It’s important to be careful how you disclose your salary history, so you have flexibility when it comes to negotiating compensation. Also, keep in mind that it is illegal to ask about how much you earned in past positions in some locations. What is Your Salary History? A salary history is a document that presents an employee’s past earnings. Some employers ask job candidates to give them a salary history list when they apply for a job....
Do You Know What a Debt Collector Is? When banks and other businesses have trouble collecting payments from debtors, they hire a debt collection agency to collect the debt. Whatever debt collectors choose to do to pursue a debt, they must always abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Unpaid debt collections might appear on your credit report, affect your credit score, and keep you from getting other credit cards, loans, jobs, and apartments....
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued a report outlining various ways that private companies take advantage of inmates and their families—a literally captive market—to overcharge for transferring money, making phone calls, and other services. The bureau on Tuesday issued a reminder that financial companies are prohibited from forcing recipients of government benefits to use their services—for instance, making prisoners get their release money (jail wages, money that’s returned to them, and in many states, a small amount of cash to help with necessities) on a prepaid debit card that charges fees....
The lawsuit accuses the credit reporting agency, several subsidiaries, and former executive John Danaher of setting up websites that made customers believe they were viewing a free annual credit report, when actually they were signing up for a paid subscription. Credit bureaus like TransUnion are required by law to provide the free reports. TransUnion denied any wrongdoing, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the company intentionally made its website confusing....
Handling Secured Debts in a Bankruptcy Case Secured debt is debt for which you pledged collateral, like a car or a house. If you owe past-due car or house payments when you file bankruptcy, it is important to understand that bankruptcy does not give you a free ride on your secured debt. If you want to keep the collateral, you have to pay the lender at least what the collateral is worth, regardless of whether you file a Chapter 7 straight bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 payment plan case, or a Chapter 11 reorganization....
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated in February, with multiple warnings from the U.S. government that an invasion was imminent, investors were paring back their expectations for how aggressively the Fed might step in to curb inflation, already at 7.5% for the 12 months ending in January—a 40-year high. The CME FedWatch Tool, which uses market sentiment to calculate the probability of a Fed rate move at upcoming policy meetings, showed that in mid-February, investors started consistently predicting a quarter point increase, instead of a half point, in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate at the central bank’s policy meeting on March 15-16....
While gender disparities have not been erased completely, Ginsburg’s work has made a definitive impact on the lives of women. The link between RBG and women’s equality is a legacy of her decades of activism, as well as her rulings in several landmark Supreme Court cases. Here’s a closer look at some of the key moments of her career. Who Was Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Ginsburg’s career in law began in 1959, when she served as law clerk for the Hon....
Below is advice on how to write a reference letter, as well as an example of a reference letter for a former employee. For job applicants, the information will show you what to expect when an employer provides a written reference for you. What To Include in an Employee Reference Letter Your reference letter should include the following components: Contact Information Include your contact information and the recipient’s name at the top of the letter for a printed or uploaded letter....
How LLCs Are Taxed While they can be taxed at the corporate level, LLC profits are typically passed through to each member as self-employment income. For example, if an LLC has three members with equal ownership, and the LLC earns $150,000 in annual profit, each member would receive $50,000 in income that’s taxable on their personal returns. This income is taxed at each member’s tax bracket rate according to their total income from the year....
Potential creditors and lenders question your creditworthiness when they see collection accounts on your credit report, especially recent collections. Because of that, you might find it harder to get approved for new credit cards and loans. If you’re working on repairing your credit, or just cleaning up your credit report, you might question whether you should pay a collection, especially if it’s an old one. Here are some factors that play into your decision....
Who Qualifies for the Home Office Deduction? Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, if you are an employee working from home, you can no longer claim a deduction for home office expenses that are not reimbursed by your employer. That means the home office deduction is for self-employed business owners. No matter if you use the simplified or itemized deduction, your home office must meet two requirements to be eligible:...
Stock keeping units have many uses beyond identifying a product. It’s important to know what these codes are, and how to design one. You should also become familiar with some of the other ways they are being used so that you can design your inventory management system and customer experiences. What Is a Stock Keeping Unit? A stock keeping unit is a unique identifier for an item sold by a retailer....
However, due to changes in the Social Security rules that were signed into law in November 2015, only those who reached age 62 on or before Jan. 1, 2016, can file a restricted application for spousal benefits to utilize this option. The ‘Collect Now and Later’ Social Security Strategy The “collect now and later” strategy allows you to collect a spousal benefit while accumulating delayed retirement credits on your own benefit amount....
For the second time in three weeks, economists at Goldman Sachs cut their economic growth forecast for the U.S. because of an expected weakening in consumer spending. They now expect third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product to grow 3.5%, rather than 5.5%, as they had forecast on Aug. 18, or 9%, as they had anticipated before that. They also cut their fourth-quarter estimate, lowering it to 5.5% from 6.5% and bringing the annual figure to 5....
The paycheck date rules, even if the work was done and the pay was earned in a different year (but read the exception below). That’s because the paycheck was available to the employees in January, but not in December. The gross pay is taxable in 2021, not 2020. If you pay employees on the last day of December for this work, the paycheck date of December 31, 2020, and this would mean the pay is taxable income in 2020....
If Social Security Is Your Only Income You almost certainly won’t have to pay federal income tax on your Social Security benefits if they are your only source of income. That means your Social Security income probably isn’t taxable if you never got around to investing in a 401(k), if you don’t rent out a property for profit, or if you’ve given up working entirely. These are just examples—the point is that you have no other form of income from any source....
You Have No Down Payment You’ll have to make a down payment to finance a home purchase unless you qualify for a VA loan or one of a few first-time homebuyer programs. It can range from just 3.5% of the sales price for an FHA loan to a minimum of 10% for a conventional loan. You Have Poor Credit Bad credit can disqualify you from obtaining any mortgage. Those with credit scores below 620 might be able to find hard-money sources that will lend, but the interest rates and fees will most likely be through the roof....
Peter Opsvik and Hans Christian Mengshoel came to the rescue in 1979 when they invented the first kneeling chair. The concept of ergonomics was refined sometime later. When you combine the two, it spells relief. But kneeling chairs are by no means all alike. What works for one person might not work for the next, and there are plenty of options to choose from to meet your own unique needs....
Fixed Income Investment If you have some money you don’t need to spend any time soon—say you saved it up from your bonuses and side gigs—you can lend it out in what’s called a “fixed income investment.” In return, the borrower will pay you back what they owe you and more through regularly scheduled payments. The payments can happen one time a year, twice a year, or every month. For example, say you have $1,000 and you lend it to the government through a bond....
What Is Renter’s Insurance? Renter’s insurance is a type of insurance that is offered to individuals who rent out, rather than own, property. Unlike traditional homeowner’s insurance policies, this type of insurance does not offer any protection for the physical property structure, since the tenant does not have any ownership in the structure. It is insurance for what the tenant does own: their possessions. What Does Renters Insurance Cover? Every renter’s insurance policy will differ based on the insurance company and the type of coverage you are looking for....
