Looking for a cheaper mortgage? Get the true cost first!

There is a great deal of talk about people looking to re-mortgage at present. This is because there are still many hundreds of thousands of people on lenders’ standard
variable rates which increase in line with interest rates. After five rises in the base rate in the past 12 months, a lot of people are feeling the pinch.
There are also thought to be in excess of one million people on fixed-rate deals which will end this year. They could easily see their monthly payments double following the rise in interest rates to 5.75% on 5 July 2007. So there are very good reasons why people will be looking for a cheaper mortgage by re-mortgaging.

Re-mortgaging is not a difficult process but it is important to ensure that you understand the mortgage that you are going to move to. The best deal may not be the one with the lowest interest rate – you need to look at the fees that are charged when you take out the mortgage (start up fees) and at fees that might be charged if you wish to move to another lender at some point in the future (exit fees). The important point is what the total cost will be over the period of the mortgage deal that you want – this is the true cost of the mortgage.

When considering re-mortgaging it is also important to look at as many lenders as possible. Sometimes the best deal is available from a lender that you may not have heard of. Small building societies often have very good deals. A mortgage comparison site that looks at the whole of the market is a good way to do this.

Finally, look out for lenders that have a good reputation for service. Having found what looks to be the best mortgage the last thing you want is to have difficulty getting the funds from the lender.

Re-mortgaging is not like moving house – many people say that moving house is one of the most stressful times of your life. Re-mortgaging can actually be a straight-forward process. If you know the type of deal that you want and you get your information from the right place, it should be stress free.

So, here’s what to do when looking to mform.co.uk/mform/mform?contentKey=mortgageinformation/buyertypes/ReMortgaging.xml remortgage:

Don’t just follow the headline interest rate
Check-out the true cost of the mortgage over the deal period using a mform.co.uk mortgage calculator
Look at start-up fees and exit fees
Make sure that you are comparing all lenders
Check out the lenders quality of service

We offer consumers a free, unique and innovative online service enabling them to conduct the most comprehensive search of mform.co.uk mortgages available.

There will be times when you need money as soon as possible. Banks tend to be slow giving out loans and this is especially true with secured loans. Many people get caught between paychecks, and aren’t sure where to turn. Fast secured loans are available which will allow you to get the money you need without the issues involved with going through banks or filling out applications. There are a number of alternatives available.

Cash Advance

Cash advance services are a quick way to get fast secured loans. You will need to fill out an application and write a check for the cost of the loan along with the service fees. Once you have done this, you will be given either cash or a check that you can take to your bank. Cash advance services typically give you two weeks to pay back the loan. While some companies will allow you to make payments, others will not. If you fail to make the payments at the end of the two weeks, the cash advance company will attempt to cash the check you wrote them. If it bounces, both institutions will charge you.

Title Loan Services

Another way to get fast secured loans is through a title loan service. They are similar to a cash advance company, but they will require a lien on your car instead of a check. When you are given the money, they will be the owners of your car. Though title loan companies will typically give you larger amounts than cash advance services, your car will be repossessed if you fail to pay back the money. You will also have to pay late fees as well. The title loan company can then sell your car in order to make up for their loss.

I would advise you against using title loans unless you absolutely need them. You should also be certain that you have a plan to pay back the money you borrow. Losing your vehicle can be a great inconvenience.

Pawn Shops

The third place where you can get fast secured loans is a pawnshop. With pawnshops you will bring in merchandise that is valuable such as jewelry, computers, or other valuables. The workers in the pawnshop will decide how much your valuables are worth. The amount that they decide your merchandise is worth will almost always be less than the actual value. They will then take these items and hold them as collateral, and you will get them back after you’ve paid off the loan. They will usually give you about 30 days to pay back the money. If three months pass, and the loan hasn’t been paid, the pawnshop has the right to sell it to their customers.

A Word of Warning

While these institutions will all allow you to get fast secured loans, they all have risks involved. If you fail to pay back the money, you could incur fees, or your car or merchandise could be sold. It is best to use these services only if you need them. Many people get into the habit of using them between paychecks to get money, and end up in a long cycle of debt. While these services are very profitable for the people who run them, they are not as beneficial to their customers. It is best to avoid these places unless you are in desperate need of money.

