The Business of Life

The Success Puzzle

Douglas J Utberg — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:01:53 +0000

The discussion of what makes us successful has been going on for a considerable period of time. Many of us are tempted to fall for fads, schemes or popular culture concerning the meaning and methods for achieving success in our lives. Many of us have come to believe that success is about setting personal goals, and tracking our progress on those goals. Others view success as a “life purpose” that we seek to accomplish. Many of these perspectives contain important elements of truth, but many of them are also missing some ...

What to do with the time we are given

Douglas J Utberg — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:30:43 +0000

One of the famous scenes from JR Tolkein’s book series “The Lord of the Rings” is when Frodo the Hobbit is talking with Gandalf the Wizard about his quest to destroy the ring of power. Frodo remarks that he wishes the ring had not come to him, and that it was not his burden to bear. To this, Gandalf replies that Frodo’s sentiment is shared by all people who face difficult times. But the times you live are not for you to decide. All that we can decide is what ...

Living with an Irresponsible Government

Douglas J Utberg — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:16:54 +0000

In the midst of the constant headlines concerning government ‘bailout’ initiatives that have resulted from a credit crisis in the financial sector, one must stop to wonder whether the government is acting responsibly and what the likely results of these actions will be. (In truth, one doesn’t have to wonder that much … the government is acting with an almost complete lack of anything resembling financial responsibility.) The core driver of this problem is that public agencies making market decisions will tend to make them based on political expediency instead of ...

The Power of Seeing a Half Full Glass

Douglas J Utberg — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:31:27 +0000

There is a famous statement that an optimist will see a glass half that is full, while a pessimist will see a glass that is half empty. The basis behind these distinctions is that people who possess a more optimistic worldview tend to focus on what is there, what is present, what is available. Conversely, people who possess a more pessimistic worldview tend to focus on what is missing, what is gone, what cannot be attained. To many people, the color of reality is closer to the view of the pessimist ...

Getting a Big Tax Refund Means You’re Doing It Wrong

Business of Life Network — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:31:33 +0000

It is one of life’s conundrums: If we hate paying taxes, then why do we consistently overpay them, collectively lending Uncle Sam some $300 billion year after year—interest free? This year, as in previous ones, about 75% of individual taxpayers will receive federal income-tax refunds, with the average refund totaling around $3,000. From a purely economic standpoint, this makes no sense. “All a tax refund is, is the government saying to you, ‘You’ve overpaid and here’s your change,’ ” explains Charles Enis, an accounting professor at Penn State University. The rational thing to ...

Taxes—Who Really Is Paying Up

Business of Life Network — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:12:43 +0000

Do you pay your fair share in taxes? Even as President Barack Obama pitches the “Buffett rule” to ensure that millionaires pay at least a 30% tax rate, some commentators are decrying the fact that about half of U.S. taxpayers don’t pay any federal income tax. But our tax system is more complex than any sound bite or simplistic headline can illustrate. Some multimillionaires do pay a lower effective income-tax rate than some middle-income taxpayers; receiving a chunk of your income via long-term capital gains rather than a paycheck is just one reason ...

Timely Tips for Tardy Taxpayers

Business of Life Network — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:02:22 +0000

If history is a guide, many taxpayers will make a last-minute dash to the nearest post office late on Tuesday to file their federal income-tax returns ahead of the deadline. If you are among the dawdlers, here are a few last-minute tips to consider: Are you planning to claim the standard deduction, as nearly two-thirds of all returns filed last year did? If so, check to see whether it might be better for you to itemize your deductions. Itemizing means listing your deductions, such as charitable donations or interest expenses, on Schedule ...

Getting Off the College Waitlist

Business of Life Network — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:39:29 +0000

What do you do if your child was put on the dreaded waitlist for the college of his or her choice? Students only have a one in five chance of getting off of the waitlist, according to the Princeton Review. While many of the students who are eventually accepted are handpicked to fill “holes” in an incoming freshman class (a college might be in need of a banjo player, for instance), there are ways for students to boost their chances of getting off the list. The student should both call and write the ...

How to Get the IRS to Notice You

Business of Life Network — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:03:28 +0000

An unexpected letter from the Internal Revenue Service can make your stomach drop, but you can take steps to reduce your audit risk. Taxpayers overall face a low audit risk: The IRS audited 1.1% of all individual tax returns filed in 2010, or 1.6 million returns of 141 million filed. The vast majority of those audits—1.2 million—were done by mail. Just 392,000 involved an in-person meeting with the IRS. That’s not necessarily good news. Taxpayers often are confused by IRS correspondence, and with such audits they don’t have the benefit of working ...

The Real Student Loan Debt Problem

Douglas J Utberg — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:28:34 +0000

An Article recently published by the International Business Times explored the potential for problems associated with aggregate student loan debt. Since the total student loan debt outstanding exceeds $1 Trillion dollars, the scope of the problem seems immense. When complicated by the 30% of student loans that are 30 or more days overdue, there appears to be a crisis brewing. The concern expressed by many is that the burden of student loan debt will suppress people’s future disposable income. To many, this presents a dire scenario where future consumption spending cannot ...