AdminSecret

Someone you know just lost their job. Yikes. You want to be supportive. You want to help them see the positive side of their misfortune. You want to buy them a drink. And you should! But please, tread carefully. The time directly following a layoff is a delicate one. Your friend will want your help, but they may not be ...

Every week you introduce more paper into your home, in the form of newspapers, magazines, flyers, coupons, schoolwork, correspondence, bills, and other documents. It may or may not be difficult for you to ensure that reading material and advertising is discarded when you are finished with it, but when it comes to financial documents, it can be much more challenging to ...

Tax season is right around the corner and several military families will attempt to file their taxes on paper. However filing taxes on paper is a long and cumbersome process. If an individual taxpayer chooses to file without the help of a certified public accountant (CPA), the process can take hours. And, if mistakes are made the repercussions can take the ...

Whether starting your own business is something you've always dreamed of or it's one option after an unexpected layoff, there are several points to consider before striking out on your own: A New Business Is Like a New Baby If you're a parent, you know how your baby changed your life in ways you never anticipated. You may have envisioned parenthood ...

No one can guarantee you a healthy and prosperous retirement. Life is just too unpredictable. But you can increase your odds of enjoying your twilight years in comfort by pursuing a regimen of common-sense steps. Here are six top ones: h4. Decide carefully on health care You can do at least three things to help secure your health in retirement: Take ...

During the worst economic crisis in a lifetime, the right financial decisions are crucial. BusinessWeek asked financial planners for some advice on what to do—or not to do—with your money in the New Year. As we bid farewell to a dreadful 2008, these "resolutions" may help keep your finances on the right track in 2009: h4. 1. Don't try to predict ...

In 2008, legislation was passed to help rescue US markets and the economy. But did you know that these bailout bills also included a bundle of income tax breaks? The biggest ones are known as "extenders" - popular tax breaks that might seem permanent to most taxpayers, but actually must be renewed every year or two. Stuffed inside the *Emergency Economic ...

Did you spend substantial amounts of money looking for a new position last year? You may be able to succeed where Nelson Rockefeller failed and take a tax deduction for many of your job search-related costs. When New York Governor Rockefeller was appointed vice president in the '70s, he deducted expenses incurred in connection with his congressional confirmation hearings. Years later, ...

Taxes are overwhelming and complicated. There is form after form and it gets tough to keep them all straight. The most painful part, however, is seeing the toll it takes on you wallet. TurboTax, Military.com and AdminSecret have brought you expert financial advice to make your taxes as painless as possible and hopefully save a lot of money in the process. ...

Accelerated depreciation. A depreciation method that allows larger deductions in the early years of an asset's "life" and smaller deductions at the end of the period. (See "Straight-line depreciation.") Accrual method (or accrual basis). One of two main accounting methods for determining when a transaction has tax significance. The accrual method says that a transaction is taxed when an obligation to ...

In 2008, legislation was passed to help rescue US markets and the economy. But did you know that these bailout bills also included a bundle of income tax breaks? The biggest ones are known as "extenders" - popular tax breaks that might seem permanent to most taxpayers, but actually must be renewed every year or two. Stuffed inside the *Emergency Economic ...

The average American home will spend $990 on heating this year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Add that to the rising costs of food, clothing, and travel, and almost every individual and family will feel the pinch. Fortunately, you can make your utility bills more manageable. Many steps to reducing your bills apply to everyone, even those living in ...

h4. 1. Interest Backdating Most card issuers charge interest from the day a charge is posted to your account if you don't pay in full monthly. But, some charge interest from the date of purchase, days before they have even paid the store on your behalf! Remedy: Find another card issuer, or always pay your bill in full by the due ...

Shawn Agyeman was down on his luck last fall, having just lost his job as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, his alma mater. With looming monthly student loan payments of around $200 a month hanging over his head, the recent college graduate was starting to worry about how he'd meet his debt obligations, fearful that creditors would harass ...

Perry Klebahn has run a lot of companywide meetings since he took over as CEO of ailing bag company Timbuk2 in January, 2007. It's been a period of change, of difficult decisions, of executive departures, and he wanted to keep the 70 employees of the San Francisco company informed and engaged. But what he'd hoped would be an open forum for ...

Some bosses act as though they're allergic to humor, bristling when employees joke around in the office and fretting over the line between humor and harassment. But Chris Robert, assistant professor of management at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Robert J. Trulaske Sr. College of Business, says joking around on the job can actually have a positive effect on productivity and employee ...

Did you spend substantial amounts of money looking for a new position last year? You may be able to succeed where Nelson Rockefeller failed and take a tax deduction for many of your job search-related costs. When New York Governor Rockefeller was appointed vice president in the '70s, he deducted expenses incurred in connection with his congressional confirmation hearings. Years later, ...

I keep hearing that I should do something or other to improve my tax situation before the year ends. Is there really anything I can do at this point? Whether you are having a good year, rebounding from recent losses, or still struggling to get off the ground, you may be able to save a bundle on your taxes if you ...

1: Medicare doesn't cover nursing home care. Nearly 60% of Americans think Medicare pays for nursing care, and 52% assume that it covers assisted living, according to a 2006 survey by AARP. Not so. Medicare's coverage of long-term care is extremely limited. It'll cover part of the cost of a skilled nursing facility while you recover from an injury or illness. ...

What's the difference between the rising star whose career is picking up speed and his counterpart who can't seem to get the engine to turn over? Often, the star has mastered the nuances of business etiquette - the subtle but critical behaviors that can make or break an important meeting, influence a first impression or impress a potential client. According to ...