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Get your cow costumes ready! Friday is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. Dress up like a cow and you get a free meal. If you don’t have a complete costume, you can still get a free entree with you partial cow attire.
If you need some tips on how to create your own unique cow costume you can visit the Cow Appreciation Day website. Just remember to change your outfit before you head back to the office.
With the kids out of school for the summer it’s tough finding activities to keep them busy. But don’t worry, Steve Jobs would like to help baby sit.
Well not exactly…
Apple retail stores are offering Apple Camp. These free workshops are recommended for kids ages 8 – 12. Each workshop lasts 3 hours. Students can learn how to make movies, music and more. For more details and to learn how to sign up check out the Apple Camp site.
I love bottled water. Through both of my pregnancies, I carried 24-pk cases of bottled from the grocery store to my car and then to my house. Yet, I kept feeling guilty about the amount of empty bottles our household produced. I did recycle; however, we all know recycling is not the same as reducing. So I began to look at my alternatives. After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to purchase a home filtering system. I purchased it from Costco.com thinking that if it didn’t work out I could return it without any hassles.
After reading many reviews online, I settled on the Lotus Water Treatment System by Tersano. I was a little 
hesitant given its price, but ordered it anyways. Now after a week of use, I am extremely satisfied. It’s very easy to use and it has fit into out everyday lives. I now use the filtered water in everything from brewing tea to filling our fish bowl. The compact carafes fit conveniently into our refrigerator door and look nice enough to take to the table for dinner.
Given how much bottled water we used to consume, this system should pay for itself in a few months. Now I can feel good about saving money and the environment.
I wish I could take advantage of the tax software deals I mentioned, especially since we are State Farm customers. However, our taxes are a little complicated with both my husband and I owning small businesses. It’s late February now and I am in the midst of possible accountant change. I can’t help it. I was reading an article regarding a new tax deduction called the Sec 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction. My current accountant who deals with small businesses is not familiar with this deduction.
Now this is my financial dilemma: Do I stay with my small business accountant and her small fees and miss the deduction or do I go to a big accounting firm with big fees and take the deduction? Without the taxes actually being completed, I don’t know what my costs and benefits would be.
The clock is ticking, so I need to decide soon. I will let you know once I have decided.
It’s time to start thinking about your taxes. To make doing your taxes less painful, here are some deals and promotions for tax software.
IRS Free File Alliance The Free File program is a free federal (and some states) tax preparation and electronic filing program for eligible taxpayers. You must have an adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less. According to the IRS, 70% of all taxpayers qualify for this program. It essentially links you to participating tax companies that have agreed to be part of the program.
For Other Filing Choices & Deals:
TurboTax Options
1. For those that have a simple return and do not need to file a state return you can use TurboTax Free Edition and also get free e-filing.
2. If you are a State Farm Insurance customer you get a great deal because you can get TurboTax Deluxe, e-filing and up to 3 state returns for free. You must login to your State Farm account to get access to this offer.
3. Check with your bank or other financial services provider for their TurboTax discounts. For example American Express and Fidelity offer 25% off when you click through from their websites.)
H&R Block TaxCut
H&R Block now has a suite of do-it-yourself tax products. To compete against TurboTax they offer their “Worry-Free Audit Support” guarantee with purchase. There aren’t as many promotions for TaxCut, but American Express card holders get 35% off.
TaxAct
Another free or reduced cost option is TaxAct. It offers it’s Standard Federal product for FREE and less expensive upgrade choices such as Deluxe or state filings compared to TurboTax or TaxCut.
Well, we got the renewal notice for our insurance company and what renewal would be complete without a rate increase. Oh no, here we go again having to start back at step one and compare insurance companies, plans and prices.
President Bush wants Americans to become more involved in their own healthcare choices, but honestly the headaches (and wallet aches) that I have gone through in the past few years being self employed and dealing with our health insurance I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. The most difficult aspect of choosing health insurance companies is that you can’t compare apples to apples. Each has their own benefit definitions and limits. What is covered by one, is not covered by another. I have to do complex Excel charts to try and even everything out and that still doesn’t work 100%.
Many of you might ask, Why don’t you let an insurance agent help you? The funny thing is that most of the time, I am educating the agent instead of the other way around. Insurance agents are good at sales not at health plan details. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s been my experience.
One site that has been somewhat of a help is EhealthInsurance.com, but that is just a starting point. Many plans aren’t included, but it does have a good compare feature for the plans that are included. One thing that is helpful when making health insurance decisions is to know what your state regulations are too. For example in Georgia, all immunizations and preventative health screening for children have to be covered by insurance from day one and not subject to a deductible.
Luckily this year there are more flu shots to go around. Costco was giving flu shots on Friday, so we went as a family outing to get flu shots at Costco. I know, its very exciting. But hey, at $18 a shot, it was a good deal.
Murphy came by with his law. On the day I was on Atlanta & Company and had set my DVR to record the show, the DVR decides not to record any more. By taking out the SmartCard and resetting the system, I managed to get it to work temporarily. But now I have come to the conclusion I have to call customer service.
So if anyone say my segment on November 2, let me know your thoughts.
