How to Take a Money-saving Eco-friendly Staycation (stay-at-home Vacation)

Here is a pass intent that won’t break the bank. It will give your family many fond memories and that well-deserved rest AND will keep you eco-friendly (get more tips and join the movement on being eco-friendly at www.ecofriendlymovement.com). ESPECIALLY IN THESE TIMES OF HIGH GAS PRICE TIMES…

Take a “Staycation”

You say “What in the world is a Staycation?” Well, very simply it is a pass where you stay home, you do all the fun things that you don’t have time to

do while you are working or going to school, AND you’ll have fun doing it right in your home or in your local area. Staycations are very eco-friendly because you are limiting your use of precious fuel by not traveling to a destination; your home is your destination. You will also see Eco-tips mentioned throughout this article.

Okay, are you ready to have fun! Here are the steps you need to take:

As with any “traditional” vacation, you need to plan and make some decisions before you “embark” on your trip. REMEMBER—The planning and anticipation of the trip is part of the fun.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION PHASE:

Coordinate calendars

1. Decide when you will all be available

2. Who you will invite (other than immediate family); don’t forget to ask Grandma, Grandpa or that favorite aunt to join you on your Staycation. Be sure to mention that this is a staycation and fun times only…no worries or problems discussed.

3. How long will your “trip” last?

4. Select a trip coordinator to be responsible for ascertaining from the family what activities/ideas they would most like to see happen during the staycation and this mortal is responsible for setting the regular planned activities (see below). TIP: In our family Mother or Grandma is the coordinator.

Planned activities for apiece staycation day

5. Delve into interests of apiece staycation member and form activities around that interest…take turns with apiece member…this will also get everyone thinking about apiece other and sharing apiece others interests.

6. Play tourist and go to your Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitors Bureau. Pick up brochures, maps, or anything that will get you thinking about “short trips” in your area. You will be surprised at the places you didn’t know about, right in your own back yard. Don’t forget to go on-line and learn about your town, city, or say and see what you can see (It doesn’t injured to slip in a few educational items; along with the fun…nobody will know the difference if you do it correctly).

7. Produce a planned activities calendar and post it in your staycation home (see below for Planned Activities Ideas). This will let apiece staycation member know what’s going to happen during the staycation. Remember no stress…if someone wants to recommend changes or has some other fun things to add to the schedule…that’s what you want to see…PARTICIPATION!

8. Plan downtime in the activities calendar. This is time when everyone can do their own thing; like hide it their rooms, go on-line, nap, or just plain do nothing. Each pass needs a certain amount of downtime. TIP: Remember to schedule this time, but if someone is not feeling well, don’t stress just let them have a bit more time. They will come around when they feel they are missing out on some laughs. Also remember it is like a vacation, so get up late and stay up late.

9. Planned Activities are fun to create specifically geared toward your staycation members. Here are some ideas that have been successful:

a. Visit museums, aquariums, historical sites, or any places of interest in your area. Most of these places are free, fun, and educational. Don’t forget even libraries can be fun places to visit. No matter how small your town is you can ALWAYS find something to see that is interesting.

b. Visit any national parks, say parks, town parks or even school ball fields. Getting outside is the ideal way to have fun and be healthy at the same time. It’s a great place to have a picnic, play ball, swim, hike, walk, and fish or just plain read a book under a tree. Eco-tip: Remember to not pollute; whatever you take with you, bring home with you and dispose of probably.

c. Visit your own backyard. You can have a bunch of fun right in your own backyard. Have a cook-out, invite people over (remember to have apiece member of the staycation invite a friend), cook ‘smores, tell ghost stories, do star-gazing astronomy, hold a scavenger hunt, run a drive-in (outdoor) motion picture (you can place blankets on the grass, bring your biggest TV/DVD outdoors, rent a family-friendly motion picture or pay-per-view event, serve popcorn and let the fun begin.

d. Plant a tree in your yard, have a dedication ceremony, invite the neighborhood (maybe they’ll get the intent and will want help the environment by planting their own tree). This is a huge Eco-Tip!

e. Hold game night, apiece night. You can play cards, board games, build jigsaw puzzles, charades, interactive electronic games, motion picture night, scavenger hunts or you could go to a local arcade or motion picture theatre. This is one that you try to get everyone to participate in, the more the merrier. TIP: Some families do this kind of activity at least once a week; even when it isn’t a staycation.

