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Business Career & Education Credit Financial

What are the Best Cards for Small Businesses

What Are The Best Cards For Small Businesses

Starting a small business is exciting, fun, and nerve-wracking. It can also be truly terrifying if you are not sure where you are getting your funds from. Some business owners find their financing through a bank, others from loans by brokers or family and friends. Then others get their companies up and running by using one of the many business credit cards on the market.

If you are looking to fire up your own small business and want to rely on a credit card to get things moving, you have a lot of choices to pick from. Which one is right for you? Which card has the best features, the best rates and the greatest rewards? Be sure that you make the right choice because, frankly, the future of your business depends on it.

American Express Blue Business Cash Card

A 0% annual fee? 2% cash back on all purchases up to $50,000? 0.0% intro APR purchases for the first 12 months? The American Express Card is a great way to finance your new business. It is a wonderful way to buy furniture, make down payments or secure rent. The 2% cash back is a great feature and it lasts for an entire year. After that, it will drop down to 1% which is still quite nice. It is made for people with really good credit, so you need to keep that in mind when applying. But it is a powerful, handy and reliable card from one of the biggest card companies in the world.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business card is a great tool to create and sustain your business in its opening year. People know that the first few years of a company are the most challenging time for it, and the Spark Cash for Business card helps out tremendously. How? By providing $0 annual fee for the first year and an unlimited 2% cash back on every single purchase you make. Plus, the card gives a one-time $500 cash bonus once you spend $4,500 within 3 months of opening your account. If you need to make a foreign purchase, this card is also great for you because it has absolutely no foreign transaction fees. For all these reasons and more, you can’t go wrong with the Spark Cash for Business card.

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express

Everyone is wild about reward points with their credit cards. They are all the rage. The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is full of rewards. In fact, you earn 2X Membership Rewards points on business purchases for the first $50,000 purchases per year and then 1 point per dollar spent after that. That alone is enough to sell many business owners and have them sign up for the card. But the 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months is another great reason to take a look at this card when you are getting your new business up and running.

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Financial Tax Services

Why You Should Get a CPA to Prepare Your Taxes

Why You Should Get a CPA to Prepare Your Taxes

There is nothing as annoying or necessary as filing your taxes. It is never any fun but is something that every American adult has to do every single year without exception.

You can always file your own taxes and it is rarely that complicated. It takes a lot of time and it can be boring but it doesn’t suck up too much time. However, sometimes you need extra help to get your taxes done. That help will come in the form of a CPA, a professional who is specially trained at filing taxes for people. When do you need the help of a CPA? What instances call for a CPA instead of doing the taxes yourself?

The IRS Contacts You

Uh oh, this is never fun. The IRS may contact you for any number of reasons, they aren’t always bad. But they are usually complicated and need to be handled in the most professional manner possible. Professionalism is exactly what you get with a CPA. They know exactly how to handle and deal with the IRS and they will make any interactions with them way, way easier and way less of a headache.

You Have a Side Gig

In this modern age, many people make their money with various jobs, or gigs. Do you drive for Uber? Maybe you deliver food for DoorDash. If you do, that could complicate the tax filing process and that means you need to bring in a CPA to get it done. You deserve to have an easy filing procedure and that is what you get with a CPA doing your taxes because you have multiple gig jobs.

You Own a Rental Property

Are you a landlord? Do you rent out a home or real estate investment? If so, a CPA should be employed when you are filing your taxes. A CPA will make renting a lot easier and will also be able to find all the deductions you could enjoy. Remember, these CPAs are trained professionals and they know how to file taxes accordingly and smartly. They will save you extra money and use all the tricks of the trade to make being a landlord easier than ever.

You Are Investing your IRA or 401K

Many people self-direct their Roth IRS or 401k money into investments in bonds, stocks, and mutual funds. Others invest in real estate with the money they earn from their IRAs or retirement funds. It can be a very smart and financially beneficial call, but it can also make filing taxes way more complicated. If you are doing this and making money this way, use a CPA to do your annual taxes to get rid of all the complications that these self-directing moves can make.

