Well, there’s an app for that!  Enter Turbo Tax Snap Tax.

Got some time to kill?  Live in California?  This app will take you step by step through the process of filing your taxes, all on your iPhone.

How does it work?  Here are a few screenshots that walk you through the process:

1. Snap a photo of your 2009 W-2 with your iPhone:

2. Get your maximum refund by answering a few simple questions:

3. Review your tax information, then e-file – all within a matter on minutes:

Want more?  Check out the video:

SnapTax is available in the App Store for $9.99, which includes federal and California state preparation and e-file.   To get the most out of SnapTax’s innovative OCR capabilities, it’s best if you use it with the iPhone 3GS, still the 3G version is fine too.

If you’re a California resident then this is a super easy way to file your taxes quickly if you have a simple return.  Snaptax works with 1040A and 1040EZ.

For those of us who file online using TurboTax.com I have two Turbo Tax Deluxe cards to give away this week, just leave a comment telling us what you think about SnapTax!

**FTC Disclaimer:  Please note that Turbo Tax sponsored this give away

Police caught someone trying to break in my car outside the school. I am PISSED!! http://twitpic.com/wsuak

I was pissed!  Beyond pissed but it didn’t really show, I was just relieved they caught the guy and even better I have car insurance.  Who am I kidding, having to pay $1000 in unplanned expenses doesn’t conjure up happy thoughts!

$500 – Deductible

$110 – Rental (Geico pays for the rental itself but I put down a $100 deposit and the extra $10 is taxes)

$40 -   Gas to fill up rental tank

_____________________________

$650

Luckily, Geico will go after the guy civilly for my out of pocket expenses like the deductible and I plan to press charges and pursue restitution.

But the week from hell doesn’t end there, it started off with returning home from our trip to NYC to 46 degrees IN OUR HOUSE!  We were gone for about a week so we left the heat off (1st mistake) and upon turning on the heat we realized that the furnace motor died.  The house was built 5 years ago so that was well odd, and the HVAC guy still doesn’t know why it died.  What does that mean?  Well, the heat was on but the fan wasn’t able to push the hot air through the vents since the motor went ca-put.

Getting someone to come out to the house on the weekend was like pulling teeth, after 18 calls, one company made an appointment to come out the next day.  Everyone had their hands full with heating/AC calls in the area so we were out of luck.

The damage?

$400 for the service

$50 for space heaters before he got here

______________________________

$450

Moral of the story?  Make sure you have an emergency fund.  I can’t promise that it will cover everything but at least you’re saving up for a rainy day.  In my case, busted furnace and passenger window.

Surely you’ve seen the newest video or article going around discussing the single black woman’s plight around finding a mate within the black community.  If you haven’t, read on, the overall comments on the subject will be interesting.

After watching the video yesterday, the part that jumped out at me was the discussion around money/finances in a relationship and the ladies’ requirement in a mate.  Steve Harvey asked whether or not the man has to make 150,000/year if she makes that amount?

What say you?

If you made 6 figures, is your requirement that he make 6 figures as well?  And, be honest, yes/no and why?  I don’t care if you’re black/white/asian/hispanic/indian-whatever.  Just need your perspective.

As of December 31, 2009, 2009 will be the year that was, not what 2010 will be.  I’ve gotten so many messages from readers pouring out their hearts about how horrible 2009 was partnered with the insecurity of what 2010 will bring.

STOP!

Stop being sad/angry/mad/ about what 2009 wasnt and make plans for what 2010 will be.

I know that 2009 sucked majorly for some of you, and it was probably your worst year ever on record in your short live but do not make that the blue print for 2010.

Jobs were lost.

Families torn apart.

Business deals went sour.

Businesses went belly up.

Banks….well..some died.

Michael Jackson died (the news of his death almost shut down Google)

Hope was lost and the possibility that life could get any better seems grim.  Just remember that even at your lowest point in life, the only place to go is up.  I don’t know the specifics of your situation but in the spirit of the holidays, be thankful you’re able to be in a place where you have the opportunity to receive this messages and chart your plan to start over in 2010.

You have that much.

An opportunity to start over.  So what will you do with it?

