Last evening as my wife and I spontaneously met our oldest son for a drink and quick dinner in celebration of his final, collegiate final exam, we all received a wonderfully spontaneous gift.  While sitting at the bar, just starting our meal at the Barley Creek Brewery, the young woman serving us approached and said “your dinner is taken care of”.  We sat back, raised our brows a bit and…“come again?”  She asked if we had noticed a young man sitting about a half dozen seats to my right in a white polo.  We had, but barely as there were maybe 15 people in and around the bar area.  She then shared his story which was simple yet touching.

“He said he has a temporary job in the area and will only be around for a few more months.”  He was alone having a beer and dinner at the bar and was watching us, further sharing with the bar tender “my family is from North Carolina and I really miss them.  These three over there seem like a really nice family and I want to buy them dinner.  Please don’t say anything until after I leave.”  And that was that.  Never met the man, we were not a family in need, purely spontaneous and out of his feelings in the moment.

I woke several times last night thinking about it and wondering if he knew how much a gesture like that might mean to us or how we would respond.  Again, we are not a family in need and there are plenty of families out there that can’t afford a meal at all, never mind from a restaurant.  But of course his gesture did not come from a platform of charity, it came in the moment based on his feelings in the moment and that is what is so compelling.  The first word out of my mouth after the “come again?” response to our server was “we have to pay this forward”.

I’ve never seen the movie, can’t tell you who was in it, but I get the concept of “pay it forward”.  A genuine act of good deed can be contagious and cause people to do the same unto others.  Given our current look over your shoulder economy and polarizing politics it seems to me we could all use a surprise spontaneous gesture of kindness.

We visit with Bob Harris, CEO of WhiteFence. His company is designed on the concept of competition, much like his previous project LendingTree. Only this time, he suggests that utilities should be comepting for your business.

By: Mom-E

As a parent you only want what’s best for your children.  In today’s economy, it is imperative to have a college degree, it is supposed to give you that extra edge in the work force.  Along the four year trail, I like to call the college years; I would do anything to have my son focus to get to the end result, HIS COLLEGE DEGREE! My son is a last semester senior in college; I like to refer to it as “almost there you can do it.”

I am thrilled he will be getting out of school soon and starting his life, but I can’t stop thinking about a nagging question that has been going through my mind over and over, What if he does not get a job?  Then what?

Does he move back home?

Do I charge rent?

Do I encourage him to take a minimum wage job just to make money?

Would it be worth it to spend the money for graduate school at this time?

You want your children to be independent and be able to make it on their own, however it is inevitable they can use some help to get started.  This has been a growing concern of mine for a couple years now, since the economy has taken a turn for the worse.  I am sure the last thing my son wants to do is live back home, with me and my husband, after being away for so long.  That said, we are in a time right now were we have to work together.  Rents are very expensive unless you don’t mind living without the luxuries of hot water and maybe electricity, and all those lovely attributes that go along with getting your own place; food, phone, water etc.

If for some reason, my son doesn’t get his dream job and is struggling with money, my plan is to have him live at home with us and charge him minimal rent every month. Then I will take the money and put it in a bank account for when he does get a decent paying job and can move out on his own.  I would then surprise him with some extra cash to help him get started.

Mom-E is originally from Connecticut where her family and her husband’s family still reside.  She re-located to New Jersey and now lives in Northeast Pennsylvania.  She has two sons, ages 19 and 22 years old.  They are both in college, and so for the first time in 22 years, she has no kids in the house.  Don’t worry — she has already replaced them with a lovely English Bulldog named Hank.  She has been married 23 years and enjoys hiking, biking, reading and watching bad reality TV.  To contact Mom-E, email her at MomE@financialfootprint.com

“I am the dog, the big bad dog! Show me your tax return, brah!”

Many American citizens work over seas these days, including military personal.  Many others are considering the opportunity as well.  Does this mean they don’t have to pay taxes back to America, brah?  No, they actually still do have to pay taxes, sorry brah.  The IRS, being the friendly people they are, gives you a two-month extension on filing your tax return (June 15^th).  But don’t be late!

All your income is taxable, even if you are being paid in yen (¥) you need to report it to the IRS.  The IRS is becoming increasingly focused on hunting down people with “off-shore bank accounts” you frequently hear of.  Many people with these accounts are not reporting their taxable income to the IRS and that is what we call tax evasion.

