Identity Theft Protection Tips for Tax Time

A guest post from Shannon Page. Shannon writes for IdentityTheft.net

Unfortunately in today’s world, tax season brings an increased risk for identity theft. With all the confidential documents and important forms being mailed to and from taxpayers, people must be on high alert and take some simple precautions to avoid falling victim to identity theft. If you would like to know how you can better protect yourself from identity theft at tax time, the following tips can help.

1. Verify Your Address

Employers, financial institutions, and tax preparation companies typically use the mail to get tax documents and other forms to taxpayers. Prior to tax time, take a minute to verify that everyone you do business with has the proper address for you on file. This will prevent your sensitive documents from being mailed to the wrong address, which greatly increases your risk of identity theft.

2. Watch the Mail

During tax season, it is important to pay close attention to your mail. You want to be sure any tax documents are opened by you and you only. If it ever appears an envelope has been tampered with, be sure to let the IRS and proper authorities know. In addition, if you are expecting a certain document and your employer or financial institution tells you it was mailed weeks ago, that may be a sign of identity theft. Again, the IRS and proper authorities should be notified immediately.

3. Keep Your Documents Safe and Secure

When you receive your tax documents, be sure to keep them in an extremely safe location. If you don’t, anyone that comes into your home may have access to your sensitive information. Social security numbers, bank account numbers, and employer identification numbers can all be of great value to an identity thief, so they must be kept secure and out of public view at all times.

4. Watch Out for Scams

Identity thieves see tax time as a great opportunity to steal people’s identities. To do this, they will do just about anything to get the personal information of their victims. Beware of phone calls or emails you may receive asking for any information regarding you, your finances, or your employer. Remember that identity thieves usually make a living stealing people’s information, so even if someone seems legit, never give out any information to them.

5. Always Use a Secure Internet Connection

If you plan on e-filing your taxes online, always make sure the internet connection you are using has the proper security measures in place. This means a working firewall and up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. In addition to those things, the computer and connection you are using should be secured with strong passwords and a high level of encryption. Avoid using your phone or public computers to file your taxes, as they are often less secure than a home computer. An insecure internet connection gives criminals the perfect chance to obtain the sensitive information of any users.

6. Watch for Rejected Tax Returns

After you file your taxes, be sure to follow up and make sure the IRS has accepted your return. A rejected tax return is a red flag for identity theft. This is because if someone has stolen your identity, there is a good chance they have filed a tax return using your social security number. This will cause major problems for you and should be investigated immediately.

7. Use Certified Mail for Your Return

Although many folks these days like to e-file their taxes, there are some people who would still rather mail them into the IRS. If this sounds like you, it is a good idea to mail your tax return using certified mail. Not only will this safeguard your return, but you will know exactly when it has been received by the IRS.

All of these tips will significantly lower your risk of identity theft at tax time. If you take the proper steps to protect yourself and stay aware, you should have no problems at all during tax season.

Forgotten Expenses of Owning a Home

A guest post from Laura Backes

Owning your own home sounds like a dream to some people, but if you don’t have enough money it can be a nightmare. Beyond just paying the mortgage, there are many expenses that owning your own home entails. Before you make the biggest purchase of your life, make sure you can afford these five frequently forgotten expenses.

1. Utilities

One of the first expenses you’ll run across with your new home is your utilities payments. Far different than apartment or dorm living, bills like your electricity, water, and gas can be over and beyond what you thought they’d be. Everyone lives differently, so do not rely on the history of the family that lived there before you. Depending on where you live and how much you use large appliances like heaters and air conditioners, you can expect the utilities to match the mortgage payments.

2. Repair

The first thing you do when you buy a new house is repair whatever is wrong with it. It may be something small like a crack in the tile or chipped paint. On the other hand, you may need to install all new wiring and plumbing. Whatever repairs you need to make, count on spending a pretty penny. Even if you do the repairs yourself, you will have to invest your time and money for tools and materials.