f. Run a Talent Night, if your family is so inclined to be performers or possess any special talents. This is a great way to have a lot of laughs (Remember to laugh with someone not at someone, haha!).

g. Join an organization as a family and donate your time and effort to helping the “cause”. With this staycation article you are already well on your way to becoming environmentally eco-friendly so why not join the eco-friendly movement as a family by going to www.ecofriendlymovement.com you can join and learn all the ways your family can start to SAVE THE PLANET. Another Huge Eco-tip!

h. Get out the old family pictures and remember the good times. Tell stories about people, events, remember people you have lost, remember the “good times”, somebody draw a huge tree and start your family tree. Also remember to take plenty of candid and planned digital pictures of your current staycation. You are, after all making new memories.

You could also take this opportunity to do some scrapbooking, depending on the interest level from the staycation members; this could be a lot of fun. Some staycationers have even gone to cemeteries to trace genealogies, AND they had fun doing it.

Eco-tip: Remember save paper and take digital pictures and create personal generated pic albums.

i. Do a Spa Day for the girls (or anyone who wants to join in).

You could go to a local spa or plan spa treatments for at home; like manicures, pedicures, or back rubs. Eco-tip: Remember you can make all natural organic products (see the free bonus books on the webpage www.ecofriendlymovement.com)

j. Do a Sports Day for the boys (or anyone who wants to join in). The boys could go to a driving range, batting cage, rent a sports DVD, etc.

k. Do some Arts & Crafts finish those projects you have had forever or just start new projects with the entire family. Even if you are not crafty try painting or even coloring, its fun.

Eco-tip: Use items you already have around the house…reuse items for crafts.

l. Take a walk, run, or jog family-style. Have an “adventure”, depending on the age of your kids it is great fun to make-pretend on your adventure. Eco-tip: While you are travel pick up trash along the street!

10. Theme Staycations are loads of fun. You can plan for the entire length of your pass as a theme or just a Theme Day. Here are some theme staycations that could fit into your plans:

Outdoor Adventure-Try this one whether your family has camped outside or not. It involves sleeping, cooking, and intake outside. This activity is great fun for all ages.

Tropical Island-You don’t even need to be near the beach. Dress in island wear; shorts, flowered Hawaiian shirts, flip-flops, drink tropical concoctions, and lay around reading books. Remember to make the food island appropriate-usually grilled.

Sports Theme-This can be themed with your local team colors, your favorite NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, or whatever sport. You can dress for your team, decorate for your team, and have a gate celebration (even in your driveway). TIP: If you are into NASCAR, you can have matchbox races.

Food preparation menu

Develop meal and snack menus for apiece day of the vacation.

(Remember no dieting, splurge on foods that make your family happy, comfort foods are great). When it comes time to prepare the foods, it’s Mom’s pass too, so all pitch-in to help, take turns cooking, and most of all prepare simple clean-up meals. Don’t forget grilling, grilling, grilling is fun and simple clean-up.

Make reservations at local restaurants. This is your chance to try out that local place down the street that you go by each day and “just haven’t had time to stop to try out”. You can also do take out meals, anything that is fun and makes it an simple part of the staycation.

Make grocery list and food shop in advance of staycation. Except for some pick-up items like milk or bread, have all the food bought well ahead of the start of your Staycation. Eco-tip: Bring reusable grocery shopping bags.

STAYCATION DATE ARRIVES:

#1 Have FUN, FUN, & MORE FUN with the family, tell jokes, laugh a lot, and be silly.

#2 Play music all day and create a fun atmosphere.

#3 Follow the planned activities calendar as closely as doable (but do no

stress over it).

#4 Take loads of digital pictures-candid and staged.

#5 Eat too much food and diet after the vacation.

#6 Send postcards, letter, or emails to friends telling them about how much fun you are having on your staycation (you might inspire them to go on Staycation). Always use recycled paper.

#7 Remember both during this Staycation and in your regular life to reuse, recycle, reduce, and to limit your footprint on the planet. Visit www.ecofriendlymovement.com so you can start your eco-friendly quest like so many other families have done.

How to make a money-saving Eco-friendly Staycation (stay-at-home pass rentals)

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Killer Electricity Saving Tips That Save Huge Money

Look… If you’re dredging the thought of your next energy bill because funds are a bit tight then you really need to read this. What I’m going to reveal here are a number of ways anyone can reduce their energy bills and save money. The problem is most people just don’t know what to do so lower their electricity expenses but after this day that will be a thing of the past… Here’s why.

