The Time is drawing near – so we’ve decided to add a bit of cheer!
Bad Weather May Cost Small Businesses
January 11th, 2010 by knowitall No comments »Employee absenteeism linked to a possible loss of $369 million
In many parts of the world, it’s really, really cold right now. Snow’s falling, too, which has made it even less likely that people will travel to their workplaces. And the Forum of Private Business has estimated that employee absenteeism could cost something like £230 million in the UK.
FPB LogoJust so you know that the FPB isn’t making this stuff up, an official release explained, “The calculation was made using information including the daily GDP figure, anticipated vehicle breakdown levels from the AA, average salaries and official data reflecting an expected fall in retail sales.”
As for what small business owners can do in response, consider establishing a way for employees to work from home. Even if they can’t accomplish as much, something’s often better than nothing.
Or you can simply distribute tips about winter travel. Encourage people to let their vehicles warm up before leaving the garage (giving their defrosters a head start), for example, and tell them to keep a snow shovel in the trunk or back seat in case the car gets temporarily stuck.
Also, it’s a good idea to put extra weigh over the drive wheels so that the tires can get better traction. (Think kitty litter – which can also be poured in front of a stranded vehicle – in the passenger seat and footwell of most cars.) Plus there’s all the standard stuff about speed and stopping distances.
Or small business owners can, of course, just acknowledge the weather and close. Although the figure of £230 million ($369 million) is scary, not every industry is the same, and if employees aren’t able to go to work, consumers may not be out shopping.
Repost from
How 529 Plans Help Families Save for College
January 4th, 2010 by knowitall No comments »What is a 529 plan? They are investment vehicles designed to help families pay for future expenses associated with college or other qualified post-secondary training. Though contributions to a 529 plan are not deductible, these plans offer other tax advantages and are named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. All 50 states and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan.
What’s new? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) added computer technology to the list of college expenses (tuition, books, etc.) that can be paid for by a 529 plan. For 2009 and 2010, the law expands the definition of qualified higher education expenses to include expenses for computer technology and equipment or Internet access and related services to be used by the designated beneficiary of the 529 plan while enrolled at an eligible educational institution. Software designed for sports, games or hobbies does not qualify, unless it is predominantly educational in nature.
What “computer technology or equipment” refers to. This means any computer and related peripheral equipment. Related peripheral equipment is defined as any auxiliary machine (whether on-line or off-line) which is designed to be placed under the control of the central processing unit of a computer, such as a printer. This does not include equipment of a kind used primarily for amusement or entertainment. “Computer technology” also includes computer software used for educational purposes.
Origins. Congress created them in 1996 and they are named after section 529 of the Internal Revenue code. The legal name for 529 plans is “qualified tuition programs” in the tax code.
Why use a 529 plan? There are advantages of 529 plans and one may be suitable for your family’s needs. Earnings are not subject to federal tax when used for eligible college expenses. Earnings are often not subject to state tax. States may offer other incentives to in-state participants. There are no income restrictions on individual contributors. Contributions are only limited by the qualified education expenses of the beneficiary. You can change the beneficiary of a plan if the new beneficiary is in the same family. You can open a plan benefiting anyone: a relative, a friend or even yourself. The plan owner or custodian controls the funds until withdrawal, not the beneficiary.
How 529 plans are structured. There are two basic types of 529 plans — prepaid tuition plans and savings plans. A prepaid tuition plan enables a family to pay for future tuition now in current dollars and prices. A savings plan enables a family to accumulate funds in a tax-advantaged way for future tuition costs. A 529 plan can be established and maintained by a state, state agency, or an eligible educational institution. Each 529 plan is somewhat unique. Some state-sponsored plans offer incentives to in-state participants, such as state income-tax deductions or credits. Each 529 plan has one custodian and one beneficiary. A student or future student can be the beneficiary of more than one 529 plan.
Contribution limitations. Contributions can not exceed the amount necessary to provide for the qualified education expenses of the beneficiary. Contributors should be aware of potential gift tax issues if the amount contributed by any one contributor during a year to a given beneficiary, together with other gifts to that beneficiary, is greater than $13,000. For a general discussion of gift tax rules, see IRS Publication 950, Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes. For information on a special rule that applies to contributions to 529 plans, see the instructions for Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.
Use with other aid. A family using a 529 plan to pay for some of a child’s college expenses may still be eligible to claim either the American opportunity credit or the lifetime learning credit. Check IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
How can MyFico really help?
December 30th, 2009 by knowitall No comments »
Having knowledge about your credit scores and what they mean to you on a month to month basis is the maintenance needed to secure your financial future. As adults there are several things that we must do on a continual basis in regards to finances and keeping a clean picture of your credit file is just one of them.
If you examine your Credit Profile and notice discrepancies there are several avenues you can take to correct the matter, one of those are to find an agency that can do the work for you, so you can focus on your work and not on stressing over score points, beacons and ficos. Let the professionals handle your case as they do it for a living and 90% of the time can do far more than you can with more time.
Credit Wisely,
TD52N
A Good Recruiter Can Help You Land a Great Job in 2010
December 21st, 2009 by knowitall No comments »If you’re currently in the job market, here’s the little known secret to tapping into the most lucrative, yet hidden jobs available.
Even in this economy, there are still millions of great jobs out there.
It’s just that many of the best ones never make their way to the classifieds. Instead, they are taken by people who know about them before they’re ever advertised. Imagine how great it would be if you had thousands of friends who would always tell you about unadvertised jobs that you’re perfect for.
