Bryan C. Fleming

In the United States, tax season is upon us!

In my humble opinion there’s only one way to do your taxes:

“Go with the Pros”

That’s right.  Go out and find a good accountant.  What most people don’t know is an accountant won’t cost you a dime.  They may charge you a few hundred bucks to do your taxes, but they will always find enough deductions that you didn’t know about to cover their expenses. 

But here’s another big reason:

Let’s say you get a love letter from the IRS questioning something from your tax return two years ago.  Like most people you’ll instantly start to worry. 

“If you had an accountant prepare the taxes you’d have someone to call.”

Read that again because it’s the single biggest reason why you need a professional to prepare your taxes.

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That’s how much money I have in my ING direct account since the beginning of the year.  If the year goes well and I don’t need to touch the money I’ll have over $2600.00.

Last week we talked about how having extra money in the bank can open up big possibilities in the car you drive.  This week I found out something else.  But we can’t do it until we have $1,000 in our Online Savings Accounts.  I will hold off on the big news until my account breaks $1,000.00.  Then I can verify for everyone that what I’ve discovered is true.  If it is, you’ll be shocked at the loophole I’ve found. (more…)

I remember long ago when Microsoft and Apple were fiercely fighting over who would control the PC Market.  Well I think we all know who won that battle.  What most people don’t know is there’s a new battle.  This one is over movies and music.  What’s that you say?  Movies and Music, I thought Microsoft and Apple were computer companies?

They are.  But somewhere along the way Apple changed its name from “Apple Computer” to just “Apple”.  I’m sure it’s because of their widely successful Ipod.  You see both companies know it makes a lot of sense to download movies and music off the Internet. Why drive your car to a store and buy a clunky CD?

But there’s a problem.  The people who make the movies and music don’t want it copied all over the web.  Both Microsoft and Apple came up with an answer called DRM (Digital Rights Management).  The music and movie companies bought into it so now you and I can buy our music and movies online.

There’s a hidden catch most people don’t know about.  Something sneaky and underhanded that both Microsoft and Apple have done.  Can you guess what it is? (more…)