Find a job?  Develop a better work ethic?  Go back to school?  Be a better partner? Mother?  Father?

Whatever it is, just do it.

Make your move and get through it, 2010 is upon us and it’s surely NOT waiting for you to stop moping around the house.

PS-I totally realize that this isnt your typical personal finance article but I felt like sharing this with you guys today.

Remember…….one stiletto at a time.

So what are your financial plans for 2010?  I fell way off the marker but it was also my best year financially so for that I am thankful.

DC is no stranger to the high cost of living you often see in New York City, Miami and Los Angeles.  But can you live on $30,000 a year there?  This question came up on a listserv I frequent and the responses were equally divided amongst those who felt it would be damn near impossible and others saying it’s hard but doable.

Here’s how it started and I’d like your thoughts on the matter.

Here’s the job posting:

Job Title: Festival Assistant @ The Kennedy Center
Department: International Programming
Job Type: Full-Time, Regular
Salary: $30,000 – $33,000 / Yearly
Duties:
This position provides administrative and logistical support to the Festival Manager and the Office of International Programming to support planning and implementation of international festivals that take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The first reply which sparked the debate stated that while she would love to work at The Kennedy Center since she is applying to graduate school for the performing arts, but the salary is too low for anyone to live on comfortably.

I agree that the salary is low.  But your ability to survive on this salary really depends on your ability to manage your finances appropriately and live below your means.  When I graduated college and moved here I didnt even make 30k and I worked at a major university, but the position unbeknownst to me at the time was a stepping stone.  It only when I got a raise bumping me up to not even 30k was I able to get a better apartment and a car.  My bills were paid, but still things were tight.  Luxuries are relative given your goals at the time.  So while I wasn’t shopping like I am right now, I remember being cool with my finances at the time.  I then got a job in the field I wanted to be in and the salary was barely over 30k and you couldnt tell me nothin!  I made it work and while I  hated it,  that position alone is the backbone of my resume now even after finishing grad school.

I feel that if the position might help your career but it would require sacrifices then look into it further, yes it’s low for someone who has been in the field but if you can show commitment to your field by taking a job in your area then hey it wouldnt hurt.  Just my two cents.

By the way here are the breakdown of expenses based on my post about this issue last year:  This is based on someone who has no real financial responsibilities like a mortgage, student loans, credit cards-this is a very lean estimate as we have a low salary to start with…

Here’s the breakdown of taxes and take home from Paycheckcity.com for someone who is single with no dependents:

• $700 Rent: this varies greatly depending on where you choose to live and however so within your means.  Given the monthly take home of roughly $2300, your rent shouldnt be more than 25-30% which is at most $690.  Here you can go with a studio or find roommates.  Personally, I would go with a studio in the best area I can find closest to transportation.

• $150- Utilities:  You can find an apartment where utilities are included but if you do pay utilities on a small 1 bedroom or studio then it’s not likely to be more than $60.

• $75 Cable/Internet/Phone bundled through RCN.  I realize that cable might be considered a luxury so it’s really optional.

• $200 Transportation $200 for the metro  Here in DC it probably on average costs between $7-$10 per day depending on the distance traveled from point A->B

• $300 Food/Groceries (including bringing your lunch to work) $250 (coupons obviously cut this down significantly)  My grocery bill for two people is around $400 with no coupons so this is doable for a single person.
• $250 Health Insurance

_______________

$1675

This leaves $625 to put towards savings, credit card bills, student loans (work out a lower payment if needed), shopping (makeup, clothes etc) and eating out.

• $200-Savings
• $100-Credit Card-this really depends on your balance, if you have one
• $150-Student loans-again this depends on your balance and what you work out with the lender
• $175-Discretionary: shopping, eating out, gym membership-essentially play money for you

_____________

$625

Maybe I am being idealistic, but it can be done.  Obviously things like prescriptions, emergencies and unplanned expenses come into play here.  Check out this post for even more tips on how to cut your costs on a low salary.

What are your thoughts?  Do you live in a high cost of living area?  If so could you live on $30k per year?

Marie Claire has a very interesting article that details the 5 Secrets of The Highest Paid Women and I agree with their rationale.

