Monthly Archives: January 2012

Moving mom and dad

January 21, 2012 6:40 pm

Guest written by our friend Trent Horton

I am moving my parents into a new house. For the past two years, they have been complaining that their house is too big. I can see their point. At one time, they lived in that house with five other kids. Now everyone is grown and the house seems a lot bigger. None of us wanted them to move, but the time has finally come. I naively thought the move was going to be easy. It has been a royal pain. My parents are picky about everything. My mom wants me to make sure all the boxes are labeled correctly. My dad wants me to make sure the Direct TV is hooked up before we even start the process. Then we have to stop for snacks or a drink or just to take a break. At this pace, they are never going to have everything packed. I am tempted to move everything in the middle of the night. Then I will have it all done while they sleep and will not have to listen to the complaints.

Posted in education, entertainment

Check your free credit score

January 18, 2012 4:30 amLeave a Comment

This year like in many years past credit cards play a major role in holiday shopping. While they are a great convenience they can be quite problematic if you over spend and then are unable to pay off the balance. Remember to always read the fine print on the amount of grace period days and when your bank actually starts to count interest. There are various credit cards that use a balance in your account or some other collateral to help you maintain your balance. Some provide 20-25 days, but I have seen others as little as 15 days. This means that you will start to accrue and pay interest before you even receive your statement, even if you intend to pay the balance in full. There are few things that you need to know about your credit report and how to obtain your Free Credit Score to help you get the best rate you can.

If you find yourself in a crunch it is always good to call the bank, and ask them for some added time. They know the cost of having to get new customers and will usually be accommodating to reasonable requests. It is a great idea to check out your  credit report and make sure that there are no blemishes on your credit score. You want to do this on an annual basis because your credit score can determine your insurance rates, loans, and even employment. It is a known fact that prospective employers will check your credit score to see what type of history you have and can make a decision to not hire should you have a low credit score.

Posted in Finance

Express Scripts to discontinue partnership with Walgreens

January 14, 2012 12:30 amLeave a Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Two of the biggest names and providers of prescription drugs have not come to terms on an agreement that would allow Walgreens to continue filling prescriptions for Express Scripts customers. According to press releases Walgreens and Express Scripts were unable to come to an agreement on their partnership. PBM’s like Express Scripts and pharmacies have always had an interesting relationship in that PBM’s directly compete with your local pharmacy with their own mail order program to fill prescriptions. That is why this announcement that Express Scripts is not renewing it’s contract with Walgreens one of the largest pharmacy retail chains in the US very interesting. What get’s lost in these financial dealings is the patient. Walgreens understands this has even gone as far as offering their Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens at a discount. They also tried to negotiate separately for those with Tricare, the US military’s health and prescription plan, so to provide coverage for our folks in the military.

As of January 2012 thousands of customers will be forced to find a new in-network provider pharmacy and create a major hassle and disruption. You can stay on top of these events and show your support for Walgreens by following Walgreens on Facebook and Walgreens on Twitter. Most people have come accustom to using their local Walgreens because of the savings and convenience they offer. They are all over the US and offer 24 hour service in many of their stores. This stand off could be the signal of larger changes in the way patients get their prescription drugs as large insurance companies try and cut costs. If you are impacted by this decision then let your voice be heard by contacting your local radio or TV station and let them know what is going on.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Free online accounting tool from Outright.com

January 13, 2012 10:41 pmLeave a Comment

There are thousands of small businesses and online bloggers that are very successful in what they do. One of the ways to measure your success is through your financial health of the company. Large companies have a whole department dedicated to measuring revenue, overhead, and overall costs to help the organization understand where to spend more money and where to cut back. Now thanks to online companies like Outright.com anyone can get a free online accounting tool that will help you keep track and plan for a brighter future. Understanding where you are spending money that is actually contributing to your bottom line and expenses that are eating away at the companies success can be critical. Many of the online start ups have created this false sense of financial freedom and they just seem to burn through money with no real gains to show for the investment.
Most small businesses do not have this luxury and keeping this data on a spreadsheet in some PC can be limiting your business. There are hundreds of accounting software packages but none of them as far as I know give you access to info no matter where you are like with Outright. Having your data online in their secure platform can help plan and present your business to anyone anywhere and it is always current and up to date.

Posted in Finance, Sales & Marketing

Become a tax preparer in 2012

January 6, 2012 1:17 amLeave a Comment

The ability to file your  taxes online has become very popular and has made it easier for many Americans to file their taxes and get their refunds. If you are looking for a job in tax preparation then you can find tax preparer jobs that help train and educate to become a certified tax preparer. As our culture and population has changed so has the need to provide alternative ways and means by which to file your online tax return. At various online tax preparation sites they can help with your Online taxes needs with both filing and answering questions. There are irs exam classes that can teach you how to help others prepare and file their taxes. They offer free eFiling, and you will receive your refund much faster. We have used online filing for the past few years, and it is clean, secure and simple.This year many Americans will put off the dreaded task of doing their taxes until the last possible minute. As our tax laws have become more complicated many people are turning to their accountants to assure that they are not overpaying on their tax bill. And if you are like us where we reside in one state and work in another the tax scenario becomes a little more unclear. This is because some state allow you to take credit for taxes paid to another state while others are not so forgiving.

With online tax filing you can have your refund directly deposited into your checking, and receive it 2-3 weeks faster than filing by paper. There are certified RTRP that are available to help you understand the new laws and help you file online or through traditional methods. The IRS actually prefers you to Efile taxes since the electronic version contains less errors and is much less labor intensive for them to process. In most cases there is a simple process to follow that will help you fill out the correct forms and collect the right information.

Posted in Continuing Education, Finance