But, unfortunately most of us aren’t in that enviable position! And so, it likely PAYS to monitor your  credit report for a number of reasons.

Here’s a new one, for example, that I just learned:

After Bank of America tried to impose a monthly fee for using a debit card, I resolved, as much as possible, to do business with local credit unions. I just moved and happened to find a tremendous one.  As I was applying for an account, their software AUTOMATICALLY CHECKED MY CREDIT SCORE!

I suppose they wanted to make sure that people with bad credit would not even be applying for MEMBERSHIP. Fortunately my credit score was fine, but who knew you could (potentially) be denied credit union membership for having a low credit score? I didn’t – until now that is.

Another reason to regularly access your credit report is to check erroneous information. The last time I refinanced my home, an item was on my report from many, many years ago, long after it was legal or necessary to mention it.

When it’s so easy to get a free credit score, why wouldn’t you check on your credit report at least annually? By law the credit companies are REQUIRED to make a copy available free… and even more often if your identity is stolen. And of course, there are companies that in addition to letting you access your free credit score instantly online provide other services that the often “consumer unfriendly” credit bureaus don’t provide!

Note: Thanks to FreeScore.com for sponsoring this post.

As you make plans for your business and personal tax situation next year, now might be the time to obtain some business tax advice so you’re not paying more than your “fair share”.

As I make my budget for the coming year, I’m considering a number of things…

1. A new retirement plan and how that affects overall taxes and Social Security “self employment taxes” (if there’s an investment I trust to put it in that is!)
2. Changing or tweaking my cell phone plan to reduce costs while keeping my ability to serve customers “up to par”
3. Making sure I’m being properly reimbursed for actual business expenses … In my case that means reviewing, choosing and USING some new smart phone apps so I can track real expenditures as I make them and get proper credit. There’s no sense counting as “income” money that I really used on a legitimate business expense.
4. I’m also reviewing the new fees being charged by banks for debit cards and considering switching to a credit union that doesn’t nickel and dime me to death!

I’m sure my list will expand as I think about it. I always review with a proper accounting “expert” the latest lists of all possible deductions just so that I’m not missing something.

As strange as it may seem, more and more home business people are doing INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. I have several friends in Network Marketing whose businesses now span the globe. One routinely travels through Latin America and the Dominican Republic. Another goes to the Orient. Yet another traverses Europe continually. Who would have believed a small “home business” could result in that? Yet it’s quite likely that some readers will find themselves generating income from several sources world wide. In that case, one may need the services of an International Chartered Accountant.

It’s not just network marketers though (though those seem to be the ones I know). Anyone doing importing or exporting may have some factors to consider as they do business. The corner tax preparation shop won’t likely be as familiar as you need if your international business booms!

I have to run… I just realized my accountant hasn’t called me back about some work I dropped off. Remember to do YOUR work now so you can get the most from your visit with your accounting professionals!

Thanks to Moore Stephens for reminding us about this important topic and sponsoring the post today…

Here’s the info from “Create Jobs For USA”:

Starbucks is teaming up with the Opportunity Finance Network® (OFN) to help create and sustain jobs. This new initiative is called Create Jobs for USA., and will provide capital grants to select Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The CDFIs will provide loans to underserved community businesses, which include small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate, and affordable housing. The goal of Create Jobs for USA is to bring people and communities together to create and sustain jobs throughout America.

So how do you see if you can get a loan?

Well, first you want to make sure you don’t qualify for “conventional funding”, i.e. a bank loan. If you don’t, take the next step.

You have to go to Opportunity Finance Network and locate a “Community Development Finance Institution” that serves your geographical area.

They specialize in working with small and start up businesses that don’t qualify for conventional financing… and may provide training and support services in the bargain to help you create more jobs and prosperity in the USA!

It was foreseen by anyone with a brain. Our elected officials and President signed it perhaps demonstrating what we all realized… that they have no brains to speak of if they could not even see this problem in advance.