If you are in such a desperate situation that you need to use these services, it may be helpful to begin looking at your financial lifestyle. Perhaps you are taking on too much debt, or buying things you don’t really need. Properly managing your personal finances is a great way to avoid the use of these services. They tend to cater to those who have less than perfect credit.

Joseph Kenny writes for ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk/ ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk and offer more information on ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk/secured_loans.html secured loans and other loan topics available on site.

Bad Credit Secured Personal Loans are designed for homeowners. Bad credit secured personal loans require collateral against the loan amount. Lenders provide bad credit secured personal loans at low interest rates and for a longer repayment period. Unlike bad credit secured personal loans, bad credit unsecured personal loans do not require collateral and therefore lenders charge high interest rates against the loan amount.

Don’t panic even if you have a bad credit record. Bad credit is common as the financial demands of people are increasing day by day. Sometimes it may happen that due to financial crunch borrowers feel unable to repay the loan amount. Many people think that due to bad credit they can’t get loans. This is absolutely wrong. Bad credit secured personal loans are designed especially for you.

Lenders feel secured in providing bad credit secured personal loans since borrowers need to pledge their property against the loan amount. Even in case of defaults in repayment, lenders can always repossess borrower’s property to compensate the loan amount.

What is bad credit? Bad credit means if you have any of the following situations, then you have a bad credit record. These conditions are:

• Bad credit rating
• County Court Judgment’s (CCJ’s)
• Defaults in repayment
• Self employed without income proof.
• Refused to repay the loan amount

You can also boost up your bad credit record by timely repayment of the loan amount. So, bad credit secured personal loans provide a chance to the borrowers for repairing their credit ratings. Fulfill all you needs as well as demands from the bad credit secured personal loans.

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting Shakespeare Finance as a finance specialist.
For more information visit our site loans11.co.uk loans11.co.uk.

The FOREX, FX or foreign exchange market is the place where currencies from one country are traded for the currency of another country. Forex futures trading accounts for a very small percentage of the trillions of dollars that are traded in the forex market on a daily basis.

Forex trading strategy involves buying currency whose exchange rate will increase, while simultaneously trading out or selling a less valuable currency. Forex futures trading strategy is basically the same. The difference is that an investor may choose to contract to buy or sell a specific currency at a specific price on a future date.

If you are interested in forex trading, you are probably not actually interested in forex futures trading. Not many people do it and there is no fundamental difference between forex futures and the traditional futures market, but forex trading has quite a few advantages over the traditional futures market.

First and most important for many people is that forex trading platforms are available through websites 24 hours a day; there is no central exchange as there is in the futures market. Forex trading is commission free trading. There are no National Futures Association Fees.

Forex trading offers higher liquidity and price certainty since getting in and out of positions tends to happen with lightning speed. The price quoted for a futures contract, on the other hand, is not necessarily the price for which the contract will be filled.

By using forex trading online platforms, the investor can see real time prices and exchange rates. There also tends to be a controllable amount of risk with forex trading; the required margin amount can never exceed the dollar value of an account. Forex trading strategy is also quite different from futures market investing and desired results — other than making money of course — are different.

Before beginning to trade, education is important, devising a forex strategy and what you need from that strategy is important, and choosing a broker or website trading platform and deciding what you need from them is also important. As previously alluded to, there are no commissions charged by forex brokers. Forex brokers make their money on the “spread”. To the investor, this means that a lower spread saves money.

As a final note, education on forex trading and the futures market, as well as assistance in developing a strategy are available from many websites with a trading platform. We cover some of the best with our forex-trading-reference.com/Forex_currency_trading_system.html top recommendations. Our recommended newsletter is written by forex pros and includes mentoring and analysis of current factors influencing currencies.

Get advice, facts, and opinions about forex-trading-reference.com/Forex_currency_trading_system.html forex trading strategy at forex-trading-reference.com forex-trading-reference.com

Credit card offers can fill up your mailbox within days if you don’t check your mail on a daily basis. Pull more than half of your mail to the side and it is likely peppered with offers from leading credit card providers extolling the virtues of their product. Most offers will include points such as these:

• Free Balance Transfers and 0% APR for the first 12 months

• No Annual Fee

• Free Rewards Program

• Low APR

• Consolidate Your Debt

• Instant Approval

On and on the offers come and on surface there isn’t a lot that separates one card from the next. However, if you dig a little deeper – by reading the extensive terms and conditions that come with each offer – you will see that wide differences exist, dramatically so. Read on and we’ll take a look at what you should examine when weighing your offers.