There are many reasons to use a CPA, from the ones listed above to the simple fact that they make filing your taxes a complete breeze. The fact of the matter is that you don’t need any reason to hire a CPA other than the fact that it will take your taxes out of your hair and make tax season a simple, laid back time. You can kick back and relax while others are stressing out about the IRS.

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Business Career & Education

5 Predictions for the Workplace Post COVID-19

5 Predictions for the Workplace Post COVID-19

COVID-19 has made people’s lives miserable all around the world. We are all struggling with the menace of this virus, which has damaged our businesses, education, economy, and many other aspects of life.

Will we be able to get back to the way we used to live? Or, will we have to adjust to the new norm in our routine lives and business operations?

Let’s find out what the business gurus, experts, and entrepreneurs had to say about the post-covid workplace. Most of them agree and make 5 predictions for the post-covid workplace.

1. Mix of In-Office and Remote Working for the Workplace

Certain studies have shown the results suggesting most people want the future workplace to be hybrid. People will work from an in-office and remote stations, in a mixed fashion. This mode of working will stay and results will gradually start replacing the number of hours worked.

This new yardstick will give rise to hybrid working patterns. Managers and team members will need to develop skills and stay connected with each other without overlapping the information or missing any.

2. Wide-Ranging Economy

As soon as COVID-19 ends there may be a widespread mistrust for reviving the businesses. You should take this with stakeholder capitalism. This may act as a bridge between business and communities which in return will see the companies taking on board all stakeholders, at the time of deciding.

In fact, getting all on board is an effort to build trust and social capital. Everyone will start getting money that will keep the business going. The concept of a wide-ranging economy has many benefits. One of these will help the governments as they won’t be dealing with unemployment and financial strains.

3. Flexible Green Pastures

In the post-Covid-19 world, we will head to find new norms. Many of us are using Covid-19 as a reason to invest more in their environmental policies. EU will spend around US$ 1 Tr for better climate and related changes. Whereas, countries like the US, S Korea, Japan, Canada, and Nigeria are opting for going greener options during covid recovery plans.

This is skill development for going green in all manners. However, there are challenges and multi-faced problems to overcome while going green.

4. COVID-19 Productivity & Protecting People, Not Jobs

Many job experts and business analysts have been vocal about protecting the people. You can get a job through reskilling or up-skilling.

This issue was under discussion in a recent World Economic Forum, summit. As per the summit findings, by 2030 more than half of the young people globally, will lack skills for future jobs. It may be economic to train and deploy the people than abandoning them and then re-hire them.

An urgent focus is required to address the issue without further delays.

5. Recharging your Resilience Batteries

With covid-19, countries, societies, and businesses were forced to transform.Therefore, the e-commerce industry became the new norm, as it took over the control of education, logistics, and healthcare services. This altered their practicing methods and paved the way for entrepreneurs. During this pandemic much bigger and economically strong countries like the US, UK, Germany, France, and Japan saw a rush of new but small businesses in their system.

This was slightly unusual, but researchers suggest that building resilience and adaptability holds the key to success.

Conclusion

It may be stressful to think about where the small business will be five years from now. Whatever the case, things will get better eventually but it will require some drastic changes and patience.

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Financial Savings

The Advantages of Investing in Your 20s

The Advantages of Investing in Your 20s

Some people may think an investment is a lifetime achievement while others take it as a way to secure money. However, both types of people wonder what the right age for investment is.

For budding young adults, the investment seems appropriate when they are stable, financially. And usually, this is rarely the case. There are others who start investing early for getting the advantages as early as possible.

The 20ish age bracket looks like the right time for you to start making investments, and you will notice its advantages during your retired life. How? Well, we will explain the reasons, to boost your confidence for an early investment.

