An Early Spring – What’s Not To Like?

Early suffering from Pollen Allergy, That’s What It Is

You can’t help but notice that this year’s spring came strangely early; or some may argue we simply had a winter that wasn’t. It was before mid-March when the temperature had already snuck into the seventies here in the northeast. Well, the brilliant performance of the weather this early part of 2012 sure would make Al Gore proud.

Mother Nature never bothers with the calendar. As soon as there is a hint of warming up, everything gets rolling. The earthworms tunnel their way out from underneath the never-frozen ground, attracting some hungry robins that are planning where to build their new nest, at the same time trying to fight off those ever aggressive blue jays, all the while being watched indifferently in the pine trees by the majestic cardinals. Those Knock-out Roses and Japanese Willows that my wife and I put in last May shoot out overnight and are growing like a teen-aged boy’s hair. Before April comes calling, I’ve already built a new shed by the fence.

It is green all around; and so many flowers are already in full bloom without the benefit of the customary April showers. The outdoors turn so beautiful, you can smell life in the air.

“Bob, the Walker”, as affectionately called by my kids because this retiree walks all over the neighborhood year round for exercise, comes along and chats it up with his thick southern accent: “What a beautiful day!”

 

“Yeah! Got to enjoy it!” I nodded whole-heartedly agreeing. 

Ah, an early spring, what’s not to like?  Until my eyes start itching. Then the reality hits me: You’re going to suffer from your annual pollen allergy much earlier this year, and most likely for longer. 

Pollen allergy is no laughing matter. More than forty percent of Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. For some, it is just nuisance that causes little more than runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, and itchy and watery eyes. For others, however, it can prove life-threatening.

When my family moved to New Jersey some twenty years ago, we had a weekend barbecue in the backyard and enjoyed a great spring day that you couldn’t have in the city. Our oldest son, Bryant, who then was just about two years old, was so happy and could not stop running around the blooming flowers and thriving trees for hours. But by the time we retired into the house later in the evening, he had started coughing and running a fever. Being young and inexperienced first-time parents, we mistook this as “perhaps just a cold” and did not think much of it until the next day when the doctors’ office opened. 

Bryant had asthma. That was the news delivered by his pediatrician. He gave us a good lecture for not bringing him in right away and, after a brief nebulizer treatment, sent us straight to the hospital. We were stopped by the police en route for obviously speeding. But I did not need to try hard to make my case, and the stone-faced trooper took a look at the wheezing toddler and his teary-eyed mother in the back seat, simply ordered “drive safely” and sent us back on our way.

 

The hospital staff got Bryant stabilized, but not before subjecting his tiny body to countless needles. Every relative who came to visit was heart-broken when they saw this poor little guy, who a day earlier was still a ball of energy, had to be confined to his small oxygen tent.

Bryant had since recovered and even out-grown asthma. He was actually able to earn his Master of Science degree while double majoring within three years at a school of his choice and secure a great job that he desired at a major financial service firm at the bottom of the latest brutal financial crisis. But my wife and I still like to tease him from time to time: Had he not had that episode of asthma attack, he could have been one of those Princeton hot-shots. Who knows?

Timing is everything in dealing with allergy, as I learned from the pediatrician of my younger son, Dusty, who every spring without fail would catch almost everything pollen allergy can possibly throw at you. The doctor told us during a visit that you would have to get medicated to close the door before the pollen comes knocking, or it will become the most annoying guest that is very difficult to get rid of. So for years, the entire allergic population of the family would start taking one of those one-a-day pills on the first day of April in anticipation of the peak of the blooming season that would come on cue in a couple of weeks. This pretreatment, plus shutting all the doors and window and sacrificing the great pleasure of the spring outdoors, has been working as prescribed.

Until this year. Who would have thought spring would show up a whole month early? This unusually early warmth weather, combined with the severe lack of April showers, caught millions of allergy sufferers by surprise and sent them scrambling for prescriptions. However, it is too late for them: Many allergists report that their patients’ symptoms are more severe than the past, likely because they did not have time to pretreat themselves. There is not much they can do about it now except swallowing whatever pills that they think fit, such as Zyrtec or Allegra, and maybe spray their nostrils with some steroid, like Flonase or Nasonex. Or they can pray for rain every day and an early arrival of the next season.

Right now, listening to the sound of Dusty blowing his nose into tissues at night, I can tell you, there is indeed something not to like about an early spring, after all.

9-11, We Remember

We don't need to be reminded

The gray sky chokes with emotion as the air thickens with somber. Two giant American flags hoisted up high by three fire trucks are quietly fluttering in the early autumn morning chill. Down below, dozens of first-response vehicles – fire trucks, ambulances and police squad cars, are all silently flashing their emergency lights. And a SWAT officer in full combat gear guarding the intersection adds to the solemn atmosphere.

It is September 11, 2011. Ten years after the most tragic terrorist attacks on this soil, people gather at the township recreation and community center to re-dedicate the 9-11 memorial site and pay tribute to the innocent lives lost in those most senseless violent acts. Military color guards with flags and weapons surround the memorial site. Firefighters, first aid squad members, and police officers in full uniform stand at attention. There are politicians in crisp suits, grandmas holding hands with little toddlers munching on Goldfish, as well as spiky-haired teenagers wearing sagging shorts. Surviving family members of the victims are asked to sit front and center.

Marlboro, this central Jersey town of 40,000, took its toll on 9-11: fourteen of our fellow residents perished at the original World Trade Center.

There could have been sixteen.