Balance Transfers – At first glance, this sounds like a terrific offer: transfer all of your balances to the credit card and pay 0% on that balance for 3, 6, even 12 months or a very low fixed rate for the life of the balance. One offer guarantees that you can pay just 2.99% until your loan is paid off, well below the rate of a personal loan and far below the average 18.9% most consumers are paying on their cards. Still, you may have to pay a balance transfer fee and that rate can quickly triple or quadruple if you are late even one time.

Low APR – You may be enticed with a very low introductory APR, perhaps even 0%. Play it right and your purchases can be “interest free” for a period of time. Check the offer closely as your unpaid balances could suddenly surge to 10, 15, even 18 percent or more if unpaid by the time that the introductory period ends.

Free Rewards, Or Not – No rewards program is ever worth it if you run monthly balances on your account. Easily the interest rate you pay will cancel out your points and then some. Play the rewards game wisely to get valuable prizes you can live with.

Instant Approval…Sort of – You can get instant “tentative” approval for a card when you apply online but don’t expect to get to use your card until it arrives in the mail. The credit card company will still have to pull your credit reports before an official approval is granted.

So, enjoy your credit card offers but examine them closely. There is often more to them then meets the eye; read it carefully to make sure you fully understand what you are agreeing to.

Joseph is the proud owner of

If you participate in a retirement plan, you can start distributing money at 59 and half years of age. Ah, but what are the tax consequences if you do so at an earlier age?

Americans are infamous for their overall unwillingness or inability to save money. The numbers are, frankly, scary. Most people save next to nothing. In fact, a recent study showed on average that people were actually spending more than they were taking in earlier this year. This effectively means that the average American is saving nothing.

As the population ages, the finances make no sense. Social security is the sole government plan designed to ease the financial burden on seniors. Distributions, however, are relatively nominal. The continued existence of the plan is also in doubt for the long-term. At a minimum, it is expected that benefits will be reduced. In short, the aging population has little to count on other than their personal savings. Most of these savings come in the form of home equity or participation in retirement plans.

Unless you have found that perfect job, the idea of retiring early is probably pretty attractive to you. In fact, more and more people are doing it these days. While there is nothing illegal about retiring early, you are going to need funds to live on. Many people access their home equity, but a sizeable percentage of people also take early withdrawals from their retirement account.

If you take an early distribution from your retirement plan, there are tax consequences. In general, you can expect to pay a 10 percent penalty. When combined with income tax on the distributions, this can really cut down on the actual amount of money you put in your pocket.

Whether we like it or not, we are headed for a financial crisis of sorts for older individuals. The demographics show a bulge in our population and that population is approaching retirement age. If you fall within this group, the aging baby boomers, you should be very careful about early retirement. If you outlast your money, there will be little to fall back on.

Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery – providing information on businesstaxrecovery.com/back_taxes back taxes.

You’re no stranger to the claims that enormous fortunes are there for the taking in the penny stock market. Your curiosity has been piqued, and you are going to take the plunge. But you’re not so new to investing that you think you can simply buy a few stocks, sit back any wait for them to double in price, and take your profits to the bank. You know there has to be more to it than that, and you are right.

The Things You Should Know
The first question you ask before venturing into the penny stock arena should be directed at yourself. Do you have the temperament, knowledge, and resources to let you start investing penny stocks without doing serious damage to your financial future? Every profit one person makes investing in the penny is someone else’s loss. You need to do what you can to make sure it isn’t yours.

Decide before getting started exactly how much money you are willing to risk investing in penny stocks, and limit yourself to that amount, and not a penny more. That way, even if the worst happens, you may be poorer, but you won’t be destitute.

Exactly how familiar are you with the way the penny stock market works? You will only go as far as your knowledge carries you. So before investing in penny stocks, learn how they are different from the stocks of Fortune 500 companies.

Also, before you begin investing in pick-pennystocks.com/Articles/Penny_Stocks_List.php penny stocks of different companies, learn about the management of the companies and the industries they are in. If the industry is in a sector which is out of favor, you may have to wait a long time to see a profit. And investing in penny stocks should never be a long-term investment.