Time and Investment

Early investment means, to start at an early age. Remember that earning opportunities and money may not be enough for young adults at an early age. However, they have one thing in plenty: time.

The timely investment can have benefits for investing $10k at age 22 that will grow to $80k by the time you reach 60 years. The same investment at age 30 will get you only $43K by the time you are 60. See, how time can affect your investments in a big way.

So, the longer time you invest money, the more benefits you can get from it. The mantra is, earlier the better.

Once you invest and the money kicks in, then you work to grow an investment by re-investing the earnings.

Take Risk

Young people, for example, who have a longer time span, have the potential to take on risk. Simple, most likely they won’t need the money for several years. Having more time means they can re-shuffle or re-invest their savings if any of their investment plans go wrong.

As the people grow, they limit their options by going for low-risk or risk-free investments, like bonds and certificate deposits, etc.

Longer Terms Plans

The long-term plans you may well start in the early 20s to get the best results at a later age. For example, Dow Jones fell over 50% in the 2008 recession. It started making gains by reaching a pre-recession position in 2013. The young investors waited for its recovery as they had time in hand.

Young investors can absorb such events because of the time they have in hand and their sights on longer investment plans. If you’re 25 now and planning to retire at 65, then you have a time cushion of 40 years for the investment part. So, young ones by investing at an early age can gain at a later age, the way it should be.

Experiencing

Young investors have everything on their side to get a first-hand taste of success and failure.

Investment plans and their management is not simple, it needs patience for understanding. Youth can overcome their investment mistakes because they have time to recover. 

Young age investments and their benefits will give you a better, retired life.

Technology and Right investment

The young generation has all the know-how, information, and knowledge to study, research and go for investment. Online trading hubs are providing all information and business data for such investments.

However, you can check that what investment will make you pay $190 per month now, and get its reward to a sum of $1 million in 40 years. The earlier you invest, the better you stay.

Conclusion

It does not mean investments are for retirement age alone. There are other investment plans like dividend stocks that provide support of the income stream throughout the investment span. 

20-something investments have definite benefits, and you should plan to make an early one, even if it is a small amount.

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Bankruptcy Debt Financial Legal

Can I File For Bankruptcy Online in 2021?

Can I File For Bankruptcy Online in 2021?

The internet is the height of convenience. Despite all the complaints we might have about technology, one thing we can admit is that being able to handle all of your expenses from the comfort of your desk is no small luxury. But can you make a big financial like bankruptcy online? Is it possible to file for bankruptcy over the internet?

In this article, we’ll discuss what your options are when considering whether or not you can file for bankruptcy online. By the time we’re done, you’ll hopefully have all the info you need to make the right call.

Can You File For Bankruptcy Online?

For the most part you can file for bankruptcy online. There are a few caveats, as there are with really any big decision, but you likely won’t have trouble finding ways to make such a difficult decision with at least a little bit of comfort and confidence.

With your computer, you can do a number of things related to bankruptcy. For one, you can, in fact, receive bankruptcy filing forms and any local documentation relating to your application for bankruptcy. This takes a lot of the stress of gathering documents and filing papers out of the task.

You will also be notified about the progress of your bankruptcy case over the internet. Your bankruptcy court will send you email updates stating the important facts of your bankruptcy case. This will help you track your financial situation and get a hold on where you are.

After your bankruptcy is filed, you may also be able to check on how your repayment plan through the internet. While this feels more like a chore than a privilege, it will help in the necessary budgeting process that will come during your recovery phase.

You Cannot Do the Actual Filing

Unfortunately, most of us will have to do the actual, physical filing part of filing for bankruptcy in an actual, physical setting.

There may, however, be places where the filing process can be done completely online. This will depend on the district your filing in and the rules and regulations it has decided upon in the past.

If you’re unsure of the rules in your district, it might be good to consult a financial professional. The may be able to help you jump through all the hoops when filing bankruptcy and advise you on recovery afterwards.

