manage your existing monthly expenses.
• THE GIFT: Consider making your own. Gifts made from inexpensive materials can go a long way in showing someone you care because people do understand the value of your time. It can be extremely meaningful to your relationship and to the holiday, not to mention light on the pocketbook.
• THE PLAN: Don’t end up shopping at the gas station. As the old holiday joke goes, wait until the last minute and you’ll be shopping at the 24-hour GasMart. Have a plan and stick to it. Plan your shopping early on. If you wait until the last minute, you may end up spending more just to get the shopping done quickly.
• THE WRAP: Save on wrapping. Inexpensive wrapping paper (even a brown paper bag or color Sunday comics), combined with a nice bow or a well-placed flower, pine cone or holiday ornament, works wonders for adding significance to an inexpensive gift. If you don’t have a talent for wrapping, find someone who does and ask for their help.

Web: www.greenpath.org

Four years later, most of those bailouts have ended and taxpayers have been repaid in full. Unfortunately, that is not the case for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Remarkably, they remain in government control, continue to dominate the mortgage market, and still owe taxpayers over $140 billion.

Neither Congress nor the White House has a viable plan to get that money back or to get the government out of housing finance. As a result, taxpayers—not banks or investors—are now on the hook for trillions of dollars of mortgage risk. And the government continues to add to that risk, accounting for over 90 percent of new mortgage credit today, double the amount it provided just a few years ago. Even worse, recent actions in Washington threaten to make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac permanent wards of the state.

Moreover, millions of potential homeowners cannot get a mortgage because private sources of housing credit are scarce. Many of those private sources cannot compete with the government.

Your elected representatives in Washington aren’t paying attention to this problem!

But there is a plan to fix it. Former officials from the Obama and Bush administrations, Jim Millstein and Phillip Swagel, have crafted a way to restart private housing markets, ensure access to affordable 30-year mortgages, protect taxpayers from future bail­outs, and repay them for saving the two largest sources of housing finance in our country: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Millstein and Swagel discussed their plan in their recent article for The Washington Post.

Call your representatives in Congress. Let them know that we need to end the last bailout and the nationalization of our home mortgage system. Go to www.whoismyrepresentative.com to tell them that you support housing finance reform.

Under a new proposal to re­structure the housing market, the mortgage guarantee businesses would be privatized.

Contacts

Xenophone Strategies
Matt Meenan, 202-777-2040
mmeenan@xenophonestrategies.com

When asked about money-saving strategies used frequently during this year’s back to school shopping season, the poll found that:

• Nearly half (48 percent) of families used a combination of methods for saving including: clipping coupons, comparing prices online, re-using materials from previous years, and holding off on shopping until items go on sale.
• Nearly half of all shoppers (47 percent) said they always look for opportunities to cut costs on back to school items, while only two percent said they don’t go out of their way to save money.

“I find that shopping as a family is a great way to talk with kids about how to make smart money decisions,” said Taylor. “I use it as a practical lesson with my kids to demonstrate how to stretch your dollars so you can buy both the items you need and want, while sticking to a budget.”

Themint.org offers parents, teachers and kids a variety of fun educational resources to explore every day money concepts such as spending, saving and budgeting. Themint.org is consistently updated with timely tips and tools, such as the new Just for Moms section.

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1opRF)

Although the Dubai government imposes no restrictions on transfers of funds into and out of the country, and there are numerous local and international banks that offer these services (including offshore banking), it’s really essential to know about things like visa and residential restrictions.

According to research conducted in 2010, most UK families emigrate to the UAE with one quarter of a million pounds from the sale of their homes, cars and savings (this is according to transfer specialists, HiFX). It’s a good idea to set the level of currency ahead of the exchange to avoid falling foul of forex fluctuations.

Although in the past, expats rented their homes as a means to keep their flexibility, they’re now opting to invest in property more and more. New laws in the UAE as of 2002 allow for expats to buy property, and even though prices in Dubai – which is a residential hotspot – have increased 25 per cent per year recently, they remain low by UK standards.

One of the best ways to organise home finance is to deal with your banking before you emigrate so that you can prove your credit history before you enter the country. If you choose a UK bank that has a presence in the UAE, it’s bound to be easier to get a loan with a favourable interest rate. For more information on this, have a look for at a home loan from HSBC.
Depending on the bank you choose, you may be directed to open an account with a bank in a particular region, which in turn will help you with things like car loans or getting a mortgage. After you’ve opened your current account, you may have access to some facilities such as the use of a credit card, but you will need a resident visa to use cheques.

Cheques are used in Dubai for the payment of things like utilities or rent, while cash or credit cards are fine for smaller transactions. Blank cheques may be requested as security against a personal loan or credit card. It’s also important to note that bouncing a cheque in the UAE is known as cheque fraud and is a criminal offence.

Those looking for a second home or investment properties in select areas, like Jumeirah and Al- Garhoud in Dubai, can seek advice from local estate agents, but it’s very important to be aware of the passports, visas and residency permits that are required to make your home in the UAE.

Some of the best savings products are online accounts. Not only do they have some of the most attractive interest rates, but they are also easy to access and easy to use. Here’s a quick guide on what to look for in online savings accounts:

High interest rates

This will always be a number one priority when looking for a savings account. Once you’ve found a high interest savings account, check that after a certain period of time, the interest rates won’t drop sharply to a rate that’s hardly worth bothering with.

Access

If you want to be able to access your savings (i.e. in an emergency), you will need an instant access savings account which allows you to get at your savings as and when you need them. However, you can get higher interest rates if you agree to ‘lock’ your money away in a more long-term account. You will still be able to access it in an emergency, but you may have to pay a fee or penalty for doing so. Also look to see if your savings account is linked to your current account just in case you need quick access to cash.

Minimum investment

Like bank accounts, you may need to make a minimum investment to open certain savings accounts at certain banks. This may be as low as £1, but it could be thousands of pounds. If you don’t have the money, you won’t be able to open the account.

FOREX.com launched its new service in Canada. This new service allows Canadian residents to trade over 70 products, including 50 currencies and a variety of commodity markets, including energy, precious metals, and agricultural commodities. Clients also have access to 10 of the most widely traded equity indices including FTSE (UK), DOW and S&P500 (US), Nikkei (Japan), and Hang Seng (Hong Kong). In Canada, FOREX.com is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, or IIROC, and is a member of Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).

“We are pleased to bring our award-winning FOREX.com service to Canada,” said Glenn Stevens, CEO GAIN Capital. “Over the past several years, we’ve seen growing interest from traders in Canada in global markets such as currencies and commodities. As a result, we sought and received regulatory approval in Canada. We believe that traders will be very receptive to our premium service, which includes the advanced tools and research you expect from an industry leader, along with the competitive spreads and high quality trade executions for which FOREX.com is known.”

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