I don’t blame you. It’s nice to forget all about taxes during the last half of the year. But there are some things you could do today to make filing your taxes that much easier for 2010. Here are some tips to help your tax filing process run like a well-oiled machine come next spring.

What’s Changed?

A lot can change in just a short amount of time. Maybe you got married earlier this summer, are having a baby later this year, or bought a house with that first-time homebuyer’s tax credit. Or, if your personal life isn’t changing, maybe your professional life took a 180. Did you change jobs, take on some freelance work, or move for your current job? All of these situations can affect your 2010 tax bill.

If you are expecting a new tax deduction member in your family, it will most likely lower your tax bill. One extra person in the family will equal one new personal exemption. Additionally, your new little bundle of joy may qualify you for the child tax credit and the child/dependent care credit.

If you bought a house and you weren’t itemizing your deductions before, you definitely will be able to now. You’ll be able to deduct home mortgage interest and property taxes on your new home. Plus, now that you’re in the itemizers club, you can also deduct things like state and local taxes, investment interest, charitable contributions, and other miscellaneous expenses. No wonder everyone wants to join the itemizers club!

What if you moved to a new city for a new job? You can deduct your moving expenses. What happens if you take on that extra freelance work? Of course, you’ll have to pay taxes on those earnings.

Change Your Withholdings

You know that W-4 form you have to fill out every time you start a job? That form tells your employer how much to withhold from each paycheck to pay federal income taxes. Most of us use the simple formula on the form to enter a 0, 1, or 2 and we’re done.

But withholdings are a tricky subject. If you withhold too much, you’ll get an outrageous tax refund and be kicking yourself for giving Uncle Sam that interest free loan. Likewise, if you move them too far in the opposite direction, you’ll receive a big tax bill next year that you weren’t expecting.

If you’re a pro at calculating your withholdings, try playing with different amounts until you find the perfect balance. If you know you’ll be able to deduct a huge amount for your new home mortgage interest, change your withholdings to deduct less from your paycheck. On the other hand, if you got a new job that came with a huge raise, you’ll probably need to bump up your withholdings to balance out your higher salary.

Want some help? Check out the IRS tax withholding calculator. It’s easy to use and does a good job in most situations. One note of caution: If you have business income, it won’t factor in self-employment taxes or any estimated taxes you pay.

If you don’t feel comfortable changing your withholdings, that’s okay. Knowledge is power and just knowing that you’ll have some changes to next year’s tax return is better than being caught off guard. If you’re really uncomfortable with making any changes, you might speak to your Human Resources office, tell them your situation, and they could help you make changes to your form.

Documentation Is Your Friend

One of the main reasons that tax season is so stressful is because taxpayers are unorganized and did not keep a good documentation system. Now—not next spring—is the best time to get your papers in order.

Did you buy a new computer for your freelance website business? File that receipt away somewhere safe. You’ll need it when you try to deduct the expense from your self-employment income. Is your new baby going to daycare? Keep an organized record of how much you’re spending on childcare. The IRS will want to know about it if you try to deduct those expenses.

It’s hard to think about tax planning when all you want to do is have fun in the sun, but taking a short moment to plan today could make life that much easier next spring. If anything, assess the changes that have happened in your life since your last tax return so you’re prepared for how they’ll affect your next one. After you’ve done that, get out there and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Related posts:

1. Year-End Tax Tips
2. Itemized Deductions: A Beginner’s Guide
3. Home Mortgage Interest Deduction: What You Need to Know

Some say your twenties are the best years of your life. They are years to be carefree and have fun. They are years to grow as an adult, and to find your place in the world.

They are also the years of:

• Weddings
• Weddings
• And more weddings!

You will spend many weekends every year attending other people’s weddings. And then, you may spend the better part of a year planning your own. It’s a process that will try your patience and, quite possibly, cost a bundle.

As I plan my own wedding, I’m quickly realizing why they call it the “wedding industry”, because what an industry it is. And wedding vendors know that. They’ve found ways to make us believe that countless little “extras” will somehow make our big day even more special. (Hint: It’s not the “stuff” that makes a wedding special; it’s the people). And it adds up: the average American wedding costs $28,000.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to save money on your wedding. For example, not every wedding needs all of those extras. In fact, if you’re really trying to be frugal, you could probably forgo a lot of the wedding details. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Save the Dates

“Save the date” cards have become more and more popular in recent years. Save the dates started as simple reminder postcards sent out three to six months before the wedding, but they can evolve into an expensive detail.

