TurboTax Home & Business Review

March 3, 2010

I filed my 2009 taxes on Sunday using a review copy of TurboTax Home & Business Online, which allows me to file Schedule C—a necessity for almost all freelancers and sole proprietors.

Until this year, I’d been using the comparable TaxCut (now H&R Block at Home) product, which I won in a giveaway for my 2007 taxes and bought in 2008 since I was already used to the interface. This was also my first time using an online tax filing product instead of a program installed on my computer.

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How to Document Your Possessions for Insurance

March 1, 2010

Whether you rent or own your dwelling, having insurance for your dwelling is very important. Our lease actually requires us to get it. Since we’re in a one-bedroom apartment and almost none of our stuff is new (or if it is, it’s well-used), we didn’t insure it for a huge sum, but do have enough insurance to replace it all should something happen. It costs just under $100/year and it’s worth every penny for peace of mind.

About a year after we got insurance, when I was renewing the policy, I suddenly realized that we didn’t have any documentation of our possessions, were we to have a fire or other catastrophe. While the insurance company might believe we had 2 couches, a bed, a dining room table, etc, they might not be willing to take it on faith that I have a lovely violin or the number of computers we seem to have acquired (though some are so old & feeble that they’re not worth replacing).

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Learn Effective Budgeting – Textbook Personal Finance

February 26, 2010

This post is part of the textbook personal finance series which covers basic personal finance skills by going through an actual textbook, chapter by chapter. Check out the intro post for more information.

In the last two sections, we looked at discovering your net worth and creating a cash flow statement. Both of these steps help you assess your financial situation—the big picture and the day-to-day. From figuring out where you are now, the textbook moves into concrete plans for the future: budgeting.

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Plutus Award Nomination and Best Posts

February 24, 2010

On Monday I got a series of congratulatory e-mails and tweets concerning my nomination for a Plutus Award. While I was aware that Flexo had created the Plutus Awards to spotlight the best personal finance blogs in various categories, I was unaware that Finance for a Freelance Life had been nominated and was one of the five finalists in the running for Best Personal Finance Blog for Generation Y or X.

I’m honored and excited, as one of my external goals for the blog is to help Gen Yers who are dealing with a unique set of challengers and goals. If you would like to vote for Finance for a Freelance Life, you can go here to cast your vote. If you came from the Plutus Awards & are trying to make up your mind before voting, here are blog highlights from the last 2.5 years:

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Why Paying the Minimum Amount Due on a Credit Card Doesn’t Work

February 22, 2010

I don’t read Cracked.com(likely NSFW) for financial information. Or really for anything but amusement. It’s like Mad Magazine if most of the stuff were true and you could easily tell which parts were humorous falsification. However when I popped over there recently looking for a laugh, I found an excellent and sobering graphic about credit card interest rates that’s all true. Mostly.

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Preparing a Cash Flow Statement – Textbook Personal Finance

February 19, 2010

This post is part of the textbook personal finance series which covers basic personal finance skills by going through an actual textbook, chapter by chapter. Check out the intro post for more information.

While creating a personal balance sheet is the best way to find out your net worth, your net worth doesn’t necessarily reflect your everyday life. If all your money is tied up in your house, then getting your hands on it may be difficult if you’re out of work, etc.

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