Before you get started implementing the following 8 great electricity saving tips, it would be most beneficial for you to formulate a plan of action to determine your greatest opportunities in saving energy. For example, did you know that combined your home’s heating, cooling, water heater and lighting statement for a whopping 66% of your homes energy usage? Think about that for a few minutes… 66% of your energy bill comes from those 4 areas, so implementing just a few of the electricity saving tips below could result in significant savings! With those areas in mind, let us start our journey:

1. The greatest amount of energy your home consumes is in heating. Almost 31% of your energy costs are accumulated from this one area. In order to help you cut down on your energy consumption here, you should purchase and install an electric thermostat. By doing this, you can more easily and efficiently regulate the temperature in your home. Once you have installed your new thermostat, set it 1-5 degrees lower than you normally would… for apiece degree lower, you will save 5% of your energy usage.

2. You can significantly reduce the amount of heat your home loses by weather stripping the windows and doors in your home and using a clear caulk along the baseboards to seal any cracks in the flooring where heat might escape your home. This can stop 20% of your heat loss and significantly reduce the amount of money you spend on heating your home, and by regaining that 20% heat loss, you could probably set your thermostat an additional 2 or 3 degrees lower and save even more energy.

3. The hot water heater is what you need to look at now. Did you know that it uses about 14% of your homes energy? It’s a prime example of an area where you can save energy and money. First, have a look at your thermostat. The thermostat should be not set any higher than one hundred and twenty degrees. At one hundred and twenty degrees it is a very comfortable temperature for taking a shower and a bath. The thing is if a small child was to immerse themselves into water any warmer than one hundred and twenty degrees they could seriously burn themselves. Remember a child’s skin is much more sensitive than an adults skin would be. Besides, if your thermostat is set any higher, the system automatically adds cold water to prevent burns. Too, by wrapping the pipes that lead from both the hot and cold water you can actually increase the temperature of the water by about 4 degrees which grants you to be healthy to turn it down to around 115 degrees. This will save a great deal of energy and money.

4. Cooling our homes also takes a significant amount of energy, but there are some wonderful electricity saving tips you can implement in this area that will save energy and, of course, money. Install white blinds or curtains on your windows and keep them shut during the hottest part of the day. By using white, you will actually be reflecting the heat away from your home rather than having it be absorbed thus causing you to crank up the air conditioning. Too, by using fans, in conjunction with your air conditioner, you can actually raise the temperature on your thermostat 4 – 7 degrees without losing any comfort.

5. Lighting. This is an area where you can start saving power as soon as you change your light bulbs. By replacing your incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), you can save roughly 75% of your homes energy usage through light bulbs. This can amount to considerable savings over the lifetime of the CFL bulbs.

6. When something is not in use, TURN IT OFF! Not just on stand-by, but off! The kind of electronic devices that don’t need to be plugged into a live power points are things like DVD players, cell phone chargers, printers, personal and other items that just don’t need to be left on. Just by leaving them on when not in use (in the stand-by or hibernation mode), you are wasting about 35% of your home’s energy. To make this an simple task, purchase power strips and plug all your electronic items in to them, when not in use, just flip the switch on the power cord and voila, instant savings. You can go a long way in saving power used in your home by implementing this electricity saving tip.

7. When washing clothes, use the coldest water setting your fabrics can tolerate and make sure to only wash a full load during apiece wash cycle. Too, instead of drying them in the dryer, hang them outside if it is a nice day and save energy that way as well.

8. Insulate your walls and attic. By insulating your home, you are literally creating a barrier against the elements that helps prevent significant energy loss.

As you can see, there are many ways in which you can reduce the energy usage in your home that will not only save you a significant amount of money, but will also save a considerable amount of energy — that has the added effect of helping reduce your carbon footprint and your household’s impact on the environment. Just take advantage of the electricity saving tips above and you are on your way to a leaner, greener energy bill.

Killer Electricity Saving Tips The huge money saving

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if i run into a house with ny car, will my liability car insurance cover damage?

myopinion Asked:
if i run into a home with ny car, will my liability automobile insurance cover damage?

I hit the home I rent with my car. I have only liability insurance, I wonder if covered in?