For large weddings, the custom save the dates can cost almost $1,000 if you create fancy magnets for every invited guest and send them out via snail mail. Although most guests do appreciate an early reminder, consider opting for electronic save the dates. Many weddings websites and greeting card websites are offering electronic save the date services at a fraction of the cost, or even for free.

2. Disc Jockey

At wedding receptions, DJs can help to run the schedule smoothly, get the crowd energized for dancing, or announce various activities throughout the night. On the other hand, some DJs can take things too far and kick things off with that “Who Let the Dogs Out?” song even though it topped your do-not-play list.

Yes, DJs can be helpful, but for weddings on a budget, they’re not always necessary. The good news is that many wedding venues have gotten hip to the times and now have iPod capabilities included in their sound system. This works out great because you can create all sorts of different wedding playlists and not have to worry about some DJ playing your most-hated songs.

Already got a great iPod? Then your wedding music can be free! Even if not, the hundreds of dollars you save on a DJ will buy a lot of songs on iTunes.

3. Catered Bar

One of the biggest expenses at any wedding reception is the beverage bar. If you want to treat your guests and provide a beer and wine bar, or even a full bar, the cost of booze can quickly skyrocket, especially when you have to pay a caterer a price per head for the drinks. Still, there are those that believe a wedding without complimentary alcohol is cruel and unusual punishment.

Solution: Seek out a reception venue (friend and relative’s backyards work great) that allow you to BYOB. The mark-up that caterers place on alcohol is high, so it will save you tons if you can buy and bring in your own liquor (and any other beverage, for that matter). Once you’ve bought the liquor, you can call catering companies and just hire a couple bartenders for the night.

4. Church Décor

Florists and decorators want you to think that you’ll need your ceremony and reception decorated to the max. And for some ceremony sites (think outdoor weddings), decorations may be completely necessary. However, if you’re marrying in a church, consider forgoing most decorations for the ceremony.

Many churches-–-old and new––are already decorated in their own way with beautiful alters and stained glass. In addition, some churches will not allow you to decorate certain areas since they are considered sacred. It might be worth it to avoid the hassle all together and take advantage of the already-included décor that your ceremony site has to offer.

5. Customized Anything

This is where vendors really start to get their claws in you. Before you know it, they’ll have you convinced that you want—no, need—personalized candies on every table, an engraved cake stand, and a three string quartet playing as you enter the reception hall. All of those things are fine and dandy to splurge on if they’re in your wedding budget and they’re actually something you want, not just something that a revenue-greedy salesperson has told you that you must have.

If it has always been your dream to have customized candies at your wedding, go for it. Just beware that merchants see your wedding as a money-maker for their company. Only splurge on what you know will make you happy. More than likely, you’ll just be happy to have your friends and family around to celebrate your special day.

Just Remember

When it comes to planning your wedding, remember to spend on things that are in your budget and will make you happy. In the end, the only two people you should worry about pleasing are you and your fiancé.

What about you? What expenses will you avoid or have you avoided at your wedding? What common expense do you think can be done away with at weddings?

Related posts:

1. How Much Does an (Average) Wedding Cost?
2. The Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
3. Should You Take Financial Help from Your Parents?

I love the stuff. I love that caffeine rush I get in the morning from a steaming cup of joe.

I’ve gone on and off caffeine so many times in my adult life, I’ve lost count. Sure, caffeine isn’t great for you, but coffee beans are jam packed with tons of antioxidants (at least, that’s my rationalization).

So when I first got hooked on the stuff, I was going to pricey coffee shops 4 and 5 days a week. Eventually, I wised up and realized that at almost $5 a pop, this habit couldn’t last forever. So, I quit visiting the coffee shops and created my own little coffee shop at home with a $20 coffee maker.

With just that $20 purchase, I kicked my coffee shop habit. The solution may seem simple, but it doesn’t work for everyone. (That much is clear by the rising popularity of the coffee shop business and on-the-go lattes.)

Goals vs. Restrictions

In most situations, there are two ways to reach the goals you set for yourself:

• Setting milestones to reach for (make coffee at home) or
• Placing restrictions on yourself (don’t visit the coffee shop anymore)

If you step back and look at these two types of goal-reaching techniques, the difference is pretty clear: one is a positive approach and one is a negative approach.

When you create stepping stones in order to reach your goals (like making coffee at home), it comes with a positive correlation. Instead of taking something away from yourself, you add small goals to your plan so you’re always progressing forward in order to meet an objective.

