Dec

30

1. Spend what you make

2. Create a budget and stick to it

3. Begin to make more than the 4% required minimum payment.

Will this hurt a bit? Of course it will…but what are your goals?

A) To keep your debt at its present level.

B) To keep increasing your debt.

C) To pay down your debt.

The choice is entirely up to you.

Have a great upcoming new year.

Dec

28

Wish You Were Here 

Roger Waters

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

Dec

23

Military Reservists Travel Expenses

First, thanks for your service. To qulify you need to travel more than 100 mile or more from your home. You can deduct parking, tolls, and 48.5 cents your drive in your POV. You can also deduct the cost of lodging and half the cost of your meals. You do not have to itemize to take this deduction.

$250 Educator Deduction

Teachers and Teachers Aides can deduct up to $250 for supplies and education related expenses.

Dec

22

Having been near retail areas in both Indianapolis and Seattle there is no doubt in my mind that rudeness is universal. When did we become so rude to one another anyway? What makes us think we are so much more important than our neighbor? This is the holiday season people. This is a time about giving and love and yet in our frenzy to get home and get to the mall we drive like a bunch of idiots. We create gridlock by pulling out in the turn lane on yellow getting stuck and blocking oncoming traffic. We are in such a hurry we don’t let people in who have their blinkers on or who do not have a benefit of a light to get onto the road. We should be ashamed.

Dec

19

This one is currently near and dear to me. You might qualify to deduct up to $4,000 you paid for yourself or one of your dependents. Being able to take this deduction is based upon your adjusted gross income (AGI). You do not have to itemize to take this deduction.
Here is the link to the IRS page for details on this deduction.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch06.html

Dec

16

If you live in the following states and are not claming this deduction you are losing money. 

- Alaska
- New Hampshire
- Tennessee
- Florida
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Nevada
- Texas
- Wyoming

If you live in a state that has an income tax The IRS allows you to either deduct the higher of your state/local income taxes or your state/local sales taxes. You can only choose one to deduct.

Here is the url to the IRS calulator. http://apps.irs.gov/app/stdc/stdc.html (note: as of this writing on 12/16/2007 the current year is not available).

You do not want to miss this deduction. For example, if you made between $50,000 - $60,000 with 4 deductions and live in Casper Wyoming you would be losing out on a $739.00 deduction (using the 2006 year)

Dec

16

Hurt
Trent Reznor

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

[Chorus:]
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar’s chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

[Chorus:]
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Dec

11

Having been a fan of Jeff Beck and a listener of Blow by Blow and the song “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” since it’s release in 1975 I was blown away by 21 year old Tal Wilkenfeld’s bass playing.

Being a fan of Beck and in general of the lead guitar I was mesmerized by Tal’s performance. After her solo it was almost as if Beck thought ‘how in the world am I supposed to top that’. But Tal drove Jeff to put in a performance that drove a great song over the top.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJGCOq89a2o

Prayer

Dec

8

September When It Comes
Rosanne Cash

There’s a cross above the baby’s bed,
A Saviour in her dreams.
But she was not delivered then,
And the baby became me.
There’s a light inside the darkened room,
A footstep on the stair.
A door that I forever close,
To leave those memories there.

So when the shadows link them,
Into an evening sun.
Well first there’s summer, then I’ll let you in.
September when it comes.

I plan to crawl outside these walls,
Close my eyes and see.
And fall into the heart and arms,
Of those who wait for me.
I cannot move a mountain now;
I can no longer run.
I cannot be who I was then:
In a way, I never was.

I watch the clouds go sailing;
I watch the clock and sun.
Oh, I watch myself, depending on,
September when it comes.

So when the shadows link them,
And burn away the clouds.
They will fly me, like an angel,
To a place where I can rest.
When this begins, I’ll let you know,
September when it comes.

Dec

6

Cool Earth

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