Trustees also might not be so hospitable to the idea of going paperless. While many districts have discussed moving in a more electronic direction, the trust that floats around the idea of the hard copy filing process is just too big to overcome for most trustees. This is why hard copies may still be required here.

Any fees related to court filing are also usually not offered on an online basis.

Thus, there’s a lot of the process you can do online, and a lot that you can’t. You will be able to do a lot of the filing documents electronically, but submitting them and onward will be a physical process.

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Career & Education Education Financial Loans

Understanding Student Loan Forgiveness

Understanding Student Loan Forgiveness

When tough times fall, some people are left with no way to stand up to the challenge of their financial obligations. Whatever the reason for these hardships, it’s good to know that there are some ways out of the mire. Student loan forgiveness may be one of these ways.

These days, the necessity of high education is as high as it has ever been. Unfortunately, the cost of higher education is just as high, which leaves some people having to take out expensive student loans- loans which they may eventually have trouble paying.

What is student loan forgiveness? Might you qualify? In this article, we’ll talk all about getting forgiven for your student loans- what it means, who qualifies, and what it will entail for your financial life.

What Is Student Loan Forgiveness?

When people can’t repay a loan, they have a number of options. So, in the case of student loans, you may be able to get your loans forgiven.

Student loan forgiveness essentially means that you are no longer required to pay some or even the entirety of your student loans.

This means that the debt you owe may not end up completely disappearing, and whatever you still owe on the end of everything else will persist. You will still end up having to pay the leftover debt, but the chunk forgiveness takes off may help enormously.

What Kinds of Forgiveness Are There?

Student loan forgiveness comes in many forms and is not homogenous across the board in any sense. This means that there are different types of loan forgiveness may occur under different circumstances. Here are a few of those circumstances:

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

To encourage people to teach primary school children, despite the low-paying salaries, oftentimes teacher loan forgiveness will be offered.

Under the terms of teacher loan forgiveness, those who teach five consecutive and complete academic years are eligible for student loan forgiveness of up to $17,500. This means that if your federal student loans tallied up to $30,000, you would have over half of your loans forgiven.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Working for a government or non-profit organization may also qualify you for loan forgiveness. After ten years of payments, or 120 qualifying payments, you may benefit from Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Military Service

Military service may also qualify you for special benefits and repayment plans. These may include interest rate caps and other forms of special loan assistance.

AmeriCorps Benefits

Completing a term of service in AmeriCorps may also qualify you for Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. So, this may help you to repay some of your student loan debt.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans

Under these plans, those under a repayment plan that is based on their income may qualify for forgiveness on any remaining balance on their loans. After you make a certain number of repayments over a certain period of time, they may offer this.

Other Forms of Forgiveness

Other forms of student loan forgiveness may be found on the FSA’s Student Loan Forgiveness page.

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Bankruptcy Legal

Bankruptcy: The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide to Bankruptcy

When disaster strikes and you suddenly find yourself unable to meet your financial obligations, there may be ways to alleviate some of the pain. Of course, they won’t be painless in themselves, but they might just be a better decision than choosing to trudge onward with your current obligations. Bankruptcy is one of those ways.

Bankruptcy is a way for people who can’t meet their obligations to start to dig themselves out of the circumstances they find themselves in. It’s not a beneficial move in itself, and it certainly won’t feel good, but plenty of people find it to be their next best option.

So, how do you go about filing bankruptcy? When should you do it? In this article, we’ll talk all about how you should approach bankruptcy- a difficult topic indeed.

When to File

If you’re considering bankruptcy, but don’t know if your circumstances are dire enough to file, consider just a few recommendations.

Those considering bankruptcy should be unable to mee their financial obligations. When you can’t meet your debt, you may start to fall behind. This could put you in a hole you might not be able to find a way out of.

Some of these debts might be unsecured debts, which may mean that your home is in danger. Bankruptcy may help you maintain the equity you have placed in your home.