On the other hand, going from visiting the local java hut every day to never visiting it again can be quite a buzz kill. It may seem feasible at first, but after awhile, such an extreme restriction can seem daunting and impossible. If you start to drastically restrict things in your life that you’re accustomed to, it may backfire and cause you to overspend on the days you are allowed to spend.

Find What Works for You

However, setting up boundaries and/or restrictions can actually work better for some people.

Financial goal-setting is a pretty personal matter. What works for one person might not work at all for the next person. So when you’re setting out to reach all of your financial dreams, ask yourself if you work best under restrictions or by accomplishing a task at hand.

It might even be a good idea to experiment with a combination of techniques. If you want to cut out the $4 lattes, maybe you could purchase your own coffee maker, but still allow yourself 3 or 4 store-bought lattes per month. That way, you’re still able to splurge on one of your favorite treats, but overall you’ll be saving money by making coffee at home 90% of the time.

Then Track It

No matter which technique you decide to use, it’s always important to track your progress.

It doesn’t matter if restriction or goal-attainment works better for you; seeing your progress in the big picture can be quite motivating—especially when you’ve been working on your financial fitness for a long period of time. Things can become repetitive and ho-hum after awhile. But, if you keep seeing results, chances are good that you’ll keep moving forward towards your financial dreams.

After a month of home-brewing your own coffee (or whatever your task at hand is), take a step back and see how far you’ve come. If you’ve only visited the coffee shop 5 times that month, it will be clear that you’ve made a lot of progress.

So next time you set out to better your finances, try playing around with your goal-meeting techniques. If you’re used to restricting things to meet objectives, try adding small goals to achieve instead. It may be just the change you need to reach your financial dreams.

What about you? What kinds of goals and/or restrictions have helped you meet financial (or other) goals?

Related posts:

1. How to Make Your Financial Resolutions Stick
2. How to Create a Five-Year Financial Plan
3. The Principle That Can Make You Rich or Keep You Broke

Only you can decide when you’re really ready to buy a home. But, how exactly do you know when you’re really ready?

You’ve probably heard that you should save 20% of your home’s purchase price before you buy, but even that’s not a rule that’s set in stone. If that is something that you can fit into your financial plan, than that’s great, but it’s not necessarily a deal breaker.

But, one thing is for sure: your new home will come with a whole new set of expenses. (In fact, Sarah wrote yesterday about the many costs to buying a new home).

Before we take that big step into a committed relationship with a mortgage, the majority of us probably live in a smaller apartment, a house with a bunch of college friends, or maybe even at home with Mom and Dad. Smaller pads or shared homes are great because they come with smaller utilities bills and less need for furniture. Additionally, your landlord (or Mom and Dad) are probably the ones fixing that leaky faucet or spraying for bugs. That’s another responsibility that comes with owning a home: you can’t depend on others to maintain your home and you’ll probably spend more money on furnishings and utilities.

New Home Fund

We’ve all heard of an emergency fund and a down payment fund, but what we don’t always hear about is the new home expenses fund. Where do you plan to get the cash to buy furnishings for your new house (which is likely bigger than your apartment), pay for higher electricity bills, or fix anything that breaks? Something tells me that you’ll want to fix your air conditioner (or maybe even buy a new one) if it goes out during a 100 degree heat wave in July.

In comes the new home fund. As soon as you purchase a home, you’re bound to shell out some more dough for other necessities for your new abode. If you’re already saving for your down payment on a home, consider setting up a sub-account in your high yield savings account for miscellaneous new home expenses as well.

New Home Expenses

Just how much should you save for these miscellaneous new home expenses? That much is up to you. Of course, you don’t really know if you’re air conditioner is going to break down within the first week of living there, so it’s a little difficult to decide how exactly how much to save for. When it comes to new home expenses, we don’t have the handy twenty percent rule to guide us.

But there are some expenses that you’ll definitely run into when you buy your first home. Here are a few examples:

• Furnishings: Take note of any new rooms like more bedrooms/bathrooms, an office, a den, an extra living room, sunroom, patio, dining room, etc.
• Home Maintenance: Think lawn mowers, yard maintenance, hoses, vacuum cleaners, tools, etc.
• Décor: The best part about home décor is that you can spend as much or as little as your want. If you don’t want to spend much here, you could always ask for hand-me-downs from friends and family.
• Kitchen/Bath Necessities: Don’t forget about dishes, pots & pans, silverware, cups, towels, washcloths, etc.
• Appliances: Not all homes come with all the necessary kitchen appliances. It’s common for a house to come with the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher, but you might need to buy things like a microwave, toaster, or coffee maker.

