The W-2 Form can be changed at almost any time during the year. Did you have
any qualifying “life events” recently, such as marriage, divorce, birth of
child, purchasing a home, take pay raise or pay cut? If so, any of these can
affect the amount of withholding. Even if nothing in your life has changed,
carefully look at your tax records. Wouldn’t you rather have that money in your
pocket?
4. Transfer High Credit Card Balances
Many people automatically pay the minimum balance on their monthly statement
without thinking about the interest rate. Maybe you toss those credit card
“deals” because you don’t have time to sift through the junk mail in your
mailbox. Sometimes it pays to look at those offers.
Some balance transfers have low interest rates and no transaction fees with
rates that are good for the life of the transfer. Just be careful to read the
fine print because transferring balances can easily backfire. If you need a
“low-interest” loan in a pinch, this could be a smart move. If you have several
offers, then spread the wealth. Credit bureaus look more favorably on lower debts
spread over several cards rather than the maximum debt on a single card.
5. Evaluate Your Telephone Bills
With deregulation, you have more choices than ever. Local, regional and long
distance service can be through different carriers. Or, you can choose the same
carrier for all three. It depends on what your needs are.
The best thing to do is to evaluate your phone bills from the past three
months and then find the best plan that fits your needs. Do you have a cell
phone? You might want to use it to for all your long distance calls and only
sign up for a local and regional calling plan through the local phone company.
The competition is fierce, especially for long distance calling, so it pays
to shop around. The number of phone service providers for long distance
landline phones is mind-boggling. Use the Internet to comparison shop, but
always call in person to verify information.
Phone companies are always changing their calling plans and it pays to call
them up periodically to ask about a better plan. Ask about freebie specials
such as voicemail or call waiting when you sign up for a different plan--even
if you already have service with them. Also, get rid of calling options you
don’t need such as call waiting or wire maintenance.