As they say, it’s not what you know it’s who you know. The secret to getting the unadvertised jobs is to make friends out of really good recruiters. And not just a few, but LOTS of them.
Here’s why, and how you do it:
Recruiters, otherwise known as headhunters or search consultants, are hired by companies to find candidates to fill open positions. These jobs are often never advertised. But the secret of how to best use recruiters is to first realize that contrary to popular belief, you aren’t their employer. This is a fact that most job seekers don’t realize. The key to maximizing recruiters is to understand the following: Recruiters don’t find jobs for people — they find people for jobs. It’s an important distinction to understand if you want to get a job through a recruiter.
In other words, recruiters service the companies who will pay them today. And unless you’re paying a recruiter out of your pocket today, don’t expect them to canvas the world to find you a job. You’ll only be disappointed. Recruiters will be interested in you if you meet the criteria of a job one of their client companies has asked them to fill, or they believe they’ll soon be asked to fill.
So to get the hidden jobs, you have to realize it’s a numbers game and you must play it well by getting your resume to as many recruiters as you can that specialize in people with your skills, in your field and in your geographic area.
You can search the internet and find various lists of executive recruiters. However, they’re not well organized, complete or easy to find. It might take you a great deal of time. Alternatively if you want to instantly get your resume in the hands of 1000’s of specialized recruiters, try a service like Career AssessmentGet a free career assessment and be reruited by companies in your area.
Get your resume into the hands of recruiters
Resume Mailman will instantly put your resume directly into the hands of 1000’s of America’s very best recruiters. The Resume Mailman network is filled with pre-screened and talented recruiters that have connections to tons of unadvertised jobs. Your resume is instantly emailed to 1000’s of recruiters in your selected areas, specializing in your selected skill sets.
With Resume Mailman the process of getting your resume out to these recruiters takes about 10 minutes! You can even get a confidential email address for your resume AND receive a contact list of all the recruiters who received your resume. Following up with these recruiters will only help move you to the top of their minds and your resume to the top of the stack. This is a very effective yet little known way to quickly gain access to the unadvertised jobs. To check out Hot Resumes’,Post Your Resume for FREE at HotResumes.com
While some recruiters may not have something for you today, if their clients regularly look for people with your skills, they will add you to their database. That’s a good thing. The first place a recruiter looks when a client comes to them with a job to fill, is their own personal candidate database. It’s never too late or too early to start networking with recruiters in your area who specialize in people like you.
Give yourself the competitive edge and get the inside track on unadvertised jobs.
Just get your resume to as many recruiters as possible that specialize in your skills, industry and location. They say there’s strength in numbers. Why not give a number of recruiters the opportunity to fill their open positions with you? For more information, visit
Hiring Happens most over the Holidays
December 14th, 2009 by knowitall No comments »Save time over the holidays, distribute your resume fast!
Staff Writer, The Career Digest
LOS ANGELES, CA –Many companies are currently searching for qualified candidates to fill their open positions necessary to achieve their 2010 business plans. And while posting your resume on several career websites may help you land one of these jobs, many people are afraid of who may see their resume along with other concerns of confidentiality.
If you want the exposure, but don’t want your current employer to see your resume posting, consider using the Confidentiality feature of Resume Rabbit, to post your resume on all of the top job boards and career websites at once. With this service, you fill out one easy form and in about 5 minutes you’ll be posted on 85 top career sites.
And while your resume qualifications can be seen and you can be contacted via email, no one will see your name, street address, phone number or even your current company name. And you’ll save over 60 hours of work in the process. Give yourself instant access to millions of jobs and maximize your exposure to 1.5 million employers and recruiters by 70,000 Recruiters Looking for candidates like you!
HAS ONLINE ADVERTISING OVERTAKEN TV ADS?
November 23rd, 2009 by knowitall 1 comment »According to a new report, online advertising expenditure has increased so much in recent years, it has now surpassed TV for the first time ever.
The report, compiled by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), states that spending on internet-based advertising has increased by 4.6 percent during the first half of 2009 to reach GBP£1.752 billion. In comparison, TV advertising is GBP£1.6 billion, a decrease of about GBP£300 million compared to last year.
What is even more impressive is that online advertising has increased its revenue year-on-year, despite the entire advertising sector contracting by 16.6 percent over the past 6 months. Unsurprisingly, technology firms were the biggest spenders on online adverts, making up about 19 percent of the market, the report said. This was followed by telecoms firms, the finance sector and entertainment and media.
Online spending in the UK is also much more than the US. UK online spending accounts for 23.5 percent of total advertising compared to 13.9 percent in America. However, with companies such as Google making about 97 percent of their revenues from advertising revenues, it is no surprise to see online spending increase year-on-year, often by margins of up to 17 percent.
“Internet advertising has beaten all expectations to achieve growth in the most challenging market conditions,” said IAB chief executive Guy Phillipson.
“Online display has performed notably well against its peers in TV, print and radio despite more than GBP£1.5 billion being wiped off the advertising industry. We have a roller-coaster of a year ahead but even in tough economic conditions marketers still recognize the value, accountability and measurability of online advertising.”
PwC online advertising expert Eva Berg-Winters added, “Perhaps surprisingly, a slowing economy has accelerated the migration to digital technology and hence the continuing shift from more traditional forms of advertising to online, which promises return on investment and measurability in a period of instability. The only certainty is that this transgression demands fundamental structural change of business models across all industries.”
By Tom Stone