Americans are still shedding massive debt… one way we’re doing that is cutting up credit cards and switching to debit cards.

Unfortunately, new fees are going to make our job even harder. The business customer will save a bundle, but we’ll have to pay twice… first for the products and then for the processing charges the bank feels they’re missing.

What can you do?

If you’re not rich enough to have a “premium account” that won’t be touched because you have wads of cash sitting there…

Or you’re not rich enough to own the bank yourself…

This article has some suggestions:Here’s What You Can Do To Avoid Paying The New Debit Card Fees

1. Complain LOUDLY while they are in the testing phase.

2. Plan to switch banks and make good your threat if your fees do rise…

3. Know the terms of the fees. Some say they won’t charge for ATM withdrawals but only for debit card use. Know what your costs are.

4. Personally, I’d prefer a flat fee to a per use fee.

5. Some brokerage accounts will keep having free checking and no minimum balance

The main thing is to realize this is coming SOON to your bank and to plan ahead to minimize the impact!

You can see the 58 page document here

You’ll be stunned by the numbers… they are completely irrelevant for a one person shop working at home.

But it’s a very instructive document for thinking about how to make money online.

AOL is very concerned about Search Engine Optimization, page structure, video featured with every story, affiliate (“commerce” income) and pay per click ad revenue, social media engagement, and internal linking.

Interestingly, these are the same ideas/concepts/strategies that work on HubPages or any other blog or content platform you create yourself.

You may even want to bookmark their Content ideas …

As I say it’s quite thought provoking.

In a flight of fancy the author writes:

Work at home moms will benefit more from the Health Care Reform bill than anyone else in America – though it may take a few years. By 2014, “health exchanges” will be set up which allow anyone – even self-employed, stay-at-home moms – to purchase health insurance as part of a large group. This means they’ll enjoy the same collective bargaining power as the employees at large corporations, so they’ll finally be able to get insurance at a much more reasonable rate. And the health care reform legislation will also make it illegal for these insurers to deny coverage to anyone, even if they’ve got an expensive pre-existing condition.

Yes, this is the theory.

Unfortunately the whole legislation was birthed in obfuscation and deceit. It was passed including a 21% reduction in Medicare fees which the Senate later rescinded. This action makes the bill much more expensive than promised.

Who knows yet what lies lurk in its pages.

If people think that these buying pools will be cheap, I think they will be sadly mistaken. People will likely calculate they only need to buy insurance when sick and when they can’t be denied. Then they’ll drop the plans and pay the cheaper fine otherwise. What sane person wouldn’t?

If a work at home mom is today covered by a spouse’s health insurance, it’s quite likely that they have the best health insurance they’ll ever have.

Massachusetts already has a plan very similar to Obamacare. What’s happening there? These companies who supposedly have this superior bargaining power, are dropping coverage and paying the fine. They’re letting their employees depend on the state plan. Check it out at Firms Drop Insurance, Shifting Cost To State

If you think the program is going to be so fantastic, folks, you aren’t paying attention.

The Schumacher Institute offers this case study of a local business person expanding his business without means of bank financing…

I just ate today at a local Deli that changed hands recently. I wonder if the owner is wishing right now he had some extra capital to expand? Maybe I need to mention this to him (her? don’t know, new owner!) The “Deli Dollar” described below is pictured above!

More importantly – could you use it?

Frank Tortoriello is the owner of a popular deli on Main Street in Great Barrington. He turned to SHARE when the bank refused him a loan to move his restaurant to a new location. But Frank didn’t need SHARE’s circle of grandmothers; he already had a circle of his own in his customers. SHARE suggested that Frank issue Deli Dollars as a self-financing technique. The notes would be purchased during a month of sale and redeemed after the Deli had moved to its new location. A local artist, Martha Shaw, designed the note, which showed a host of people carrying Frank and his staff-all busy cooking-to their new location. The notes were marked “redeemable for meals up to a value of ten dollars.” The Deli would not be able to redeem all the notes at once after the move, so SHARE advised Frank to stagger repayment over a year by placing a “valid after” date on each note. To discourage counterfeiting Frank signed every note individually like a check.