Best answer:

Answer by ceddie1987
look at your policy check or property alteration coverage

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Q&A: What is the cost of general liability insurance for a small sole proprietorship?

Rachel Asked:
What is the cost of general liability insurance for a small sole proprietorship?

I am doing a project for a business proposal and I just need a ball park figure for what would the cost of general liability insurance. The business I am currently working as an interior designer from a home office with no employees.

Best answer:

Answer by car253
It depends on what say your in. And, different companies have different rates.

In Ca around $ 250-$ 500.

What do you think? Answer below!

Personal Liability Insurance?

Chris C Asked:
Personal Liability Insurance?

I have $ 500,000 individualized liability on a rental property I own. Im not really sure what this is or what it actually covers. An answer to this would be nice, but my question is, I need individualized liability of the home I’m about to buy? Just wondering because I have it through my property

Best answer:

Answer by mbrcatz17
OK, if it’s PERSONAL liability, does it cover the exposure of renting the property for money? You need to double check that.

You ALWAYS need liability insurance on a property you own. If it’s your individualized house, you need individualized liability; if it’s a rental, you need landlord liability.

That’s what protects you when anyone gets injured on your premises – whether it’s a dog bite, a slip and fall, or whatever. And it’s CHEAP, relatively speaking. Yes, you need it on EACH property.

Although it’s “worldwide” liability, there is an exclusion in there for any premises owned, occupied by, rented to or from you, if it’s NOT specifically listed on the policy. IN other words, If you purchase one house, the liability does NOT automatically carry over onto each home you own. You have to LIST each house, and pay an additional premium for it.

What do you think? Answer below!

Q&A: What does personal liability cover for a homeowners insurance policy?

Happy Asked:
What does individualized liability cover for a homeowners insurance policy?

I am independent (nursery) and have 4 employees and I have a lot of customers. I get the homeowner policy, but I wonder if I should get 300K or 500K individualized liability insurance. Is this cover for me when my clients or someone tries to sue me? For example, I heard when my child was in the park, and if something happened, and he injured someone should cover individualized liability, there. So it would be for my business if someone sues me? Someone suggested an umbrella policy, but what is it and what does it cover? How much would it cost? Because I am not much on income from my two mortgage payments and other expenses (including advertising costs). Thanks in advance.

Best answer:

Answer by ernesto_tig
Your HO insurer will cover individualized liability issues and lawsuits resulting from your ownership of a home. Business related activities are specifically excluded (some policies have an endorsement for incidental business use IE a customer drops off a check at your house). Your kid at the park should be covered (varies by say and policy..civil law stuff)

If you have a business with four employees, you should have a business GL(general liability) policy that covers a gardening business. This will defend you if your customers sue you for something you or your employees did related to gardening.

Umbrella policies vary by company; some are extensions of existing underlying coverage, others offer coverage beyond your HO and auto insurance; either way they will not cover your business.

My recommendation: get a business GL policy to cover your business and take the 500K limit on your HO policy. Later when money is not so tight, get a personnal umbrella.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

If you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount might be taxable.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally grants taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.

This supplying applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Up to million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ( million if married filing separately). The exclusion does not apply if the discharge is due to services performed for the lender or any other reason not directly related to a decline in the home’s value or the taxpayer’s financial condition.

The following are the most commonly asked questions and answers about The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and debt cancellation:

What is Cancellation of Debt?
If you borrow money from a commercial lender and the lender later cancels or forgives the debt, you might have to include the cancelled amount in income for tax purposes, depending on the circumstances. When you borrowed the money you were not required to include the loan proceeds in income because you had an obligation to repay the lender. When that obligation is subsequently forgiven, the amount you received as loan proceeds is normally reportable as income because you no longer have an obligation to repay the lender. The lender is usually required to report the amount of the canceled debt to you and the IRS on a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.

Here’s a very simplified example. You borrow ,000 and default on the loan after paying back ,000. If the lender is unable to collect the remaining debt from you, there is a cancellation of debt of ,000, which generally is taxable income to you.