Some of you might already have many of these things. If not, take some of these ideas and try to come up with your own list of new home items that you might need to save money for. In addition to the things that you know you’ll definitely need to buy for your new home, aim to save for a bit more to cover for those unexpected expenses like a broken air conditioner or a leaky faucet.

Planning for new home expenses today could save you a lot of grief in the future. It could also save you from racking up a high credit card balance! All of these expenses may seem daunting now, but if you start saving early, you won’t have to worry a bit when it finally comes time to buy your first home.

Related posts:

1. Five Poor Reasons to Buy a Home
2. The Emergency Fund: What It Is and Why You Need One
3. 5 Critical Things to Remember When Buying Your First Home

We all thought we knew everything there is to know about 401(k)s and Roth IRAs until the new retirement tool waltzed in like he owned the investment-world. Well, hello there, Mr. Roth 401(k). You’re looking mighty attractive, aren’t you?

Here’s the deal. Roth investments are amazing for one simple reason:

The earnings you make from any Roth investment are 100% tax-free when distributed to you in retirement.

So, even though the money you contribute to your Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) has already been taxed, any—and I mean ANY—earnings you make from your Roth are not taxed. At all. This is why Roth IRAs are such an amazing retirement tool, but also why they come with some limitations, including contribution limits, that weed out the uber-rich.

If you’re new to retirement accounts, I put together a very minimal table showing the basic key points about these three types of retirement tools, the 401(k), Roth 401(k), and the Roth IRA:

*These are just the bare basic stats on these retirement tools.
**$16,500 is the max total you can contribute to both a 401(k) AND/OR a Roth 401(k).

As you can see, there are pros and cons and several differences among each account. Here are more fun facts about these retirement investments:

Roth 401(k)

• This type of investment is relatively new, so they are pretty rare. They haven’t become really popular just yet mainly because companies aren’t willing to hire more personnel to help manage the Roth 401(k). If your employer offers this type of retirement, I would definitely ask your HR office for the details!
• As I mentioned in the bullet above, the max is $16,500 – but only to the extent that you don’t contribute to a traditional 401(k). So you can only contribute a max total of $16,500 to either account (for example, you could contribute $8,250 to each account).
• Roth 401(k)s are not subject to the income limitations that Roth IRAs are! No matter what you make, you should be able to contribute.
• Employers are allowed to match contributions, but you’ll have to ask your HR department more about that for your particular company.
• Since we can’t predict the future (try as we might), we have no idea how much higher or lower our taxes will be in 30 years; the Roth 401(k) dodges the risk of high future taxes by having 100% tax-free distributions when you retire.

Roth IRA

• To be eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, you must have had earned income in that year. This means that you can’t use gift or scholarship money.
• You cannot contribute more than you make (see the first rule).
• You can invest in many different things: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
• Did I mention that all the earnings from a Roth IRA are tax-free?

401(k)

• The biggest benefit to this retirement tool is the employer matching. Most companies offer some sort of matching deal up to certain amounts that you contribute. For example, your company may match up to 5% – but you’ll have to contribute at least 5% to get the full matching. It’s generally understood that you should contribute at least up to the amount that is matched; otherwise you’re passing up free money.
• You’re employer maintains this plan (similar to a Roth 401(k)), so it doesn’t require much effort from you, the employee. It’s simple to set up automatic withdrawals that will be deposited right into your 401(k) account.
• In this day and age, there are many options available to us to help plan for a prosperous retirement. If your company offers more than one retirement option, it’s a great idea to do a bit of investigative work so you can tailor and tweak your retirement plan to suit your future needs.

So, keep on putting that money away every payday and you can rest easy knowing that your beach house and country club memberships will be fully funded whenever you’re ready to retire!

Read more about how to start saving for retirement, or read a comparison of online brokers where you can open an IRA online.

Related posts:

1. Roth IRA or Traditional IRA: What Do You Do?
2. Roth IRA Conversion: Not for Everybody
3. Don't Forget April IRA Contributions

Though there are always ways to save on gym memberships, there are also plenty of free exercise ideas that will help you get in shape and bathing suit ready without the gym fees. Here are my favorites:

Plyometrics

Plyometrics have been around forever but are just now becoming popular on the exercise scene – and for good reason. “Plyos” are an efficient and fun way to sculpt muscles and burn fat. Plus, no equipment is necessary besides an able body.

