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How Long Do I Keep Tax Records – Beware an Audit Letter From the IRS

Well, it finally happened — I unexpectedly received a rather large envelope stuffed full of paperwork from the IRS. My heart sank as I figured I would be dealing with an audit or something like that. When I opened the envelope the first thing I saw was that I supposedly owed taxes on unreported income from 2009, so I imagined days of digging through old paperwork, jumping through hoops, and redoing mathematical equations on two year old tax information. In the very month that both my taxes and my self-employment estimated payments are due, I would now also be dealing with an audit from the IRS. Yikes! After calming down and reading through everything that they sent, I started to understand that it wasn’t really a full-blown audit or anything that would be too painful to rectify. Rather, it would require a little research through my 2009 paperwork to find information on a 1099 form that the IRS said I they received but that I hadn’t reported. I know I don’t miss any 1099 forms, so I wasn’t too worried.

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taxes
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Free iPhone & Android Apps to Save on Airfare, Hotels & Car Rentals

Everyone likes to travel, right? Judging by how much of the year I am on the road and how full the airports are, people are always looking to jet off somewhere for a little R&R. However, travel costs a lot of money right now because of the economy and how expensive gasoline is, so we all need to find some different ways to try to save money on flights, hotels, and car rentals, right? A few weeks ago I put together a list of the 10 Best Free iPhone Travel Apps which focused on travel, weather, nightlife, etc., so I figured a good companion piece would be a post concentrating solely on iPhone and Android apps which can help you save some money on travel. Let’s take a look at what I found for each platform, shall we? All the apps I have listed are free and the links go directly to either the iTunes or Android app store.

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saving • travel
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Small Financial Sacrifices For Big Achievements

My monthly rent just went from $1,500 per month to $350 per month. Yes, you read that right – I just started saving $1,150 on my rent each and every month! (Do I sound like a Geico insurance ad?) This is part of the move I have referenced as of late and part of my long-term plan to hitting the road full time within the next 12 months. The place I was renting in California was a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom stand-alone house with rather high utility bills each month, while the place I am now renting in New Mexico is a studio-sized bungalow near town with all the utilities included. Counting rent, utilities, and entertainment, my costs for the house in California added up to about $1,750, while the costs for the studio in New Mexico add up to, well, exactly $350. I no longer have cable TV, and my heat/water/internet service is included in the rent, so my monthly expenses for the place end at the full cost of my rent each month. This may be too much sacrifice for some people, but for me it’s a means to an end — one I am looking forward to.

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Lifestyle
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Moving Van Rental vs. Mini Van to Save on Estimated Moving Costs

As I alluded to a few weeks back, I just finished my move back to New Mexico. Seen by some in my family as a clear sign of my mental degradation, my short-lived trial run back in California didn’t last too long and I feel as though I am back where I am supposed to be. But that’s not really what I wanted to talk about here at My Two Dollars; rather, I wanted to take a look at the cost of moving a small amount of material goods in the most efficient and cost-effective way. So here’s a little backstory on my move, how I did it, and how much money it cost me.

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saving
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Stop Paying Bank Account Fees – Best Banks with Free Checking

Is your bank charging you a ton of fees for account maintenance, withdrawing your own money, or writing more than two checks per month? If so you aren’t alone, as most “name-brand” popular banks are coming up with anything they can to charge you fees for. While complaining loudly may make some account holders feel better about the fees, it won’t make the banks stop charging them! I used to bank with Bank of America and I felt like I was being dinged every week for any little thing I wanted from my bank, so I changed to a much better bank which I will talk about a little later in this post. But before I get to that, let’s take a quick look at the kind of fees and penalties that three popular banks are charging their customers, and then we’ll see what we can do to move away from them and into a much better banking relationship.

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banking
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