Photo by Jaeyoung Geoffrey Kang on Unsplash "Debt is the slavery of the free." -Publilius Syru Many of us have student loans. Many Americans with education debt apply for discharge relief and a new income-driven payment plan. The US Department of Education proposes a new income-driven repayment plan that caps monthly payments for undergraduate loans at 5% of a borrower's discretionary income—that is half the Read More
A Few Pointers about Odometer Fraud.
Things gained through unjust fraud are never secure. - Sophocles Vehicle Title History. When considering purchasing a vehicle obtain an inexpensive summary of the vehicle’s title history from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, Carfax, and/or AutoCheck; it may show odometer discrepancies. However, don’t rely solely on title history summaries, for they do not always identify a vehicle’s problems. Read More
What the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act is and How it Can Help You as a Business owner and Consumer.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela The Arizona Consumer Fraud Act (the Act) provides a person (which could be a person or business as defined under the Act) with a legal remedy when harmed by any person, by an unlawful act, use, or practice in connection with a sale or advertisement of merchandise. The Act prohibits unfair and deceptive business Read More
Should I Buy or Build a Home?
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” – Unknown So, it’s the new year and you are thinking about a new home. You, perhaps, are considering buying one you like and adjusting it to suit your needs or possibly building a home to your likes and interests. It is understandable that you would like to evaluate all your options, given it will likely be the largest investment you may Read More
How to Avoid Tax Scams
Many of us know of someone who has lost money and possibly their personal information to tax scams. The most important thing to share is that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not initiate contact with a taxpayer by email, text message, social media channels, or phone call to request personal or financial information. Here are a few telltale signs of tax scams: A phone call demanding immediate Read More
Tips to Keep Your Banking and Financial Information Safe When Online
This month’s article offers a few tips on precautions for internet financial transactions. Tip 1: Take extra precautions for logging into banks and other financial accounts. Create “strong” user IDs and passwords by choosing combinations of upper-and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols that are hard for a hacker to guess. Your birth date, address, or other publicly available information can be easily Read More
Do you know who buys the debt you owe?
Debt buyers purchase debts from original creditors, intermediaries, or other debt buyers. Debt buyers come in various shapes and sizes. There are many small debt buyers, but BIG debt buyers bring most collection lawsuits, large corporations that do business on a large scale, often collecting debts under multiple names, like Sherman Financial Group, L.L.C. (subsidiaries include LVNV Funding, L.L.C. and Resurgent Read More
A Buy-Sell Agreement, Why a Business Should Have One.
1. It is the plan to follow for the sale of the business. A business Buy-Sell agreement is the legal succession plan for selling a business. Buy-sell agreements can provide a reliable exit plan for business partners when they no longer want to have a stake in the company. 2. A Buy-Sell Agreement allows for tax and emergency planning. A Buy-Sell agreement should involve a tax strategy to help Read More
Home Warranties
Home warranties are intended to be insurance policies to protect against home system breakdowns. Prior to purchasing a home warranty, obtain a copy of the warranty to review and ask questions about coverage. Consider the following: Just like every insurance policy, warranties have exclusions. Determine what exclusions apply. For example, bathroom plumbing may be warranted, but the steam room or jacuzzi may be Read More
Business Plan and Growth-How is it all supposed to work?
As you might know a budget plan is key to planning growth, getting cozy with “your numbers” in your budget (your revenue, and expense needs) is vital for planning growth and profit. Your business plan is your bible for decision making, it should be current to help you make daily decisions. A business plan doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be very simple. The business plan should explain: the why the business was Read More
