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6 Ways to Find Extra Income

Living within your means is an important component of having strong and healthy finances.  Creating a budget  can be a great first step to making sure your financial house is in order. As you look through your monthly expenses, there are two different ways that you can improve your monthly cash flow.  The first is to cut your expenses – look for ways that you can spend less each month. When you first start tracking your expenses (like with one of our  free monthly budget templates ), you’ll likely find a few areas to cut back on. Over time, however, you’ll probably run out of ways to cut your expenses. After all, there are so many extra lattes and gym memberships that you don’t use!  The other way you can  increase your savings rate  is to find extra income. In this article, we’ll look through a few side hustles and other ways to find extra income. Sell things you aren’t using and don’t need Most people always have things lying around the house that they no longer use. Take a look arou

Commonly-Used IRS Tax Forms

There are more than a thousand IRS tax forms for reporting various kinds of income, expenses and other financial data—and each piece of paperwork bears its own letter or number, which can seem as foreign as a new language. Fortunately, learning just a few key tax forms can give you much of the information you need to understand your tax return. Here’s a primer on some of the documents you’ll want to be familiar with as you use TurboTax to prepare your tax return. Which tax forms to use? The documents to start with are the 1040 and 1040-SR. For tax years prior to 2018, Forms 1040EZ and 1040A were available but have been phased out beginning with the 2018 tax year by a redesigned Form 1040 and a new 1040-SR for those 65 and older. The 1040 family of forms serves as the center of your tax return. Form 1040EZ  (prior to tax year 2018) is the simplest version of this essential tax form. You generally can file it if you: Have no dependents Are younger than 65 Earned less than $100,000 Don’t

What is Form W-2?

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  The IRS requires employers to report wage and salary information for employees on Form W-2. Your W-2 also reports important details about the amount of federal, state and other taxes withheld from your paycheck as well as other employer fringe benefits like health insurance, adoption and dependent care assistance, health savings account contributions and more. As an employee, the information on your W-2 is extremely important when preparing your tax return. In general, if you worked as an employee in a given year, you should receive a W-2 from your employer near the beginning of the following year. You will also receive a W-2 if your employer withheld any taxes from your paycheck. Key Takeaways Form W-2 provides important tax information from your employer related to earnings, tax withholding, benefits and more Your Form W-2 should be sent by January 31st of each year and be used to prepare your tax return The IRS uses W-2s to track employment income you’ve earned during the prior ye

Unable to open QuickBooks Desktop 2022 after installation

Their  Product Development team is aware of an issue with the QuickBooks Express Install method. The Desktop app doesn’t install, but a Server Only component does. They working quickly to resolve this issue. In the meantime, if you can’t find or open QuickBooks Desktop 2022 after installation, here’s what to do: Step 1: Look for QuickBooks Server 2022 on your computer Open the Windows  Start  menu. Type "Control Panel" into the search and open  Control Panel . Go to  Programs and Features . From the Uninstall or change a program list, search for QuickBooks Server 2022. If you find it, but don’t see QuickBooks Pro, Premier or Enterprise 2022 on the list, proceed to step 2.  Step 2: Uninstall QuickBooks Server From the Uninstall or change a program list, select  QuickBooks Server 2022 . Select Uninstall/Change and then  Next .  Select  Remove  to uninstall QuickBooks Server 2022. Step 3: Run the downloaded QuickBooks Desktop 2022 install again From the install wizard, select  C

Petty Cash

  What Is Petty Cash? A petty cash fund is a small amount of company cash, often kept on hand (e.g., in a locked drawer or box), to pay for minor or incidental expenses, such as office supplies or employee reimbursements. A petty cash fund will undergo periodic reconciliations, with transactions also recorded on the financial statements. In larger corporations, each department might have its own petty cash fund. KEY TAKEAWAYS Petty cash is a nominal amount of money readily accessible for paying expenses too small to merit writing a check or using a credit card. In larger corporations, each department might have its own petty cash fund. A petty cash fund can be used for office supplies, cards for customers, flowers, paying for a catered lunch for employees, or reimbursing employees for expenses. Petty cash's main advantages are that it's quick, convenient, and easy to understand and use. Disadvantages of petty cash funds include their vulnerability to theft and misuse, and the n

Oral Contract

  What is an Oral Contract? An oral contract is a type of business contract that is outlined and agreed to via spoken communication, but not written down. Although it can be difficult to prove the terms of an oral contract in the event of a breach, this type of contract is legally binding. Oral contracts are often mistakenly referred to as verbal contracts, but a verbal contract is really any contract since all contracts are created using language. Understanding Oral Contracts Oral contracts are generally considered as valid as written contracts, although this depends on the jurisdiction and, often, the type of contract. In some jurisdictions, some types of contracts must be written to be considered legally binding. For example, a contract involving the conveyance of real estate must be written to be legally binding. In some cases, an oral contract can be considered binding, but only if it’s evidenced by a written contract. This means that once the oral contract has been agreed upon th

How Are Retained Earnings Different from Revenue?

Revenue and retained earnings provide insights into a company’s financial performance. Revenue is a key component of the income statement. It reveals the "top line" of the company or the sales a company has made during the period. Retained earnings are an accumulation of a company's net income and net losses over all the years the business has been in operation. Retained earnings make up part of the stockholder's equity on the balance sheet. Revenue is the income earned from the sale of goods or services a company produces. Retained earnings are the amount of net income retained by a company. Both revenue and retained earnings can be important in evaluating a company's financial management. KEY TAKEAWAYS Revenue is a measure showing demand for a company’s offerings. Each period, net income from the income statement is added to the retained earnings and is then reported on the balance sheet within shareholders' equity. Over time, retained earnings are a key com