Archive for January, 2010

Helping Working Families with the Earned Income Tax Credit

In the past, clients of NORWESCAP’s Family Self-Sufficiency program in Morris County, NJ have used the tax return they received through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for a down payment on a car, a security deposit on an apartment or to pay debts, said Penny Olson, the program’s director.

For clients of Homeless Solutions, which provides affordable and transitional housing, the prospect of a large tax return can make a significant difference, executive director Elizabeth Hall said.

Those agencies are part of an effort to encourage low-income working residents to ask about the EITC when they file their 2005 taxes. The earned income tax credit is supposed to help low-income working families, but over the years it has been clear many eligible workers don’t apply for it.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is for working families with incomes less than $37,263. If eligible, they may receive money back from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) even if they don’t owe taxes – but they must file a tax return. The EITC is above and beyond any amount the families get from the child tax credit, which is a maximum of $1,000 per child and is aimed mainly at middle income households.
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Go Stock Trade . com Primer: What is the stock market all about?

Thousands of people who have money in any type of account for their retirement can consider ourselves participating in the Stock market. But have you pondered about the functionality of how this interesting market works? Imagine being at a regular auction, where instead of nice bits such as cars and antiques are being bidded away, think of bits of public companies being auctioned away.

To make a less confusing analogy, think about the role of an auctioneer. The auctioneer’s role is to get the highest and best price for each product. Well, the stock exchanges around the globe kinda operate in the same fashion. The auctioneer role, is called a Market Maker. In a stock sale, there is no stable, set price for stocks, but instead, setting the price is the role of the Market Maker.

The price will fluctuate greatly, because the ying and yang of the market, the buyers and sellers, will bid on either the stock going lower, or higher. Usually when you see a stock price go up, it means that the buy price of a stock has increased. This is vice versa when a stock declines in value.
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Advantages to Shopping for Real Estate Online

The real estate market is one of the most complex markets in the entire world due to the fact that it is in a continuous change, thus making it a very dynamic market. The internet has a lot to offer consumers regarding real estate and as a result it is a great place to start shopping. Some of these advantages are:

- It is inexpensive, if not free to list your home in an online property listing service.

- It is a quick and easy method to advertise your property that is for sale/lease or if you would like to buy a property.

- The buyer and seller have direct access to information about the property in question. This makes other forms of communication between the buyer and the seller obsolete. The internet is easy in comparison to the old-fashioned method of answering dozens phones calls or setting up numerous meetings.

- Many websites that deal with real estate allow you to include up to 5 photos of your property. This is a lot more in comparison to a regular newspaper and you have complete control over the photos’ quality. In addition you can highlight specific features about your property with the potential buyers. This can be very helpful if you are working to attract buyers from outside your local geographic area whom potentially need more explanation of certain elements.
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Be Cool, Feel Good And Save On Utility Bills

Besides staying cool when the warm weather rolls in, not getting hot under the collar when the utility bills arrive can be a challenge. The goal is to find an air-conditioning system that looks nice, makes you feel good and operates efficiently.

How To Measure

Cooling Efficiency

Recently enacted federal legislation helps with the efficiency issue. All central air conditioners manufactured after January 23, 2006, must have a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of at least 13 SEER. This increase in the measure of cooling efficiency from 10 to 13 SEER means savings on your utility bills.
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