Do You Have The Time To Trade?
If you’re thinking you can start investing in penny stocks and then put your portfolio on autopilot, forget it. Long-term, blue chip investments are far more stable than penny stocks, and can be left to the market forces for months or even years at a time. Investing in penny stocks means that you have to monitor your holdings from minute to minute, and if you don’t have the time to do it, you’ll have to try and find a broker who can. The catch is that most of the respected brokerages charge significant commission for trading penny stocks, and will cut into your profits or increase your losses.

Learn to be patient. Don’t think that you have to put you money to work investing in penny stocks 24/7. Give yourself time to learn how to recognize the signs that a penny stock is ready to take off, and be patient until one comes along. And diversify. Don’t ever put all you money in a single stock, no matter how sure you are.

For those who take the time to learn the basics, investing in penny stocks can be a profitable addition to their larger portfolios. But it should never be more than that.

You can also find more info on pick-pennystocks.com/Articles/Hot_Penny_Stocks.php Hot Penny Stocks and pick-pennystocks.com/Articles/Investing_In_Penny_Stocks.php Investing In Penny Stocks. Pick-pennystocks.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Penny Stocks.

“How to get rich”: there are few more written upon topics in the history of history than how to get rich. Is Real Estate Investing the Number One Way to leverage yourself and build wealth easily? If you’re an entrepreneur who is constantly striving to get to that next level in your life, your business, and your finances, you’ll likely agree with me when I say that we entrepreneurial personality types have an insatiable appetite for consuming material on how to get rich, and how to leverage yourself to build wealth easily. As a real estate entrepreneur who writes often on investing, I’m not going to focus on how to get rich in real estate investing with this article. In fact, I’m exploring if there could be something even better for building wealth easily. An even more powerful way to leverage yourself!? Let’s see!

Build Wealth Easily?

But despite our best efforts and intentions and goals, that doesn’t mean each of us is able to figure out the why, where, who, when, and most frequently the what of how to get rich. Not all of us can drive every vehicle capable of shuttling them to success equally or as quickly as they might another vehicle. That’s why I wrote this article. Real estate investing is my passion. Real estate investing can build and keep wealth like nothing else. But I won’t claim it’s the best vehicle to build wealth easily. In fact, I’m not sure it is!

This article will help some of you see the types of actions and scenarios likely to take someone reading about how to get rich and propel them into a future full of success and sharing with others how to get rich— just by taking each of these vehicles for a mental test drive.

I believe one of the fundamentals of how to get rich is becoming a master of leverage, learning to leverage yourself by learning and applying systems of duplication and delegation and automation. By using creativity and the creation of value to multiply your results with the systems, efforts and resources of other people and organizations, you can be sure that every minute and every dollar you spend in pursuit of your goals learning how to get rich will come back at you in droves.

In real estate investing, I’m familiar with a lot of these methods to leverage yourself, as you can see from visiting the website — but what about these other plans for how to get rich?

That brings me to the top 13 ways in my opinion to get rich in today’s world— without having to be someone special, have special knowledge or look like a million bucks— as I see them, with an emphasis on how much LEVERAGE you have.

How to Get Rich Top 13 Answers

13. Steal the money


Whatever your religious beliefs, or whether you are consciously aware that there is a God or not, stealing money from others is not a great strategy on how to get rich. Humans are hard-wired with a conscience that in most cases knows right from wrong. Few people can live a full and happy life knowing that their fortune was built on robbery, theft, deception, trickery, or lying. It may appear the “easy route” but in the end karma always wins.

12. Winning the lottery


We do not value that which we did not work to earn. Sure it’s nice to fantasize about what we would do with a hundred million dollars, or fifty, or twenty, or ten. Some people say they play the lottery as an “investment vehicle”. The only more ridiculous statistics than the odds stacked against you winning are the statistics of what happens in the financial futures of the average lottery winner: 4 in 5 are BROKE or in debt within 10 years. How? When you have a paycheck to paycheck mentality (as much of the world does) lottery winnings are just a much bigger paycheck. For most people, as one’s income increases so too do the expenses—but faster. Lottery winners who did not have some financial success already are doomed to lose it all.