1.  Be Yourself.

In order to achieve anything in life, you need to be authentic and true to who you are.  This allows people to understand who you are at the core while allowing you the freedom to be yourself.  How can you achieve authenticity in 2010?

2.  Your Name Is Your Brand.  Guard It With Your Life.

This speaks to your reputation.  How are you guarding it?  Could your work ethic use some fine tuning?  Are you working to the best of your abilities towards your dreams or your day job?  What would clients think or say of you at a cocktail party?

3.  Waste No Time Combating Haters

“I can’t expect everyone to love everything that I do.” – Top-earning musician Beyoncé Knowles

Need I say more?  Do what you do because without your haters you wouldn’t be who you are.  Let them be your motivators.

4.  Make sure your man is fully committed to you – and your success.

Does your mate believe in you and your dreams?  Is he committed?  Better yet have you had that talk with him about your life path?  Now is a good time to do that.

5.  Position Yourself For The Job You Want

I can attest to this, but moreso through completing the flower diagram in the What Color Is Your Parachute workbook.  While my job comes with it’s fair shares of ups and downs, I still think I have the best job in the world.  Identify your goals and work backwards.

Can you identify with any of their secrets?  How are you moving in this direction?

I got this question on another blog:

Your husband is worth $1 billion dollars a year. You find out that he has cheated on you. He offers you 20 million to stay for 2 years. Do you
a. you have morals and you leave him
b. you have morals you beat him with a club and then leave him
c. renegotiate your prenup agreement and take the 20 million

Keep in clean but be honest!

I’m in the process of putting together The Commandments Of Finance for every woman and Ive come up with the following so far, please free to add your own in the comments. We’ll discuss these in detail in the coming weeks/days.

1. Thou Shalt Not Make A Man A Financial Plan

2. Thou Shalt Make a Date With Fico Before A Date For Sex

3. Thou Shalt Ask For What You Are Worth In Every Arena Of Life: Got a shiny new MBA and boss won’t budge on a raise? WALK! (but not before you find a new job!)

4. Thou Shalt Not Get Credit With A Man Who Has No Financial Obligation To You i.e putting things in each his/her name -cars, cell phones

5. Thou Shalt Understand Every Aspect Of Your Finances: rates/balances on credit cards? 20% on an auto loan means you can afford to save and purchase that car in cash.

6. Thou Shalt Understand Priorities Over Wants: No BMW when your children need health insurance

7. Thou Shalt Make a Financial Plan In The Event Of Your Death: This includes wills, trusts and life insurance

8. Thou Shalt Understand The Difference Between Going to Grad School For a Purpose and Hiding In Grad School Because You Dont Know Know Purpose

9. Thou Shalt Put In Writing Every Financial Agreement You Make To Cover Thy Arse (friends, family, coworker etc)

10. Thou Shalt Have Fun! There’s no sense in saving money for a rainy day and never taking a chance to play on the sunshine and reap the benefits of your hard work. Work hard, but thou shalt play hard too!

What are your financial commandments? List them in the comments below!

Yes I know that I haven’t updated the blog in a few weeks, but I have good reason!  I’ve been studying for my licensing exam and the GRE at the same time along with balancing my J-O-B.  So last Saturday I took the licensing exam  which meant taking some time off from writing the blog to buckle down and get-er-done!  I plan to take the GRE on the 8th of November but I can ease up a bit since Im not doing double duty anymore.  Next year I hope to secure entrance into a doctoral program thus my need for a new GRE score since my old scores aged out *sigh* it’s been 5 years already.

I should know my results in about 6-8 weeks for the licensing exam (paper based).  So please forgive my absence and pardon the dust as I get this show on the road again! 

So I know you’re saying, find my passion? Ginger, I can hardly find a job I like much less talk about my passion! Those of you that do have jobs, I know these days may find it hard to tolerate let alone fathom adding the word passionate as a descriptor to your day job.

Been there, done that, let me show you how!

Five years ago I had a job that I absolutely hated.  I dreaded going in every day and I had panic attacks just thinking about the amount of paper work attached to each client I serviced.  I enjoyed my coworkers immensely as we all had a great bond with frequent happy hours and even going on vacation together.  But that didn’t stifle the fact that going into work everyday was tantamount to playing Russian roulette with my sanity.  I never knew which day I would just break down and say I QUIT.

