Financial Tips Month To Month

Have you checked in on your money calendar lately? Compare your financial habits with these tips to help you stay on track through the rest of the year.

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Check Into Cash Launches #CheckIntoPink Campaign For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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Check Into Cash Launches #CheckIntoPink Campaign For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Check Into Cash, a national leader in alternative financial services, launches its #CheckIntoPink social campaign today to help spread knowledge about breast cancer. This is the third year in a row that Check Into Cash has participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise support for women’s health. The campaign, which will run throughout October, will lead the audience to http://ift.tt/1KTe9mL, an informational page featuring tips and other educational resources.

“We are proud to join the global community in supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Check Into Cash President Steve Scoggins. “By going pink and actively sharing information, we hope to help people understand the importance of breast cancer prevention and annual screenings.”

The #CheckIntoPink campaign uses social media, email, and mobile app channels to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month and encourage others to show their support by going pink. The focal point of the campaign is the Go Pink informational webpage with helpful links and resources about getting involved and learning more. Visitors are encouraged to share the campaign resources on social media to help spread awareness.

“We encourage businesses and individuals alike to join us by going pink in support of breast cancer awareness,” said Scoggins. “When we educate ourselves about breast cancer and share our knowledge with others, we move one step closer to a cure.”

To learn more about Check Into Cash and the services they offer, visit CheckIntoCash.com. For information about breast cancer risk, prevention, and treatment, visit http://ift.tt/1KTe9mL and NationalBreastCancer.org.

 

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20 After-School Activities That Are Actually Fun

Looking to spend some quality time with your kids without spending a lot of money going places? Check out these great after school activities you can do at home as a family (CLICK IMAGE):

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10 Ways to Do Winter For Less

As the colder months approach, you may have to start rethinking ways to save on fun activities. Avoid the winter blues with these fun things to do while saving cash.

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Why Can’t You Wear White After Labor Day?

Have you ever wondered why it’s not fashionable to wear white after Labor Day? We decided to find out, and this is what we learned (click image):

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The True Story Behind Labor Day

Do you know the true story behind Labor Day? Check it out:
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Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is celebrated with parties, parades and athletic events.

Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.

As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay. Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it.Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives.

On June 26, the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.More than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified.

Many credit Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, while others have suggested that Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday.Labor Day is still celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.

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Deduction for Higher Education

We all know that college is expensive, but did you know that you can deduct certain higher education fees from your taxes? Find out what expenses are qualified deductions so you can better plan for tax season 2017.

When can I take this deduction?

You can deduct qualifying expenses paid in the tax year for:

• Education during in the year, or
• Education that begins during the year, or
• Education that begins during the first three months of the following year.

Which expenses qualify?

Qualifying expenses include what you pay in tuition and mandatory enrollment fees to attend any accredited public or private institution above the high school level.

You cannot take a deduction for:

• Room and board, optional fees (such as for student health insurance), transportation, or other similar personal expenses.
• Course-related books and supplies, unless you are required to buy them directly from the school.
• Any course involving sports, games or hobbies, unless it’s part of the degree program.

What if I receive grants or scholarships?

You have to subtract any scholarships, educational assistance, or other nontaxable income spent for educational purposes (other than gifts or inheritances). For example, if your employer offers a tuition reimbursement plan as a fringe benefit that pays $1,000 of the cost of a $1,500 course, only the remaining $500 would count for purposes of this deduction.

Who qualifies?

Qualified expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse or your dependents are eligible for the deduction.

Exceptions:

• If you can be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ or someone else’s tax return, you cannot claim the higher education deduction.
• If you are married and choose the married filing separately tax status, you cannot take this deduction.

How much can I deduct?

The deduction is $0, $2,000 or $4,000 depending on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).

• $4,000 deduction for MAGI of $65,000 or less ($130,000 or less for joint returns).
• $2,000 deduction for MAGI between $65,001 and $80,000 (between $130,001 and $160,000 for joint returns).
• $0 if your MAGI exceeds these limits.

No double-dipping

You can’t deduct or take a credit for the same expense twice.

If you deduct these expenses under some other provision of the tax code, such as for employee or business expenses, you cannot also deduct the expenses for the Tuition and Fees Deduction.

Also, you can’t deduct expenses paid with tax-favored money including:

• Tax-free interest from savings bonds
• Tax-free earnings from qualified state tuition program (Section 529 Plans)
• Tax-free earnings from Coverdell Education Savings Account

The Tuition and Fees Deduction cannot be combined with the American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning credits for any single student in a single tax year.

 

 

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