11. Being born rich


Napoleon Hill once said, in paraphrase, “there is nothing more dangerous than unearned
riches”. What did he mean by that? It’s a simple factor of human nature that the more we are given the less we appreciate. Or know the value of. Or how to get it on our own. There’s a reason predators bring meat to their young early on but later set them loose to learn how to feed themselves. The worst possible position to be in, should you lose all your wealth, is that of never having had to learn how to get rich in the first place. The only reason this is better than winning the lottery is because if you are determined to make it happen, you’ve already been exposed to wealth— so you’re not mentally limited as to how much you think you can earn. That’s a huge limitation for many people looking to build wealth easily, not having “seen” wealth.

10. The professional/corporate grind


Being a regular 9 to 5 employee with a guaranteed salary, benefits, 401k and stock options, and job security is not a negative— unless you want more than trading your time for dollars, that is! Admittedly, for some people, there’s something to be said for the safety of a secure, well-paying job that makes us feel normal. You can get rich just by living below your means and investing the difference— even teachers who made no more than $30,000 a year have died leaving multi-million dollar estates. This is great if you are patient, disciplined and can wait 30 years— but it’s not MY idea of how to get rich. Nor is ANY job or career exactly so “safe” anymore in today’s world of downsizing, layoffs, outsourcing, off-shoring, corporate mismanagement, and eroding benefits. Worse, you’re not using leverage here— no matter how hard you work, you can leverage yourself to a great degree as an employee! You’re a cog in someone else’s machine as an employee.

9. Unlimited income direct sales


Sales is one of the highest-paying professions in the world. It can also be the lowest-paying
profession in the world. Being a commissioned salesperson with no earnings cap on commissions
can bring in a lot of money if you’re good. IF you’re good and you bust your hump. And if your product is solid. And if the economy is strong. And if your company stays in business. And on and on. Too much is not in your hands! The main issue though is that the skills that will avail you of a successful career in professional sales can be used much more efficiently when you leverage yourself by using other vehicles to channel your talents.

8. Franchise Owner


2 2 = 4 no matter whether you can do math or not. Franchises are set up to be businesses run based on a system already proven profitable. Whether they are as “turnkey” as their promoters claim is debatable, but there is certainly money in the franchise game to be made. It’s no wonder economists have labeled the franchise boom of the 20th century as the McDonaldization of business when the average McDonald’s restaurant franchise grosses $1.9 Million per year for its franchisee owner. Still, the financial barrier to entry can be as high as a normal business and in many cases even higher.

Leverage Yourself

7. Network Marketing


This one could closer to the top of the list if the opportunities available were worthy to be at the top—most aren’t. If you find the right opportunity, however, and work it with a vengeance on a consistent basis you can gain leverage yourself substantially by using other people’s time. Unfortunately, most people never find the right company at the right time and make the right choice to take action. Then, when they fail, as 9 in 10 do within a year, they give up never having gotten past the dream of buying into someone’s plan to teach them how to get rich—and into the reality. However, for the person in sales who can sell and recruit, network marketing is a better answer in many cases than just conventional selling— for the simple fact that you’re building your own business and residual income streams that will continue whether you continue to work or not.

6. Information Product Sales


Internet marketers of today are capitalizing in ever-increasing numbers on human nature tendencies direct marketers have known for many, many long years. There are some “problems” we have as people that there is NO LIMIT to the amount of money we will throw at the problem trying to find the perfect “solution”. The best markets to sell information products to are: (1) Business Owners Seeking Solutions (2) Better Appearance Seekers (3) Business Opportunity Seekers (3) Diet & Fitness Seekers (4) Dating Advice Seekers and 5) Avid Leisure Hobbyists. The best part about information product sales is the low overhead cost to produce the products you deliver, and the high profit margins you can earn.

5. Business Owner


Business ownership has many more benefits than can be touched on in a short paragraph but suffice it to say that if you’re not in business for yourself you should be. There is little more fulfilling than being your own boss, and working to build something that might outlast you. The cash flow, the tax benefits, the respect in the community, the outlet for creativity— all of these things make owning a small business (or growing a large one) a large part of the average human dream. As a business owner, you can incorporate many of these other vehicles in your plan for building wealth easily.