After a few tearful breakdowns, calling out sick and realizing that my mental health was way better while away from work than when I was there I decided to leave.  This had to be the hardest decision (at the time ) I had to make.  You’re asking why when I was struggling to keep my sanity eh?  Well I loved the job, just not the duties attached to it.  I enjoyed my clients, helping them with what one would deem mundane simple tasks and essentially helping them navigate through this thing we call life.

But I had to make a decision for me, that meant while I was leaving this job, I still needed to find a way to love my work because I knew that my passion was helping people.  This job, just wasn’t the right fit for me.  That in and of itself was a revelation I needed to have because I was so attached to not being a quitter.  Leaving was the best decision I could have made for myself at the time.

So how do you find your passion and love your work even while working in a job you hate?

Here are a few tips:

• Remember why you loved your job in the first place?  The sense of purpose and direction you had on your first day?  Grab a hold of it and keep it at the forefront.

• If the aforementioned doesn’t apply to you then get on a mission to find your passion!  Ask yourself:  What Color Is Your Parachute? This is both a literal and figurative question.  What are you doing to make sure that you are researching your employment options effectively and seeking a position that lines up with your skills, goals interests, values and work conditions? Are you looking for another J-O-B or do you want to be dedicated to your life’s work?

• There’s a difference and here’s the first step.The Flower Diagram from What Color Is Your Parachute? is the definitive resource for all job-seekers no matter the level or occupation.  It is essentially a guide to help you define who you are within the context of your career and how to go about achieving it.One of the more popular self assessments in What Color Is Your Parachute is the Flower Diagram.  It’s popularity is largely based on the fact that once completed, you gain a deeper level of insight into the one thing you spend your life chasing: a JOB and/or career.  For some, this can be a fruitful lesson and for others tortuous resulting in deep regret.This is because some realize they may have been spending too much time chasing something that they weren’t built to pursue first place.  For example, a lawyer 6 years out of law school who now realizes they should have been yoga instructor or restaurant owner.  Happens all the time, people get epiphanies so proceed with caution.
• Here’s a blank and completed Flower Diagram.

6 Steps To Take After Completing the Flower Diagram:

1. Interview people currently in this “dream job” and try to assess via the conversation the steps they took to get where they are today
2. Ask them questions around how much they like their job/career and how they got started
3. Research possible organizations that that have positions like this
4. Join organizations that cater to this position and network with members as they may be able to give you some more insight on how to get your foot in the door.  Never underestimate the power of networking.  For more tips and information, please pick up Never Eat Alone
5. After networking, determine who is in a position to hire you and design a plan to utilize your contacts to arrange a meeting with him/her.  This isn’t nearly as hard as it looks and actually works once you’ve done all the necessary steps to get to this point.
6. Once in a position to demonstrate your skills, talents, goals and values relative to the position, ask for the job, even if it is in an apprenticeship or internship, you now have one foot in the door.

My results? Changed my life!  By completing this diagram, it confirmed about myself 3 things that I’d been scared to admit:

1.  I like working solo.  I don’t mind the occasional team project but I like setting my own deadlines and working in a manner that isn’t hampered by someone else’s inaction.  This doesn’t mean I am intolerant of opposing viewpoints, working in a team or that I’m not open to outside ideas but I just tend to work best by myself.

2.  I am not built for the 9-5 grind.  My GF and I would kid about this at our first job here in DC but we were serious.  I dislike getting up everyday to work on someone else’s dream while mine dwindle away under notepads filled with goals and plans.  I want to get up each morning working towards my goal of financial independence with ME as the boss.

3.  I value working with like-minded people who are serious go-getters and constantly working towards the next goal.  These people also challenge me to do and be better on a daily basis.  They aren’t yes men or women who tell me what I want to hear, they give it to me straight, henny with no coke

I can honestly say that today I have everything that I listed above in my flower diagram and I couldn’t be happier with my day job.  You will be amazed at the power of writing things down and watching them come to pass.

Your task:  Complete the flower diagram and report back in the comments your results.  Change your current situation by taking this step to really find your passion on life!

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