Is Cancellation of Debt income always taxable?
Not always. There are some exceptions. The most common situations when cancellation of debt income is not taxable involve:

Qualified principal residence indebtedness: This is the exception created by the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 and applies to most homeowners.
Bankruptcy: Debts discharged through bankruptcy are not considered taxable income.
Insolvency: If you are insolvent when the debt is cancelled, some or all of the cancelled debt might not be taxable to you. You are insolvent when your total debts are more than the clean market value of your total assets.
Certain farm debts: If you incurred the debt directly in operation of a farm, more than half your income from the prior three years was from farming, and the loan was owed to a mortal or bureau regularly engaged in lending, your cancelled debt is generally not considered taxable income.
Non-recourse loans: A non-recourse loan is a loan for which the lender’s only cure in case of default is to repossess the property being financed or used as collateral. That is, the lender can't oppose you personally in case of default. Forgiveness of a non-recourse loan resulting from a foreclosure does not result in cancellation of debt income. However, it might result in other tax consequences.

Exceptions

What is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007?
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted on December 20, 2007 (see News Release IR-2008-17). Generally, the Act grants exclusion of income realized as a result of modification of the terms of the mortgage, or foreclosure on your principal residence.

What does exclusion of income mean?
Normally, debt that is forgiven or cancelled by a lender must be included as income on your tax return and is taxable. But the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act grants you to exclude certain cancelled debt on your principal residence from income. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.

Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act apply to all forgiven or cancelled debts?
No. The Act applies only to forgiven or cancelled debt used to buy, build or substantially improve your principal residence, or to refinance debt incurred for those purposes. In addition, the debt must be secured by the home. This is known as eligible principal residence indebtedness. The maximum amount you can treat as eligible principal residence indebtedness is million or million if married filing
separately.

Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act apply to debt incurred to refinance a home?
Debt used to refinance your home qualifies for this exclusion, but only to the extent that the principal equilibrise of the old mortgage, immediately before the refinancing, would have qualified. For more information, including an example, see Publication 4681.

How long is this special relief in effect?
It applies to eligible principal residence indebtedness forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012.

Is there a limit on the amount of forgiven eligible principal residence indebtedness that can be excluded from income?
The maximum amount you can treat as eligible principal residence indebtedness is million ( million if married filing separately for the tax year), at the time the loan was forgiven. If the equilibrise was greater, see the instructions to Form 982 and the detailed example in Publication 4681.

If the forgiven debt is excluded from income, do I have to report it on my tax return?
Yes. The amount of debt forgiven must be reported on IRS Form 982 and this form must be attached to your tax return.

Do I have to complete the entire Form 982?
No. Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Adjustment), is used for other purposes in addition to reporting the exclusion of forgiveness of eligible principal residence indebtedness. If you are using the form only to report the exclusion of forgiveness of eligible principal residence indebtedness as the result of foreclosure on your principal residence, you only need to complete lines 1e and 2. If you kept ownership of your home and modification of the terms of your mortgage resulted in the forgiveness of eligible principal residence indebtedness, complete lines 1e, 2, and 10b. Attach the Form 982 to your tax return.

Where can I get this form?
If you use a individualized to fill out your return, check your tax-preparation software. You can also download the form at IRS.gov, or call 1-800-829-3676. If you call to order, please grant 7-10 days for delivery.

How do I know or find out how much debt was forgiven?
Your lender should send a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, by February 2, 2009. The amount of debt forgiven or cancelled will be shown in box 2. If this debt is all eligible principal residence indebtedness, the amount shown in box 2 will generally be the amount that you enter on lines 2 and 10b, if applicable, on Form 982. 

Can I exclude debt forgiven on my second home, credit card or automobile loans?
Not under this provision. Only cancelled debt used to buy, build or improve your principal residence or refinance debt incurred for those purposes qualifies for this exclusion. See Publication 4681 for further details.

If part of the forgiven debt doesn’t remember for exclusion from income under this provision, is it doable that it might remember for exclusion under a different provision?
Yes. The forgiven debt might remember under the insolvency exclusion. Normally, you are not required to include forgiven debts in income to the extent that you are insolvent.  You are insolvent when your total liabilities exceed your total assets. The forgiven debt might also remember for exclusion if the debt was discharged in a Title 11 bankruptcy proceeding or if the debt is eligible farm indebtedness or eligible real property business indebtedness. If you believe you remember for any of these exceptions, see the instructions for Form 982. Publication 4681 discusses apiece of these exceptions and includes examples.

I lost money on the foreclosure of my home. Can I claim a loss on my tax return?
No.  Losses from the understanding or foreclosure of individualized property are not deductible. 