4. Celebrity


Clearly, celebrity sells. There are many mega-millionaires on this planet with no other talent than somehow managing to capture the interest of an audience worldwide (or even regionally) longer than their allotted “15 minutes of fame”. Publicity equals better than advertising and advertising done skillfully equals revenue. Celebrities are money machines who can make money in most of the rest of these categories but there are three reasons this is not nearer the top of the list. Despite the number of “what did they do’s?” out there , there are many more celebrities who are famous for a reason— they worked very hard to become the best (or best promoted) at what they do— be it sports, entertainment, speaking, etc. Secondly, there is a very high barrier to entry to this kind of life, one most people just do not have the look, skills, contacts, nerve, or charisma to break into. Lastly, there’s a huge cost to celebrity that would take it out of the top choices of a “best ways on how to get rich” list: your privacy is nonexistent in today’s world of celebrity.

3. Intellectual Property


With income streams from licensing to franchising to royalties to patents, copyrights, and trademarks— creating intellectual property is a serious method of building wealth easily. Musicians, authors, inventors, creative artists, franchisors, entrepreneurs, and high-level marketers are all making tons of money, residually, for many years from work they completed just once. This is a very high leverage activity! Books, music, ebooks, graphic and multimedia designs, software, copywriting, inventions, franchisable sales systems, the list goes on and on. Is this a vehicle you can put into action tomorrow? Not usually! But as you make your way in the world of wealth do not forget to use intellectual property to leverage yourself!

How to Get Rich: Real Estate Investing the Best?

2. The Real Estate Business


It’s widely accepted that 90% of all the world’s millionaires either made or keep their wealth in real estate. Water is wet. The sky is blue. Over time, real estate goes up. These are simple facts. Contrary to the “get rich quick” infomercials you’ve seen, though, figuring out how to get rich in real estate investing isn’t easy. But it is simple, once you understand the processes involved and actively and consistently pursue the business. Real estate investing is one of the highest forms of leverage we have as entrepreneurs, with savvy investors utilizing not only other people’s money, but also other people’s time and even other people’s credit. The real estate business is full of wealth-building opportunities: foreclosures, rentals, lease options, commercial properties, short sales, tax liens, being an agent or loan officer, investing in notes and mortgages…the list goes on and on! Of these, investing in notes and mortgages is pretty high on the easy scale, getting the benefits of real estate without some of the management headaches.

I obviously believe in real estate investing, but I’m not so sure there isn’t an even better, easier, higher leverage vehicle out there for creative entrepreneurs like you and me!

1. Joint Ventures (A.K.A. Strategic Alliances)


Joint Ventures is the best way to build wealth easily. Scratching your head? Well, soon you’ll see that doing successful joint ventures to make massive cash with minimum efforts and minimum risk is just common sense. Too bad common sense ain’t common! If you can master putting together joint ventures, you can be assured that if you build wealth and lose it all— you can quickly earn it back. When you master joint ventures, everything you need to get started again building wealth easily is now in your thought processes. It’s become as simple as common sense. This is because with successful joint ventures you don’t need products or services or inventory. You don’t need an office, factory, employees, customers, or anything else traditional businesses need. You just need ideas. Of course, if you have any of these things, it only makes it easier because you bring something even more to the table than your brilliant ideas. The basic formula of how to get rich with joint ventures is answering these questions: “Who do I know?”, “What do they have?”, and “What do they need?” Then you play deal maker. That’s it! Zero risk, high profit potential. The ultimate in way to leverage yourself to build wealth easily.

Danny Welsh invites you to Joint Venture with Hisjointventures.com America’s #1 Real Estate Network — no cost, $2,000 commissions. HIS Real Estate Network is seeking INFLUENTIAL professionals/entrepreneurs with EXISTING client base for joint venture marketing of high-caliber real estate investment product with $2000 commissions and turnkey marketing support. You do not need a license of any kind but realtors, mortgage officers, CPAs, CFAs, REIA organizers and real estate attorneys will profit well. Your clients will love you! Not a Job. Not an MLM. No cost for you. To find out more and schedule a quick no-obligation talk you can call/write now at phone (813) 425-3349 x. 710, email mailto:JV@homeinvestingsolution.com JV@homeinvestingsolution.com or visit hisjointventures.com hisjointventures.com today!

