Carbonite-Cheap Insurance

       How are you protecting the information on your computer?  If your computer crashed tomorrow would you lose all your family pictures and memories?  Would that crash take down all your financial data and history?

       There is a very easy to use, inexpensive solution for protecting your data.  Carbonite.  I have been using it for a few years and have had to activate it on several occasions.  Fortunately, only one crash, but some information got sent to the trash bin by mistake.  All I had to do was activate my Carbonite and I got all my stuff back.

       One of the best features is that it runs seamlessly in the background.  I don’t have to do a thing!  Within a few minutes of creating anything my project is backed up.  I don’t have to remember to back up my files, or chance losing files that have been created since the last backup.

       I highly recommend Carbonite.  For about $50.00 per year, it is cheap insurance against losing important files from your computer.

Early Estimates Help

       Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said “Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.”  Now is the time to start organizing yours.  Gather all of your receipts and notes.  Look at major differences between your 2010 numbers and those for 2011.  You should have all of your W-2s and 1099s by January 31.

       The earlier you file the faster you can get your return.  Estimating your liability early, even if you don’t file early, will allow you to manage your budget more accurately. Dragging your feet until the last moment could be costly.

       This is also a good time to adjust your W-4 deductions.  You should only be withholding enough to cover your taxes; getting a big return means you let the government use your money, interest free.  Wouldn’t you rather have that money in your pocket?  If your refund totals more than $1000.00, you are having too much withheld.  A common strategy is to adjust your withholding and put the extra money into your emergency fund or retirement.  You won’t miss the money out of your check, you aren’t seeing it now, but you will be better prepared for the future