Archive for the ‘Big Ticket Items’ Category
America’s ‘Shop Cop’, popular author (“Furniture Hot Spots” and “Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever!”) and frequent TV contributor Jennifer Litwin recommends donating gently used furniture to save money on income taxes. The following ideas can be applied to tax returns:
WRITING OFF FURNITURE DONATIONS
If, in the past year, in the process of moving, clearing out the clutter or trading up, you donated any furniture to a charity organization, you are entitled to write off the value of the furniture. Always make sure you have a copy of the receipt and when declaring it.
FURNITURE BANK
Some regional furniture stores are rewarding donors by offering a discount of up to 10% on new purchases if you donate your old furniture to the “Furniture Bank”, a national depository that takes furniture from anyone in over 30 cities and gives it to those in need. The Furniture Bank will pick up the goods and remove them at no charge. You assign your own value to the goods based on age of piece, wear and tear and demand. This is a win-win, because you are saving money on taxes and on your new furniture purchases. The Furniture Bank works with organizations like The American Red Cross, United Way and U.S. Department of Social Services.
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As Featured in The Arizona Republic
Most Americans will pay down their debt. Some will sock it away for a rainy day.
But about 24 percent will use their tax refunds this year to buy something pricey, such as a big-screen TV, car or vacation, the National Retail Federation reports.
Of course, financial planners wince about taxpayers getting refunds at all.
“I’m a firm believer that we should not be allowing the government to borrow our money throughout the tax year, interest-free, by ‘giving us’ a big tax refund at the end of the year,” said Victor Encinas, a Phoenix financial coach. “If we have the money throughout the year, we can build an emergency fund, strengthen our budget or save more for retirement or education.”
This isn’t news to Eldon Stetson, 36, of Glendale. If he and his wife “were doing our homework like we should be, we’d try to balance things out that way.”
Life happens, though, and soon another year has passed and the formula for owing nothing and receiving nothing on taxes hasn’t been worked out. So this year, Stetson is putting a portion of his tax refund toward a $2,500 mountain bike.
Like Stetson, 70 percent of Americans will receive tax-refund checks – and marketers will try to get them to part with them. The average tax refund is $2,150, the IRS reports.
Encinas suggests that people negotiate all major purchases.
“When you have ‘cash power’ mixed with ‘walk-away power,’ you become a force for retailers to reckon with,” he explained.
If you plan to make a major purchase with your tax refund, here’s some advice on making the most of your money:
AIRPLANE TICKETS
- Consider calling travel agents to book flights. They often have access to consolidator fares, involving tickets bought in bulk at a discount. “Even with a seller’s mark-up, the cost of the ticket may be cheaper than you can find online,” said Chris Elliott, National Geographic Traveler’s ombudsman.
- Take advantage of Internet airfare-and-hotel packages, which can be cheaper than if you book those items separately.
- The best savings for buying and traveling in the same week is the first week of January, Elliot says. Some other weeks also offer discounted airfares: the week after Thanksgiving, to anywhere in the United States; the week of Thanksgiving, to Europe; and the two weeks after Labor Day – when most people have gone back to work or school – to anywhere in the United States.
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