Ivory chess sets have a long and distinguished history, going back nearly to the advent of the game itself. Ivory has been used for many centuries in the construction of chess sets. Some of the earliest chess pieces still in existence are made of ivory.

The British Museum displays a few ivory chess pieces from the 7th and
8th centuries found in modern day Uzbekistan. These ancient chess pieces are in a different form than modern day chess pieces because they come from a time when chess was primarily an Islamic game. The pieces had a much different appearance because they reflected a different society. In the 19th century, Nathaniel Cook and John Jaques created the first set of Staunton chess pieces out of ivory. The Staunton style of chess pieces became the standard that is still in use today.

Ivory is not nearly as common today as it was hundreds of years ago when historical ivory chess sets were made. Now, ivory chess sets are usually only for collectors. Vintage ivory chess sets can sell for many thousands of dollars, while new ivory chess sets rarely sell for under $900. New Ivory chess sets are extremely rare because ivory is much harder to come by. Though ivory was once commonly used in the construction of many objects, it is now rarely used due to animal rights issues and the advent of plastic.

One main reason why ivory is rare now is because many people object to animals such as elephants and mammoths being killed in order to cultivate the ivory from their teeth and tusks. Imitation ivory is a good modern alternative because it is much less expensive and does not use any animal parts.

Ivory chess sets are valuable collector’s items. People often pay thousands of dollars for these rare and historic chess sets.

e-chesssets.com Chess Sets Info provides detailed information about travel, glass, wooden, magnetic, marble, ivory, themed, and collectors’ chess sets. Chess Sets Info is affiliated with original-content.net Original Content.

Employees of a business often incur expenses on behalf of the business. The best way for the business to reimburse such expenses is to use an accountable plan as described in Regulations Section 1.62-2. If the business uses an accountable plan, the reimbursements received by the employee are not included in the employee’s gross income. Therefore, they do not appear on the employee’s Form W-2. The reimbursement is not subject to income tax withholding or payroll taxes. The employee may not deduct the reimbursed expenses. The business deducts the expenses, except that the business may generally deduct only 50 percent of business meals and entertainment.

The employee may deduct any expenses not reimbursed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, except that the employee may generally deduct only 50 percent of business meals and entertainment. The taxpayer must reduce total miscellaneous itemized deductions by two percent of adjusted gross income. In addition, itemized deductions generally do not provide a benefit to a taxpayer unless total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction. Therefore, the employee may receive little, if any, tax savings from the deduction.

To qualify as an accountable plan, the employee must substantiate the expenses to the employer. The employee must document the time, place, business purpose, and amount of each expense. The employee must also return any unused advances within a reasonable time.

Some businesses use nonaccountable plans. They give each employee a certain amount that the employee may spend for business purposes. The employee may or may not be able to keep any excess depending on the plan.

While a nonaccountable plan has the advantage of simplicity, it has tax disadvantages for the employer and for the employee. Under this type of expense account arrangement, any amount the employer provides to the employee is taxable as compensation. This treatment means that the employee is subject to income tax withholding, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax on the expense account. In addition, the employer is subject to payroll taxes on the amount. The employee may deduct the actual expenses incurred, except that the employee may deduct only 50 percent of business meals and entertainment.

However, the employee may not receive any tax benefit from the deduction because employee business expenses are deductible only as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. The employee must subtract two percent of the adjusted gross income shown on the return from the total miscellaneous itemized deductions. Only the excess over this reduction is deductible. The employee’s total itemized deductions must generally exceed the standard deduction to provide any tax benefit. In addition, miscellaneous itemized deductions are not allowed for purposes of calculating the alternative minimum tax.

The best way to handle employee business expenses is to establish an accountable plan that complies with the requirements of Regulations Section 1.62-2. The tax advantages of an accountable should be greater than any increased bookkeeping burden over a nonaccountable plan.

Alan D. Campbell is a CPA in Arkansas and Florida and is self-employed primarily as an author of tax publications. He earned a Ph.D. in accounting with an emphasis in taxation from the University of North Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court. He has published numerous articles on tax topics in professional journals. He is the co-author of the book Tax Strategies for the Self-Employed and the revision editor of CCH Financial and Estate Planning Guide, 15th edition. For more tax savings strategies, please see his blog: taxsavingsstrategies.blogspot.com taxsavingsstrategies.blogspot.com