So what are plyos? They are quick bursts of movement that work those often ignored fast-twitch muscles. Fast-twitch muscles are muscle fibers that are put to use for any quick, swift movement. Slow-twitch muscles are the fibers that what most people use for day-to-day activities and even for most exercise programs.

It’s important to perform all plyos without weights since you’ll be jumping and moving quickly. Try adding these to moves to a couple workouts per week with as many repetitions and sets as you can handle:

• Squat Jumps: perform a basic squat and immediately leap up as high as you can.
• Jumping Lunges: perform a basic lunge and quickly jump up and switch legs while moving into the opposite side lunge.
• Side-to-side Jumps: with your feet together, jump quickly side to side either over an object or an imaginary line. To increase the difficulty, tuck your knees towards your body as you jump.
• Push-up Claps: start from a modified push-up position (knees on the ground) and perform a push-up.

Between each push-up, instead of bringing your torso up, bring your hands off the ground and clap them. This is a very tough move and should be performed cautiously!

Living Room Intervals

When I’m pressed for time, I usually do a quick set of “living room intervals”. I’ll use basic moves and do 30 second or 1 minute intervals of each move. I’ll crank up the music and just move around as I like. The key here is to really work hard and fast for 30 seconds to one minute and then to recover with an easy move for at least one minute and repeat this cycle for 20 to 30 minutes. Here is a sample living room interval workout:

• Jog/march in place (2 minute; warm up)
• Jumping Jacks (1 minute)
• Forward/Backward/Side Kicks (1 minute)
• Push-ups (30 seconds)
• Crunches (30 seconds)
• Run in place (1 minute)
• Plyometric Jumps (1 minute)
• Boxing Moves (1 minute)
• High Knee Run (1 minute)
• Repeat 2-4x

It’s important with these workouts to always be moving, bouncing, jumping, running, etc. Make sure your heart is constantly pumping and you’ll get an effective workout right in your living room!

Sprints

Sprinting or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is another recently popular workout phenomenon. Sprinting is a simple concept, but delivers big results. Sprinting is very efficient at burning fat and takes a fraction of the time of a normal workout.

It’s easy: next time you go for a jog, bike, or walk, go all-out as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Rest for two to three minutes (it’s very important to rest for awhile to bring your heart back down for optimal fat burn) and repeat the sprint as many times as you can during your workout. For example, if you incorporated sprints into your 30 minute run, it might look like this:

• 5 minute warm-up jog
• 5 minute normal pace run
• 30 second hard sprint
• 2 minute recover/regular pace
• 30 second hard sprint
• 2 minute recover/regular pace
• Repeat steps 3 through 6 three or four times

Other Ideas

If you are lucky enough to have a high school track near your home, take advantage of it! A track is a great piece of “equipment” for any exercise program. Use the marked lines on the track to sprint for 100 meters, do lunges, backpedal, jog, skip, shuffle, grapevine, bear crawls, tricep dips, or even just walk. Perform a different exercise or move for each 100 to 200 meters on the track and you’ll be having so much fun, you’ll forget you’re even working out.

If you already have a pretty set walking, running, or biking routine, try to motivate yourself by adding mileage to your route or beating your previous time each day that you go out. The new challenge will keep you motivated and trick your body and in turn you’ll get better weight loss or fitness level results.

Want even more free exercise ideas to shape-up for summer? Check out the GenXFinance post on 10 ways to get fit without a gym membership.

What about you? What are some fun and free exercise activities that you enjoy during the summer months? Please share!

Related posts:

1. Six Ways to Save on Gym Memberships
2. Make Healthy Fast Food Choices for Less than $5
3. Debt Free Step Three: Your Debt Management Plan

Personally, I have found that I’ve become more confident and less afraid to speak my mind and ask for what I want.

Nowadays, if I want something, I’ll request it. If I’m unhappy with something, I’ll say so.

But asking questions isn’t just a skill to have under your belt when you’re shopping or dining; it has also served me quite well in my career and my social life.

I’ve discovered since I’ve become less afraid to push for what I want that people are often more helpful than we think they will be. More doors will open than you could ever imagine. And you’ll get more perks than the person who is too timid to speak their mind.

At Work

People often find it refreshing when others ask for what they want instead of just motoring through their day without any regard to their preferences or needs. If you want to try something new or get assigned to a different project at your job, speak up and tell whoever is in charge. More than likely, the boss will appreciate your honesty since they won’t have to guess how you’re enjoying your work or what you want from your job.