Bankruptcy is for times when finances go into a tailspin. If you see any semblance of a way out, it might not be so good to go the bankruptcy route. Keep in mind- many times average people’s judgements aren’t so finely tuned for financial matters. You should consult a professional if your circumstances are in such dire straits.

Possible Penalties

Unfortunately, the penalties for bankruptcy are significant, and should be considered closely before any commitment is made. Bankruptcy is not a thing you enter into lightly.

If you declare bankruptcy, that stain with stick with you for at least a good ten years- or one eighth of the average person’s entire life! The information on your bankruptcy will go to credit bureaus and will be taken into account for future dealings.

Not only will your bankruptcy reflect in your credit score when you attempt to pick up new debt, but you will also not be able to file bankruptcy for another 8 years. This means that whatever deals you make, you’re going to be stuck with.

Recovering From Bankruptcy

If you’ve had to file bankruptcy and suffer the penalties, there are ways to recover. For one, make sure you listen to any advice you receive in credit counseling sessions. These institutions are in place for a reason, and you can learn a lot about getting back on your feet.

You should also get your financial life in line. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but going credit-free and establishing money management strategies will put you far ahead of the game and could even put you on the path to as much of a financial recovery as you can make.

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Bankruptcy Legal

Why Should I Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

Why Should I Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

When you’re facing bankruptcy, you’re likely going to have more than a few doubts about the situation. How do you do it? Are there any other options? Is it just a matter of filing and getting on with life, or is the process continual?

But for all of your doubts, you still might be on the fence about getting a bankruptcy lawyer. This is understandable, especially considering the reputation lawyers usually have for being expensive. In a time like this, you’re going to want to pinch all the pennies you can. But can you really afford to skimp here?

In this article, we’ll talk all about what kinds of benefits may compel you to hire a bankruptcy lawyer, as well as what kind of investment a bankruptcy lawyer is and why it might just pay off in the long run.

Think About Your Options

The funny thing about considering bankruptcy is that about 50% of the process is about considering other options. Bankruptcy is a big- no- possibly the biggest financial decision a person can make, and people make it pretty regularly. That’s why you want to have everything in line and understand all your options.

For normal people, this can get a little complicated. Is there a way out that doesn’t involve bankruptcy? How can you tell its for real and feasible? What if you decide to go another route an it doesn’t work out? All these questions might be plaguing you.

Since the internet can only take us so far, it’s good to have a base of professional knowledge. And since we can only absorb so much of this professional knowledge, it’s even better to have dedicated professionals who can help us figure out the specifics of how this information applies to our situation.

Bankruptcy lawyers are just these professionals. They help you figure out what type of bankruptcy to file, whether or not you need to file bankruptcy in the first place, and what you need to do to prepare to file for bankruptcy. Having all these things handled and out of the way will bring greater peace of mind in a stressful time.

Bankruptcy lawyers have been working in their fields for years, and will have encountered hundreds of different bankruptcy situations. Your specific situation will be easily understood by a lawyer with such broad experience. This isn’t a the lawyer’s first rodeo.

Why Make the Investment in a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

An investment is a big ask when you’re filing bankruptcy. Considering the way things have been going financially, you might be tempted to put down the checkbook and start handling things yourself. This, however, may be one of the most beneficial things you do during the whole process.

Bankruptcy lawyers will notice if things go wrong during the process, and will be able to handle bumps in the road quickly and efficiently. Navigating this rocky sea yourself may take you for a pretty confusing ride. It’s good to have a professional on your side.

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Career & Education Education Financial Loans

Student Loans: How Long Does It Take To Pay It Off?

How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Student Loans?

With the costs of school steadily rising and the necessity of a college education growing even more ruthlessly, many people are choosing to take on student loans. These loans- designed to help people who can’t pay out of pocket get access to education- are a godsend to some.

Still, having a loan hanging over your head is no one’s idea of a fun time. For one, loans tie you to an institution and limit your freedom. You might also feel more vulnerable to things like market instability if your loans are high and your funds low. So, how long will that loan be with you? How long does it take to pay off a student loan?