3. Maintenance

Now that you’ve got all the repairs done and everything’s working correctly, you just have to focus on maintain the house. You may need to get carpets or ducts cleaned, the siding painted, or the yard landscaped. This is a never ending task. Make sure you have the ability to keep the house and yard up before you buy or you’ll end up with a broken down house and thousands of dollars in needed repair.

4. Home Owner’s Association

Most new neighborhoods have a home owner’s association. They are the watchdogs making sure the homes around you, and your home, are kept up to standards. For this duty, they ask you to pay a certain amount annually. Depending on where you purchase your house, this amount varies. It is usually in the hundreds of dollars. Along with this payment, you will get notices of discrepancies with your home. If you let the yard get too high, the paint peel, or leave you garbage out for too long, you get a letter. Not only is this annoying, but you can also be fined if you do not cooperate.

5. Taxes

Last but not least, taxes. When you own your home you will have to pay school taxes, land taxes, and, in some places, MUD or municipal utility district taxes. MUD taxes usually cover your trash pickup and your water and sewer source. This is in addition to your water/sewer utility payments. Check the taxes in your area before you buy your new home. They might add up to more than you think, adding that amount to your mortgage bill.

No matter what reason you have for buying a home, make sure you can afford it. It’s much harder to get out of a house than it is to get into one, so choose carefully. Check out the taxes, the HOA and the local utilities before you buy. Remember that the mortgage payment is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are straining to pay that, you’ll never make it. Be wise and think before you buy.

About the Author: This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet providers in my area. You can reach her at: laurabackes8 @ gmail.com.

4 Things You Shouldn’t Do During a Recession

This is a guest post by Heather J Sanchez

The key is to curb the spending and the risks until the economy improves

Times are tough especially during a recession when layoffs are common, and the cost of weekly living expenses often amount to more than the average family brings in weekly. During a recession we should curb our spending. And the thought of taking risks with real estate investing or an added car loan is enough to ruin a person’s future financial future. There are also financial mistakes that many folks would have no trouble bouncing back from in more lucrative times—however, during a recession avoiding the 4 following financial pitfalls is a must:

1. Slacking off at work

During an economic recession, businesses of all size, particularly larger corporations, tend to reduce expenses in order to make it through the tough times ahead. You might have noticed the effects of a recession this past year when company holiday parties were cancelled, budgets were cut, bonuses were less, and layoffs may have resulted across the company. Those who have a good, stable job are fortunate during a recession. Show your boss you appreciate it by coming to work early, staying late and doing quality work at all times. This might just save your job during the next round of layoffs.

2. Taking on more debt

A recession is no time to add to your current debt. Right now you should be making the monthly payments to cover your expenses, and trying to save an emergency fund (i.e., in case of a layoff or illness). That means buying a new car, a new home, or any other big ticket items should be out of the question. Before you decide to buy, ask yourself:

• What will happen if you or your spouse gets laid off?

• What will happen if you or your partner is unable to work due to illness?

• What happens if that yearly bonus you depend on is withheld this year?

• What happens if you incur a financial setback (i.e., a new furnace, a hospital bill, a car repair)?

3. Getting risky with investments

Most successful business owners have one thing in common—they anticipate the future and prepare for it. During the first signs of an economic slowdown you will see business owners instantly cut costs, take less risks, and make less investments (in property, office space, and employees). Homeowners should take this cue and shy away from risky investments (such as adjustable mortgages that tend to fluctuate) during a recession. Hold off any plans until the economy starts to look up.

4. Cosign a loan

Cosigning a loan means that if the individual taking the loan can’t pay—the responsibility falls to the cosigner. During a recession, should the loaner get sick, lose a job, or just happen to be short on cash, he or she puts the cosigner in jeopardy as soon as they miss a scheduled loan payment. If you can afford to cover both your expenses and the loan, by all means, but if your income doesn’t quite cover it, or if your job is unsteady, hold of cosigning for any friends or family members until the economy improves.

