Posts from December 2013
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30
A Resolution You Can Keep All Year: The One-Day Identity Checkup
Exercise. Lose the weight. Answer every incoming email. Those are the hard kinds of New Year's resolutions, because you have to think about them every day for the rest of the year. Many are forgotten long before Valentine's Day. But here's one important resolution, one you can fulfill today and easily keep all year: protect your identity. Identity theft is a fast-growing crime, but there are ways to reduce your chances of being a victim. The identity theft protection experts at LifeLock recommend doing these five quick things today to help keep your identity safer all year long: Use safe passwords Are you among the people who use simple passwords like "123456" or "qwerty" or "abc123" to protect your personal information? Or even the word "password" itself? Many people do, so identity thieves can often break in just by trying the most popular passwords. To create a safer password, avoid using words that are in the dictionary. And stay away from your own personal i...
29
Quick and Cheap Bathroom Updates
27
5 Ways to Slash Your Heating Bills
Temperatures are plummeting and thermostats are rising. Some homeowners might not be able to avoid it, but there are many ways you can cut your energy bill this season. From GreenerChoices.org, here are five low- and no-cost moves to help you save money, while staying comfortable and warm at the same time.
1. Add insulation. Adding insulation and weather stripping can slash your annual energy costs up to 30 percent by keeping out the cold and minimizing the stack effect. Start by sealing large gaps around the chimney, furnace flue, plumbing pipes, ductwork, light fixtures and soffits in your attic. Then lay insulation between attic-floor joists and on the hatch or door, or add more if it's already there. Look for insulation that's become dirty, a... 26
Have you re-registered for your STAR property tax exemption?
This year, New York State is requiring homeowners to re-register to continue to receive their STAR Property Tax Exemption. With the new database, the state will be better-equipped to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse that currently exist in the system. The process can now be completed quickly through the online application.
The December 31st deadline is rapidly approaching!
We strongly encourage all eligible homeowners to reapply for the STAR Property Tax Exemption to ensure they continue to receive this valuable tax relief.
To complete the process, homeowners must visit www.tax.ny.gov or call (518) 457-2036 before the December 31 deadline.
The new guidelines do not affect homeowners age 65 or older who are already enrolled in Enhanced STAR. 25
Tips for Managing Your Year-End Taxes
(BPT) - The close of every year seems to bring its own uncertainty from a tax-planning perspective. Last year featured the expiration of certain temporary tax provisions and the commencement of automatic federal government spending cuts. In October the President and Congress temporarily agreed on funding the government and increasing the national debt limit. But these issues may reappear in 2014 and could result in tax law changes that affect income-tax and financial planning. For now, the best approach is to focus on how to limit your exposure to the many new or increased taxes in 2013 and beyond. 1. Manage higher taxes Many taxpayers will be faced with higher tax bills in 2013 as a result of: * The temporary reduction in the Social Security tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent that expired at the end of 2012. This means an increase of $2,000 in taxes for $100,000 of wages. * The tax rate on wage income that increased from 35 percent in 2012 to 40.5 percent in...