If I sold my home at a loss and the remaining loan is forgiven, does this constitute a cancellation of debt?
Yes. To the extent that a loan from a lender is not fully satisfied and a lender cancels the unsatisfied debt, you have cancellation of indebtedness income. If the amount forgiven or canceled is 0 or more, the lender must generally issue Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, showing the amount of debt canceled. However, you might be healthy to exclude part or all of this income if the debt was eligible principal residence indebtedness, you were insolvent immediately before the discharge, or if the debt was canceled in a title 11 bankruptcy case.  An exclusion is also acquirable for the cancellation of certain non-business debts of a eligible individual as a result of a disaster in a Midwestern disaster area.  See Form 982 for details.

If the remaining equilibrise owed on my mortgage loan that I was personally liable for was canceled after my foreclosure, might I still exclude the canceled debt from income under the eligible principal residence exclusion, even though I no longer own my residence? 
Yes, as long as the canceled debt was eligible principal residence indebtedness. See Example 2 on page 13 of Publication 4681, Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments.

Will I receive notification of cancellation of debt from my lender?
Yes. Lenders are required to send Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, when they cancel any debt of 0 or more. The amount cancelled will be in box 2 of the form.

What if I disagree with the amount in box 2?
Contact your lender to work out any discrepancies and have the lender issue a corrected Form 1099-C.

How do I report the forgiveness of debt that is excluded from gross income?
(1) Check the appropriate box under line 1 on Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment) to indicate the type of discharge of indebtedness and enter the amount of the discharged debt excluded from gross income on line 2.  Any remaining canceled debt must be included as income on your tax return.

(2) File Form 982 with your tax return.

My student loan was cancelled; will this result in taxable income?
In some cases, yes. Your student loan cancellation will not result in taxable income if you concurred to a loan supplying requiring you to work in a certain profession for a specified period of time, and you fulfilled this obligation.

Are there other conditions I should know about to exclude the cancellation of student debt?
Yes, your student loan must have been made by:

(a) the federal government, or a say or local government or subdivision;

(b) a tax-exempt public benefit corporation which has control of a state, county or municipal hospital where the employees are considered public employees; or

(c) a school which has a program to encourage students to work in underserved occupations or areas, and has an agreement with one of the above to fund the program, under the direction of a governmental unit or a charitable or educational organization.

Can I exclude cancellation of credit card debt?
In some cases, yes. Non-business credit card debt cancellation can be excluded from income if the cancellation occurred in a title 11 bankruptcy case, or to the extent you were insolvent just before the cancellation. See the examples in Publication 4681.

How do I know if I was insolvent?
You are insolvent when your total debts exceed the total clean market value of all of your assets.  Assets include everything you own, e.g., your car, house, condominium, furniture, life insurance policies, stocks, other investments, or your pension and other retirement accounts.

How should I report the information and items needed to establish insolvency?
Use Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment) to exclude canceled debt from income to the extent you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation.  You were insolvent to the extent that your liabilities exceeded the clean market value of your assets immediately before the cancellation.

To claim this exclusion, you must attach Form 982 to your federal income tax return.  Check box 1b on Form 982, and, on line 2, include the smaller of the amount of the debt canceled or the amount by which you were insolvent immediately prior to the cancellation.  You must also reduce your tax attributes in Part II of Form 982.

My automobile was repossessed and I received a 1099-C; can I exclude this amount on my tax return?
Only if the cancellation happened in a title 11 bankruptcy case or to the extent you were insolvent just before the cancellation. See IRS Publication 4681 for examples.

Debt relief programs as offered by Federal Debt Relief Program are one of the ideal ways to refrain bankruptcy and get answers to bankruptcy questions.

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Umbrella Liability Insurance

When your local weather forecaster tells you that it’s going to rain, what do you do? That’s easy–you reach for your umbrella. So why not buy an umbrella that can protect you in stormy financial weather? Umbrella liability insurance (ULI) can do just that. By providing liability endorsement above and beyond the basic coverage that homeowners/renters and auto insurance policies offer, ULI can protect you against the catastrophic losses that can occur if you are sued.

Although ULI can be bought as a separate policy, your insurer will require that you have basic liability coverage (i.e., homeowners/renters insurance, auto insurance, or both) before you can buy an umbrella liability policy. ULI is often referred to as excess coverage. If you are found to be legally responsible for injuring someone or harmful someone’s property, the umbrella policy will either pay for the part of the claim in excess of the limits of your basic liability policy, or pay for certain losses that are not covered.