“We’re in the business of finding guys that are hard to find” – Dog

The IRS also offers rewards to “whistleblowers” who, of course, fill out a form (IRS Form 211) to make their claim.  According to irs.gov “The law provides for two types of awards. If the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million, and a few other qualifications are met, the IRS will pay 15 percent to 30 percent of the amount collected. If the case deals with an individual, his or her annual gross income must be more than $200,000” and “The IRS also has an award program for other whistleblowers – generally those who do not meet the dollar thresholds of $2 million in dispute or cases involving individual taxpayers with gross income of less than $200,000. The awards through this program are less, with a maximum award of 15 percent up to $10 million”.

If you were to guess, would you say that these “rewards” are taxable?  If you said “yes”, then you are correct.  The IRS views these “rewards” as a component of gross income and they are fully taxable.

The IRS wants their money, brah!  And they will find you with the help of whistleblowers and a specially trained task force they have working to find tax delinquents.  Not saying that everyone who works overseas is a delinquent because according to the Wall Street Journal an “IRS study in 2006 said 335,000 U.S. taxpayers living abroad reported about $36.7 billion in foreign earned income.” That’s a good chunk of change if you ask me.

By: Jim Swider

It demeans us, but truthfully most young adults fit the description of the “Peter Pan generation.” We have been babied our whole lives, thanks to overprotective helicopter parents who ran to our attention when we got a booboo, who gave each one of us a trophy for being a team player in intramural soccer, and who screamed at the teacher over the phone if we got a B on the test. All in all, we’ve been conditioned to learn that someone else is going to take care of our needs, and that we should sit back and relax.

The reality is that our caregivers have turned to leeches.

Social Security was one of the hallmarks of the FDR’s administration. It was a system designed in the harsh Great Depression so our elders would not live in abject poverty. The gist of the idea was that each able bodied worker would have a portion of his or her paycheck go into a fund, and from that fund seniors of age would receive paychecks so they could live in peace for a few more years. Even though it remained controversial, Social Security became a mainstay of the American workforce, a mandatory benefit that was like a big security blanket over our citizens. It calmly whispered into our ears that we would go gently into that good night.

Unfortunately, more and more people are going gently. I am, of course, talking about the Baby Boomers, our parents who have coddled us all our lives. They are getting old. Many of them are hitting retirement this decade, and they are drawing on the sweet nectar of Social Security to enjoy their second childhood. Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but they are going to have a long second childhood. Because of advances in medicine, our parents are expected to live longer lives than previous generations. And that is predicted to cause huge problems for Social Security.

Experts have predicted that more money will be taken out of Social Security’s trust fund than placed in the fund sometime this decade. Experts also state that sometime in the 2030s Social Security will just…run out. Nil. Gone. All because of the Baby Boomers draining our Social Security. It’s not their fault. They just happen to be one of the largest generations of people living today, and all those people are going to be reaching into the Social Security pot. And by the time the pot passes to us, we’re left licking the sides like dogs.

Perhaps I’m looking at the glass half-empty. After all, back in the early 1980’s Social Security was predicted to run out, but there have been numerous amendments over time to keep Social Security afloat. Also, Baby Boomers aren’t really a kind of “sit back and kick the bucket” people, are they? Many Baby Boomers express a desire to continue working after they hit retirement age, or at least move on to different professions to reinvent themselves.

Still, doesn’t it behoove us young people to pay attention to the signs that Social Security is in trouble? Shouldn’t we log out of Facebook and turn “Music” Television off and actually think a little bit about how we are going to live once our faces turn to raisins?

This is why financialfootprint gives you a section on banking. This is why we tell you about investing. This is why we mention 401(k)s and IRAs and every other confusing acronym out there. We want you to try to beat the system. It’s not certain, but the odds that Social Security will run out by the time you retire is pretty high. Wouldn’t you rather relax on a nice pile of money that you had saved up yourself from an early age than join the league of bitter Generation Y members in the future, destitute because of their folly in relying on the government to solve their problems?

Sorry for getting on the soapbox. We aren’t trying to make you do anything. However, once you become proactive in your retirement savings, you will be able to ignore the giant SS hourglass as it slowly empties.