About the Author:

Now just because you are targeting motivated buyers doesn’t mean you should ignore those who seem less motivated or who aren’t pre-approved for a mortgage. Automatically discounting a buyer could have you losing out on a selling opportunity—either later down the line or with another investment property. Instead focus on getting these types of buyers out to your open houses, but don’t waste individual showings with them until they seem motivated. This way, you’re periodically checking in with them via email and they feel like they can depend on you so when the time comes for them to be serious about buying property.

Heather is a freelance writer who enjoys analyzes the truths, debunking the myths, examining the legalities and exposing the trends of real estate with her articles. As the member of a real estate investing group as well as the owner of multiple rental properties, and “flipped” houses, Heather believes that Real Estate Investors help put money back into the North American economy. She knows a good real estate investment and a “lemon” when she sees one—and she’ll always provide the solid statistics to back up her facts on why you should invest.

How to Recognize a Credit Repair Scam

Guest post from Riley Finnigan. Riley writes for Creditscore.net

If you’ve made some mistakes and ruined your credit rating, you most likely want to repair it as quickly as possible. Having a bad credit score can mean not getting a loan for a car or buying a new home--at least if you hope to keep the interest rate at a reasonable level. The credit repair industry purports to be able to assist you in restoring your credit rating. Unfortunately, some of these repair businesses are merely out to get your money. Following are a few tips on how to recognize a credit repair scam.

What They Promise

A credit repair agency is a legitimate business, just like any other. They provide a service for a fee. Their service is to repair your bad credit. The way they do this is to dispute what you feel are mistakes on the negative side of your credit report. Unfortunately, some of these repair agencies carry it too far and virtually dispute everything on the report, whether it’s legitimate or not, hoping to inundate the credit reporting agencies--and the credit reporters--with paperwork to the point where they will simply remove the entries and start your report from the beginning. In that way, all the negative marks will no longer be on your credit report. That doesn’t mean that every credit repair agency works this way--but those that do may end up making things worse for you--and leave you a little poorer in the process.

Don’t Expect Immediate Results

If you have bad credit and want to repair it, a credit repair agency may be able to help, but you can probably do just as much yourself. All it takes is a little time to contest the negative entries on your credit report. If you’re approached by a credit repair agency that promises you they can get your credit rating restored quickly, it is probably a scam. Restoring good credit takes time. It’s a fact, and there’s no way around it. It probably took time to lower your credit score, and it will take time to bring it back up again. No legitimate credit repair agency is likely to promise immediate results. Instead, they will go over their plan in detail, explaining how they will contest negative entries on your report, and how they will go about having them removed. However, if the negative entry is legitimate there is no legal way to do that.

Don’t Pay Up Front

If you are contacted by a credit repair agency claiming they can restore your credit for a fixed price, it may or may not be a scam. One sure way to find out is to offer to accept their services, but don’t pay up front. Instead, tell the company you will agree to a contract that specifies the services they will provide, and spells out the expected result--with the proviso that you will pay them in full once the contract is fulfilled. Be wary of credit repair companies that will only take on your problem if you pay in advance--under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, they can’t demand payment until they provide the service.

If It Sounds Too Good to Be True . . .

The best advice anyone can give to another person in regard to whether or not something is a scam is the old saying, ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’ A credit repair agency that wants to take advantage of you will promise you whatever they can in order to get you to hand them your money. Beware a credit repair company that claims they can give you a 100% guarantee that they will be able to remove negative entries on your credit report. If the report is legitimate, there is no legal way to do it. If they claim your credit will be improved within a very short period of time--that should also raise a red flag. Repairing bad credit takes time. A credit repair agency that claims they can legally give you an entire new credit identity is not telling you the whole truth.

Do It Yourself

Although in some cases a credit repair agency may actually be able to provide you with some help in restoring your credit, the truth is that you can probably do just as much on your own. In fact, when you talk to a representative of the credit repair agency they are obligated to inform you of what you can do for yourself. If they fail to do so, it may be time to either do it yourself or seek out a more reputable agency.