Why now? It’s not even raining

These days, it’s not uncommon to hear of million, million, and even million court judgments against individuals. If someone is hurt in your home, or if you cause a serious auto accident, you could have to pay such a judgment. If you don’t have an umbrella liability policy at the time of the accident, anything above the limits of your homeowners/renters or auto insurance policy will have to come out of your pocket.

Here’s an example of how ULI works to protect you. State you have an auto insurance policy with a liability limit of 0,000 per accident. You also have a million umbrella liability policy. You’re later found responsible for a serious vehicle accident, and the court finds you liable for 0,000 in damages. In this case, your auto insurance would pay the first 0,000 of the judgment, which would satisfy the deductible under your umbrella policy. Your umbrella policy would then cover the portion of the judgment not covered by your auto insurance (0,000).

You should also be aware that certain types of liability claims (e.g., libel and slander) are not covered under basic homeowners, auto, or other types of insurance policies. An endorsement can be added to these policies to wage some endorsement against these types of individualized injury claims. Or, you can buy ULI, which does cover these claims.

What’s covered?

A typical umbrella liability policy provides the following protection, up to the coverage limits specified in the policy:

Protection for claims of bodily injuries or property alteration caused by you, members of your household, or hazards on your property, for which you are found legally liable
Personal liability coverage for incidents that occur on or off your property
Additional endorsement above your basic auto policy for auto-related liabilities
Protection against non-business-related individualized injury claims, such as slander, libel, wrongful eviction, and false arrest
Legal defense costs for a covered loss, including lawyers’ fees and associated court costs

What’s not covered?

Umbrella liability insurance typically provides extremely broad coverage. Furthermore, if something is not expressly excluded from coverage, it is covered. Exclusions vary from one insurer to another and from one policy to another, but the following are some items typically excluded from coverage:

Intentional alteration caused by you or a member of your family or household
Damages arising out of business or professional pursuits
Liability that you accept under the terms of a contract or agreement
Liability related to the ownership, maintenance, and use of aircraft, nontraditional watercraft (e.g., jet skis, air boats), and most recreational vehicles
Damage to property owned, used, or maintained by you (the insured)
Damage covered under a workers’ compensation policy
Liability arising as a result of war or insurrection

How huge of an umbrella are we speaking about?

Determining how much liability coverage you need is not an exact science. You might think that you need only enough liability insurance to protect your assets, but a massive judgment against you could easily wipe out your assets and place your future earnings in jeopardy. That’s why you should also think about factors such as how often you have guests in your home, whether you operate a home-based business, how much you drive, whether you have teenage drivers in your home, and whether your lifestyle gives the impression that you have “deep pockets.”

Coverage limits vary, but a typical policy will wage liability coverage worth million to million. Of course, as your coverage limit increases, the premium will also increase. You need to decide both how much insurance you need and how much insurance you can afford. You’ll want to have enough protection, but not too much. Look at it this way: Have you ever seen a five-year-old child travel under a huge golf umbrella or a 300 lb. football player using a pocket-sized umbrella? One has too much endorsement and the other not enough. Your insurance agent can help you determine how much coverage you need.

Where can I buy an umbrella liability policy?

Almost any insurer who writes auto and home insurance policies will also sell umbrella liability policies. In fact, you might be eligible for a multipolicy discount if you buy an umbrella policy from your current insurer. Of course, it’s important to shop around and make sure that you’re getting the right coverage for your needs and the most coverage for your money. If you want to do some research on your own, try surfing the Internet, where you can get price quotes and answers to your questions in an instant.

Umbrella liability insurance

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Lost Your Line of Credit? Get a Business Cash Advance

A line of credit is “an arrangement between a financial institution, usually a bank, and a customer that establishes a maximum loan equilibrise that the bank will permit the borrower to maintain. The borrower can draw down on the line of credit at any time, as long as he or she does not exceed the maximum set in the agreement” (Investopedia).

Small business owners have utilized this method of business financing for years due to its convenience and simplicity. But what if the business line of credit that you depended on for years was suddenly taken away from you? Would you have a backup plan or would you be doomed to watch your business crumble right before your eyes? This might be just a hypothetical question to you, but for many small business owners, this has been their realities.