What Is The Size Of Your Loan?

To figure out how long it might take you to pay off your loan, you should first consider how big your loan is going to be and how much you’ll be able to pay monthly.

Loans are paid off in small installments, with interest and possible fees tacked on. This means that if you have a loan of $30,000, you’ll be paying in small increments of that loan for a period of time.

If you can pay more per month, you’ll end up with a shorter time to repayment. This will also help you in other sectors of your financial help. Student loans may come with different terms and different interest rates, meaning that your loan time might vary depending on who you get it from and what kind of contract you sign onto.

Overall, if you’re able to make larger monthly contributions, your loans will dissipate much faster. Choose to pay them piecemeal, and you could be stuck with them for a much longer period than if you chose to take off big bites.

What Is The Term?

A loan term designates how long you will be taking to pay off any given loan. If your loan has a term of, say, 15 years, that means that your bank has set up your payments so that you will have paid off your loan in that among of time- plus interest.

Many student loans come with a term of about ten years. This means that students who start college in 2022 will optimistically finish off their loans somewhere around 2032- or when they’re 28 years old.

But this estimate doesn’t always pan out. Loan recipients often take 20 years or more to finish paying off their loans, which, again, will depend on how much they’re willing to pay and how much they can spare for their bank or loan service at the end of the month.

So, if you’ve got a loan of $30,000 with a term of ten years, you’ll be paying big parts of that loan every month- plus interest. If you’ve got the same loan with a term of 20 years, you’ll be paying much smaller rates- half as much.

Thus, how long a loan will last is a combination of term length and how much a debtor can pay.

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Credit Financial Tech & Media Technology

Apple To Introduce Card Sharing

Apple To Introduce Card Sharing

To allow customers to share the benefits of a single line of credit, Apple has introduced card sharing. The system would allow multiple customers to use the same Apple credit card, thus benefitting from one shared credit record.

Explained

This is the first time Apple has done something like this, but the move is not unprecedented. Apple has long focused on building a more equitable and flexible credit program. This is why they have a low-fee credit on its Apple Card along with no annual or late fees.

The program will also allow parents to have children over the age of 13 on the Card with them. This means that they would be able to track their children’s spending. This is a great way to get children learning about credit within the confines of a safe, parent-supervised system.

According to Apple, the card was created in an attempt to overhaul the way spouses and family members share credit cards and build credit. In particular, it would like to tackle the problem of uneven credit divisions. Normally, the primary account holder gets the benefits of a shared credit card and credit history. However, the Apple Card Family program would allow credit sharing.

Who Can Get The Card?

The Apple Card sharing program is not only open to members of a family, either. According their announcement, the program will allow the card to be shared with any eligible customer over the age of 18. This means that convenient single monthly bills could be split between not only family but friends as well.

The sharing program would not keep financial matters private however. Instead it opts to give members of the shared card a significant level of transparency in being able to see who spent what. The graphic Apple provides on their website shows a program with graphs and metrics. It’s somewhat like the Screen Time section of settings, but with money instead of minutes.

How It Works?

Theoretically, customers sharing an Apple Card could tally up their spending, divide them into percent payments, and make payments fairly and according to their overall spending. This means that a member who barely used the card would not have to pay as much as a member who overused.

Credit history will be shared among all the members of the shared card program. This means that if an account’s credit history sheds a positive light on the participants’ worthiness, it would be reported to credit bureaus and used as part of each member’s credit history.

The possible downside to this program is that negative credit history will go on the accounts of all members. So, regardless of whether or not they spend responsibly and pay bills elsewhere, their credit could still be affected. Credit history will be shared across the entire card-sharing group.

Conclusion

According to Apple, the program is meant to help all cardholders achieve a healthier financial life through its transparency. Hypothetically, a card-sharing group could track one another’s payments, and make plans and adjustments accordingly, talking to one another and discussing spending to come to better financial decisions.