Do you want to know how to cut your tax bill by donating? This is a question asked every year at tax time, but the answer tends to change frequently because the United States tax code changes on a regular basis. Deductions allowed last year may not be permitted this year, and vice versa. What follows IS NOT TAX ADVICE. If you have tax questions, consult a qualified tax professional or search the IRS official site for answers to specific … [Read more...]
Why Are People Hoarding Toilet Paper During The Coronavirus Outbreak?
Why are people hoarding toilet paper during the coronavirus outbreak? This is a phenomenon that is not uncommon in situations that require restricted movement, quarantines, or other unusual measures to contain a problem like a viral outbreak. There is a lot of derision over the panic buying of hand sanitizer, face masks, and toilet paper...what are the underlying causes? Click here to view the latest online and in-store promotions at The Home … [Read more...]
Why Is It So Expensive To Live In A Major City?
Why is it so expensive to live in a major city? There are many variables; escalating rents, excessive licensing and permitting for small businesses, ever-escalating property taxes, and much more. What follows is NOT journalism. It is OPINION. And that’s a bit of transparency badly needed in today’s 24-hour news cycle reporting. But these are opinions made by observing conditions in a single major city for well over a 10-year period. I’m … [Read more...]
Shutdown?
As I have discussed here before, I'm a Federal Employee. And I'm not sure how much press this is getting outside of the DC Metro area (the DMV as it is often called, though I believe that acronym is taken by a much more painful entity), but we're looking at a government shutdown. Why? Because Congress can't decide on a budget. That's right, we've been operating without an approved budget for half the year already. In general, Federal employees … [Read more...]
No More Pennies?
Happy Birthday, President Lincoln. To celebrate, stores have decided to stop accepting the penny. That's right, in West Concord, Massachusetts, a number of stores are refusing to accept pennies as of today, calling pennies "wasteful and time consuming." Instead, they will round all purchases down to the nearest nickel. I suppose no one can really complain - after all, they will simply be getting a few cents off of their purchase. Buy a … [Read more...]