A couple years ago, I took a course to become certified to teach exercise classes. I didn’t have a job lined up or even any connections at any gyms, but the topic intrigued me so I went for it. After I completed the course, I simply asked the director at my gym if he needed any more instructors and he hired me on the spot! All it took was simply asking a question and I landed myself a part-time job in a field I was truly passionate about.

As a Consumer

I’ve gotten discounts, rebates, fees removed, and freebies added just by asking for these simple things. Sure, it’s hard to get out of your comfort zone and ask for things that aren’t openly advertised, but after a while it gets easier and will give you a bit of a confidence boost.

Remember, it’s YOU the consumer who keeps companies in business, and you deserve whatever will make you completely satisfied as a consumer.

For example, it’s well known that you can call your credit card and ask them to remove miscellaneous fees or lower your APR, but try asking for what you want in other areas as well.

You can even negotiate at retail stores. Smaller items at big discount stores often aren’t as negotiable as larger items at smaller store can be (it’d be pretty difficult to talk the price of an ink pen down at a huge retailer). But if you’re shopping at a local store and find a price to be unreasonable on an item you love, don’t be afraid to see if the owner or clerk can offer you a better price.

The worst they can say is “no”.

This also works for monthly bills like cable or internet. Tell your cable company that you are considering moving to another company and most likely, they’ll be quick to lower your rate or throw in some freebies.

In Your Social Circle

As a teenager, I was the token shy girl. As I grew up, I had to “learn” the dos and don’ts of socializing that come naturally to most people. If mingling with others doesn’t come naturally to you, either, you may have to work to blossom into a social butterfly.

Why does it matter whether you’re social or not? Obviously social skills are important in all areas of our life, but especially because in most careers you’ll need some sort of social skills to impress potential employers and to network with colleagues.

So, what’s the first step in becoming that social butterfly? That’s right: asking questions.

Asking questions will often lead you right into a conversation about something you’re interested in or want to know more about. Even more importantly, other people are always flattered when someone asks them their opinion on something or takes an interest in them—by asking questions.

Ask Away

Asking for what you want or need can be a very powerful tool that yes, can save you money, but also bring you so much more. It’s a simple skill that’s easy to master. So, don’t be afraid to start asking for what you want— it may just get you further than you could have ever dreamed.

Related posts:

1. Don’t Let Money Ruin Friendships
2. Could Social Lending Provide a Way Out of the Credit Crisis?
3. Tips for the Under 30 and Underemployed

In short, dividends are always a good thing. After you’ve become a partial owner in a company (in other words, you’ve bought some of their stock), you’re likely to benefit from a little additional income in the form of dividends (which are, simply put, your share of the company’s profits). Read on to learn about the basics of dividends and how they affect you.

Types of Dividends

Dividends can come in all shapes and sizes. Most of the time, you’ll receive them in the form of cash, but not always. Here are the different types of dividends that you could receive as a stockholder:

Cash

The majority of dividends are paid in cash. Let’s say you own 100 shares of ABC Company and at the end of the year, ABC Company declares that they are going to pay a $1 dividend per each share of outstanding stock. That’s great for you—because you own 100 shares of their stock, that’s an extra $100 in your pocket free and clear (except for the taxes you’ll need to pay on them, but I’ll get to that later). Ordinary cash dividends are unearned income at its finest.

Stock

Another form of dividends is a stock dividend. A stock dividend is just what it sounds like: instead of paying you a dividend in the form of cash, the company you’ve invested in is going to give you shares of their stock as a dividend. For example, let’s say ABC Company decides that they want to declare a 10% stock dividend. This means each shareholder will get one new share for every 10 shares he or she owns. So if you owned 100 shares of stock, you would own 110 shares of ABC Company stock after the stock dividend.

Property

Yet another form of a dividend payment is a payment of property. That’s right; a company that you have invested in can actually give you property as a dividend. It could be something as simple as a book or a computer or something as outlandish as a piece of land or a car. That sounds crazy, and obviously property dividends aren’t common. In fact, if you’re a typical investor, you may never even see a property dividend. But property dividends do occur in smaller companies held by a small number of shareholders.