According to BusinessWeek, “…beginning in March…JPMorgan Chase (JPM) suspended credit lines for a massive number of business owners.” The article, “Snipping Lines of Credit for Small Business Owners” says that thousands of small business owners, who had been clients of Washington Mutual before Chase purchased the bank, were affected by the phenomenon.

Apparently, the bank gave these small business owners the option to pay off the equilibrise in full, concur to a conversion of the line of credit into a term loan, or go into default, “if [they] could not convince Chase of their creditworthiness,” (BusinessWeek). Paying off the equilibrise in full and going into default could leave a small business owner with no money to spend for his/her business or even in debt. Converting the line of credit into a term loan might suffice for a short period of time, but what happens when the money is gone? For small business owners who have lost their lines of credit, a business cash advance might be the answer.

A small business owner can receive a business cash advance if he has owned his business for at least six months, the business processes at least ,500 in monthly credit card income and there is one year or more remaining on the business lease. The business owner must not have any unresolved bankruptcies. Small business owners who meet these stipulations have the opportunity to receive up to 0,000 in business funds through a business cash advance. Ideal of all, the business cash advance is renewable. Each three to four months, borrowers become eligible for renewal.

Small business owners can apply for a business cash advance by visiting a business cash advance provider’s website and completing an online application. After applying online, business owners will be required to complete a two-minute application and submit the last six months of merchant statements, a copy of the business lease and a voided business check.

Small business owners use lines of credit to make payroll, to buy inventory and for many other regular operating expenses. Losing this funding source can be detrimental. A business cash advance can help small business owners get back on track.

Lost your credit line? Get a Business Cash Advance

MORTGAGE Bad Credit Mortgage If you are a buyer for the first time at home, we offer a variety of loan programs to assist you in your first-time home buy decision – even with bad credit problems or after bankruptcy. Bad Credit Home Equity Loan Our online application is the fastest and …

Explore the benefits of massage liability insurance

Perhaps you are trying to decide whether or not you need to buy massage therapy liability insurance, or maybe you are considering switching programs for a superior policy. In either case, there are several key factors you need to think about when selecting massage therapy liability insurance.

 

First of all, do not spend too much time trying to decide whether or not you even need to get massage therapy liability insurance. The answer to this question is an simple yes. In fact, having massage therapy liability insurance is even a stipulation for practice in certain arenas. For example, in order to work at most massage franchises that are continuing to grow from coast to coast, massage therapists are required to carry their own liability insurance.

 

However, even if you work by at home alone, having massage therapy liability insurance is simply a smart move. It is a basic tenet of good business practice to be insured, especially when working with the public. For massage therapists and bodyworkers, the close one-on-one contact with clients brings new meaning to “working with the public,” and certainly calls for massage therapy liability insurance.

 

The decision to sign up for a top notch massage therapy liability insurance program should be made even easier when one finds out the low annual fee for such a program. For less than a couple hundred dollars per year, you can have the peace of mind that comes along with a solid massage therapy liability insurance program.

 

When it comes to selecting which massage therapy liability insurance policy you will sign up for, you will want to make sure you are getting the strongest coverage doable for the same reasonable fee. Typically, the umbrella of coverage will include endorsement for several different scenarios.

 

For instance, your massage therapy liability insurance program should have general malpractice insurance. This portion of an insurance program is geared toward protecting you from any claims from clients of alteration or injury due to incompetence or demand of skill. Even though it might seem impossible that one of your clients might make such a claim, it is important to carry insurance specifically for such “what if” scenarios.

 

Another aspect of a good massage therapy liability insurance program will be product liability insurance. Much as the study suggests, this segment of coverage aims to wage endorsement against any client claims of alteration or injury due to a product used during your session.

 

Of course, all folks who are in business with the public will want general liability insurance coverage as well, because it is impossible to know when and where an happening might take place. This area of coverage protects against situations such as slips, trips or falls, those accidents that might result in client injury and a doable lawsuit.

 

It is even doable to find further endorsement with the right massage therapy liability insurance program. A calibre policy should also wage some type of reimbursement for lost or stolen professional equipment, as well as coverage for any type of alteration that might be done to a rented professional space, and even coverage for the prospect of indistinguishability theft.

 

As you can see, there are many good reasons to enroll in a reputable massage therapy liability insurance program.

Discover the benefits of massage insurance

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