We recommended that the notes be sold for ten dollars each, but Frank thought that would be too good a deal for the Deli. With his customers in mind he sold ten-dollar notes for eight dollars and raised $5,000 in thirty days: contractors bought sets of Deli Dollars as Christmas presents for their construction crews; parents of students at nearby Simon’s Rock College knew Deli Dollars would make a good gift for their kids; the bankers who turned down the original loan request supported Frank by buying Deli Dollars. The notes even showed up in the collection plate of the First Congregational Church because church-goers knew the minister ate breakfast at the Deli. Regular customers were pleased to help support what they saw was a sure thing-they knew firsthand how hard Frank worked and believed in his ability to make good on redemption. Frank repaid the loan, not in hard-to-come-by federal notes but in cheese-on-rye sandwiches.

I know I buy coupon books as school fundraisers every year. My wife stores these in her purse and they’re available later. I can see us doing something like this for a “good cause”. Can’t you?

If you already have a viable loyal (usually local) customer base, especially if you can give them a “reason why” you’re doing this, and a reasonable time frame for redemption… you may never have to grovel before a banker ever again! (Unless you WANT them to turn you down so you can guilt them into buying some of your coupons like this Deli owner was able to do!)

Note: Don’t emulate blindly. You need to understand your costs of doing business. If you’re pizza pie shop, your cost of raw materials may be 10% of the sales price.

If you’re a health food store selling supplements, your costs may be 50% or more. Knowing his costs, he was able to discount and give a $10 meal for $8. You may or may not be able to do the same!

Regular family health insurance requires to you to incorporate and then have about $15,000 per year for family coverage.

To make the transition, many people are choosing high deductible plans that cover you for more “catastrophic” events, but don’t pay under a certain ceiling. Often these are combined with health savings accounts to cover amounts up to the deductible.

But how do you stretch your HSA dollars farther? If these were groceries, you’d comparison shop.

Until now you couldn’t do that with health fees. But now you can – at least in some instances. The problem is finding the data, but at least it’s starting to trickle out.

The Post and Courier notes:

Castlight Health, financed by the Cleveland Clinic and other investors, is one of a number of companies that have started publishing health care prices charged by doctors and hospitals. Others include Aetna life insurance company and the state of New Hampshire….

[In one example], Castlight found that colonoscopy prices in the San Francisco area ranged from $500 to $3,000.

As data sources like Castlight become more available to consumers, it’s likely that cost competition might reduce costs overall and pressure on insurance premiums to keep rising on high deductible plans could reduce.

But when you visit the Castlight website there’s no public data.

When health pricing data is as convenient as checking gasoline prices on your Gasbuddy.com iPhone app, then there’ll be the possibility for real savings! Until then, not so much…

When you’re obtaining car insurance quotes, be sure to check for TOTAL savings. Most insurers give you a discount for insuring your home AND auto with the same company. If you have personal liability insurance too there may be some additional savings. But just saving on car insurance alone may be counter productive if your other rates go up.

Car insurance quotes depend on a variety of factors including deductibles and other coverage limits. If you have a lien on your car, the type of coverage you need may be determined by your lender – not just your potential savings. It’s important to recognize the minimum coverage your lender requires that you carry. Assuming you CAN raise your deductible, it only pays to raise it to a certain point. If raising your deductible from $250 to $500 saves you over $250 per year, that’s a smart move. If raising a deductible from $500 to $1000 doesn’t save you a significant amount, it may not be worth it.

Note: Thanks to AutoInsuranceCenter.com for sponsoring this link.

In US terms it’s a type of home equity loan designed to pay off debts and provide liquidity. Their press release especially targets work at home business people… I hope you don’t need it!