For instance, if you own 100 shares of stock of a large, publicly traded company, you might own 0.005% of that company’s stock. Not a lot, right? However, for smaller companies that may be privately owned, a wealthy shareholder (owner) could own 50%, 75%, or even 100% of a company’s stock. When you’re ownership percentage starts to increase and the amount of total shareholders starts to decrease, that’s when you might start seeing property dividends.

The Birth of a Dividend

So, where do dividends come from? The answer is pretty simple. Dividends come from a company’s earnings. Earnings are what is left over after a company has taken all of its expenses – selling expense, marketing expense, product expense, salary expense, compensation expense (for those CEOs and directors) – from its total revenue.

After all expenses are taken from revenue, all that’s left is net earnings. Earnings are to be used to pay dividends, to reinvest in the company, or to pay off the company’s outstanding debt.

From that, you can assume that if a company isn’t performing well and doesn’t have earnings at the end of the year, they’re probably not going to pay any dividends. Additionally, companies should pay dividends at some point (if they’re not using earnings to reinvest or pay off debt) because eventually they’re going to get taxed on the earnings that are held for no reason at all. Typically, large, established companies make good investments not because they’re growing at an aggressive clip but because they pay regular healthy dividends.

What Do You Do With Dividends?

So how do dividend payments affect you, the investor?

You can either take dividends or reinvest them. Either way, dividends are income to you, so you unless the dividends result from investments in a tax-advantaged retirement account, you will have to pay taxes on them.

If you receive ordinary dividends, the company that paid the dividends should send you a form 1099-DIV at the end of that tax year. All you’ll have to do is include the amount on the 1099 form (the total amounts of the dividends that were paid to you) and include it in the income section of your 1040 form (line 9a on form 1040).

Yes, you’ll have to pay taxes on any dividends that you received, but for the most part, you’ll get to enjoy the benefit of some extra cash, stock, or property.

So, there you have it: Dividends are nothing to be afraid of when you begin your investing journey. In fact, dividends are your friend and can often be used to measure the financial stability of a company.

Related posts:

1. Investing Idea: Steel Stocks
2. Five Growth Stocks For Young Investors
3. Five Strong Stocks for Beginning Investors

But with a new income come new expenses.

The transition from college to real life can be a culture shock…especially on finances. It’s easy to get spend happy with your new lease on life, but before you go out and buy the BMW you’ve been eying since your senior year in high school (and yes, no matter how meager your first full-time salary, there’s an auto dealer somewhere that’ll approve that loan) take these four post-grad money tips into consideration:

Mom and Pop Are the Best Landlords

Last week, I wrote all about how to get a cheaper rental rate. But if you want to be really savvy, avoid paying rent altogether. I know you don’t want to hear it, but why not try moving back in with Mom and Dad?

Your parents probably won’t charge rent (or little if any at all), will probably pay all the utilities, and they might even foot the grocery bill. What’s not to love? If they’re willing, and you think you can forgo your sanity for six months to a year (I’m kidding), it might be wise to consider moving in with Mom and Dad for a while after college.

Yes, after four years of independence, it’s hard! But with such low living expenses, you can start paying off those student loans or saving for an apartment of your own. I managed to survive living with my parents for a year after college and my finances are still thanking me today.

New Cars Aren’t a Good Investment

So many people think they need to buy a brand new car as soon as they graduate from college. True: some grads may need a new car since their college ride is about to kick the bucket, but many of us can get by on the same wheels for a while.

If your car is starting to cost you more in repairs than it’s worth, than it might be time to buy a new car.

That said, it’s not always the best idea to buy a brand new car. I made this choice right out of college and now wish I would have opted for a used car. I figured after four years of college and landing a full time job, I deserved to take out a $17,000 loan and buy a brand new car. But I’ve since realized that hot- off-the-lot cars aren’t the best investment…in fact they’re not really an investment at all.

Brand new cars depreciate rapidly…as soon as you drive them off the lot. And the value of a car continues in a downward spiral for the rest of its useful life. So, if you’re in desperate need of transportation after graduation, consider scouring the used car section of the want ads for good deals or check out the certified used cars that some dealerships offer.

Your Bank Account Won’t Keep Up With Your Social Life

In addition to your new work life and financial independence, your social life may blossom after graduation. Hanging out with friends and even going on dates may become the foundation of your evenings and weekends. It’ll be tempting to follow in friends’ footsteps and spend loads of cash on daily happy hours, dinners, or other events.

You can’t avoid a social life in an effort to save money, so you’ve got to find a happy medium. Work out a budget with your new income and decide how much you can spend — not what your friends can spend — on entertainment every month. Of course, allow yourself a bit more fun money than you did in college now that you’re a working guy or gal. Just figure out what maximum amount will allow you to save for other things like a vacation, a house, or retirement.

It’s All About BALANCE

I’ve mentioned before the importance of balance to everyone’s financial situation. A life change like college graduation upsets the balance of your budget. That’s okay; you’ll just need to sit down and figure out what works best for you now that you’re not eating dorm food or relying on your parents to deposit $100 into your bank account every other week.

Budgeting after college graduation can be tough and confusing. If you know what’ll work best for you instead of trying to keep up with everyone else, you’ll be setting the foundation for a prosperous and happy financial future.

Related posts:

1. Should You Take Financial Help from Your Parents?
2. Back to School Financial Survival Guide
3. High School Money Mistakes

Contrary to popular belief, renting is not the worst thing you can do for your finances. In fact, if you rush things and buy before you’re ready, you can end up in a worse financial position than if you had just decided to rent. Renting might not offer a return on your investment, but you’ve got to live somewhere right? And because renting is so much more affordable than purchasing a home, it can buy you a couple years to save up a nice little nest egg. All those savings will help to put you in a better position to buy when you’re actually ready.

But renting a place to live is still an important financial decision, and you don’t want to get in over your head when you go out apartment hunting. Use these tips to negotiate lower rent on your next pad so you can have a little dough left over to start padding that nest egg.

Don’t Judge an Apartment by Its Pool (Or Lack Thereof)

Drive down any main street in America and you’ll pass ritzy, gated rental communities and run-down, slummy apartment complexes. Logically, you would assume that the slummy apartments would have much lower rent.

That may not always be the case.

For two years, I thought I was living in the cheapest apartment complex in the area. When I decided it was time to move a year ago, I toured some of the more prestigious complexes and was surprised at how affordable they really were. They actually turned out to be cheaper than the apartment I was living in at the time. Moral of the story? Don’t judge a rental by it’s exterior—do some due diligence on any apartment before you cross it off your list.

Don’t Hide Your Past

Many high quality apartment complexes will base their rental rates or deposit and application fees on your past rental (and, often, credit) history. Obviously if you have good rental history, there’s a better chance that you will pay your rent on time and won’t turn out to be the newest party animal of the complex. So be sure to provide all your rental history –– even from when you were in college –– so that your new landlords can see that you have been a loyal resident to your past landlords. It could save you some cash in the end.

And if you know that your future landlord may find any red flags in your past rental or credit history, be upfront. Explain the situation on your rental application and point to other factors that make you a well-qualified renter.

Seek Out Specials

Apartment complexes are notorious for “look and lease” specials where you sign a lease on the same day that you tour the apartment. However, these specials change often, sometimes even daily. Ask your leasing agent about upcoming specials to see if there is one that suits you better in the future. I did this at my current apartment complex and decided to wait a day for a new special that ended up saving me almost $100 per month on my monthly rent.

Negotiate Add-Ons

Rental properties often want you to lease so badly that they’ll throw in all kinds of free amenities to get you to sign a lease. An attached garage is a huge selling point for me, so as I was touring one of my first apartments, I asked them if they had any garages to offer. Turns out they did and were offering them, that month, for an extra $1 per month if you signed a lease. I wouldn’t have even known about this add-on had I not asked about it. Know what your top priorities are and don’t be afraid to ask what your new landlord can offer you. If a certain complex doesn’t offer you what you want, you can always move on to another property.

Check for Employer Discounts

You can never go wrong asking about employer discounts. If you just landed a job out of college and are looking for an apartment, try searching nearby your new job – the closest apartment complexes will probably offer you a discount if they have an agreement with your new employer. It never hurts to ask!

Know What You Want

As you embark on your new journey of independence, you’ll learn a lot of things about living on your own. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion and tell people what you want and need. Their answers could surprise you.

I’ve learned that the power of “just asking” is very strong. If you want a free month’s rent or a covered parking spot, tell your leasing agent exactly that. They’ll probably want your residency more than anything so they’ll jump through hoops to please you.

Finally, be prepared to say “No”. Those “look and lease” specials are can be hard to turn down. But if you don’t feel right about the deal, just walk away. In the end, you’ll probably be happy that you did.

What are some tips that you’ve used to save money on your rent?

Related posts:

1. How to Save Money on Your Next Apartment
2. 5 Ways to Save Money on Rental Cars
3. After a Year Living Alone, a Return to Roommates