My wife’s older brother and younger sister were both working at the World Trade Center at the time. Big brother normally went in his office at around 7:30 AM, and sis would follow an hour later. But the week before that fateful day, her car window stopped working; and her dad spent two days trying to fix it but to no avail. So the siblings decided to share the ride and carpool to work together for the time being, at the young sister’s normal time. They hit heavy traffic that was much worse than usual. Amid bickering back and forth about whether to stay the course or take an alternate route, they missed the news on the radio. It would be five to nine when they finally reached their parking garage in Jersey City and looked up across the Hudson River. Heavy smoke was already billowing out of One World Trade.

Thinking it might have been just some cafeteria mishap and worrying about being late for work, sis still wanted to rush to catch the Path train, which would take them right under the towers. Fortunately, the older and perhaps wiser big brother thought better of it and dragged her back into the car and started back home. And the rest is history.

Through the years, relaxing in the safe haven of our own homes, we can still get a few chuckles whenever they recount the story. But we also feel the chills: What could’ve happened if the car window was fine? Or big brother was able to convince sis to go in early with him? A broken car window might have changed a large and close-knit family’s life in an unimaginable way. Count ourselves blessed because death was once so close.

But nearly three thousand others were not so lucky that day. They were mostly ordinary people just like your neighbors and friends: Businessmen, office clerks, or restaurant cooks who were there simply to make a living, or tourists who had just come from out of town to admire these magnificent buildings. And don’t forget the most tragic and heroic of all – the first responders, especially those firefighters who rushed up the burning towers while urging others to flee.

Cold rain quietly drizzles down onto the gathering. One by one, family members of the victims recount the life stories of their lost loved ones. There are few dry eyes in the silent crowd.

Amidst military bugle calls, police gun-salutes and the “America the Beautiful” by the Marlboro High School chorus, the black shroud draped over the new memorial centerpiece is slowly lifted, unveiling a 12-foot long steel “I” beam. It had been salvaged from the wreckage at Ground Zero. Through the efforts of Town Councilman Jeff Cantor, a U.S. Army reserve Lt. Colonel who had served in Afghanistan, this steel beam was transported by truck from New York to Marlboro under police escort.

This 12-footer is vertically mounted on a scaled-down model of the twin towers, which stands on a marble base in the shape of a pentagon. The names of the fourteen Marlboro residents who died in the 9-11 attacks, as well as the time of impact of each plane and the total number of lives lost, are chiseled in on its polished sides. The structure is standing tall and safeguarded by the American Flag, the State Flag of New Jersey and the 9-11 Memorial Flag, ensuring that this community will remember our loss for many years to come.

“What we are is a community of neighbors with passion, who care about each other, and it really shows on a day like today,” declares Mayor Jon Hornik as the crowd grows to six hundred strong.

“Know that you have an entire community that stands with you today,” Councilman Cantor reminds friends and family members of the fourteen 9-11 victims as they walk up to the newly erected monument and lovingly place a rose and an American Flag on the base for each of their lost loved ones.

My tween children, who were barely toddlers ten years ago, can understand so much more now. That burly fellow with a thick beard, who cannot hold back his tears, will never forget the pain.

Just outside the memorial, the fire trucks’ air horns roar intermittently throughout the ceremony, marking the exact moments of the horrific attacks and devastation. They are there to remind everyone of this tragedy.

But no, we don’t need to be reminded.

9-11, we remember.

Get a Little Merrier in 2012

Money Spent Right Can Indeed Bring You Happiness

No one argues that money can’t buy happiness, but getting your finances in order would definitely lead you in the right direction towards a sunnier day. 2011 turned out to be another turbulent year, which had witnessed multiple crisis and disasters. Houses were not selling; people were not getting jobs; and the constant worry about money can’t make anyone happy. So shouldn’t we at least get a little break in the brand new 2012, especially when the forecast is still murky? This can be achieved with a few easy small money steps without breaking the bank.

Set up an emergency fund, if you haven’t done so already. A surprise finding from a University of Georgia study of 28,000 Americans: Having a rainy-day fund best predicts financial satisfaction, more so than being credit card debt-free or even owning a home! Experts have been preaching putting up at least three to six times of your monthly income; you may help build up the safety net quicker with some small “windfalls” such as your tax refund or medical flexible spending reimbursements. No matter how it’s done, you will sleep better knowing the money is there even if your roof leaks tomorrow.  

Rid yourself of credit card debt, which is truly an evil monster. The thought of having to pay that 20% interest on top of what you owe will surely make you wince in pain and turn grumpy. And that’s not all – according to a study by Utah state University professor Jeff Dew, newlyweds who had built up a balance of as little as $1,000 were markedly less satisfied with their relationships than those who had none. It may not be practical to put up the cash to pay off the debt right away without causing hardship, so think small, establish a target and stick to it. Before long, you’ll see your debt shrink and perhaps treat your partner a little better.

Switch workplace, if it you don’t feel good there. Your job is where you spend most of waking hours; there is no worse feeling than having to dread going there in the morning, and counting minutes to get out. It could be the job being boring, or your co-worker being nasty. Either way, being depressed from 9 to 5 will just make you sick. Recent government’s job reports are indicating an up-tick in the labor market, and job site StarWire.com found that half of the applicants found a job within a week, while 75% of them got theirs within three.  Make the move now and you may actually be able to come home with a smile.

Make full use of your vacation days. American workers are well known for being workaholic, and leave an average of 6.2 vacation days unused per year, according to on-line travel site Hotwire. In this tough economy where companies are forced to cut cost and improve productivity, employees tend to feel they must keep working extra hours to keep their jobs. But a stressed-out worker would cost two and a half times more in health care alone, not to mention the negative impact on his family life and the company’s productivity. So squeeze in every day you are entitled to. You don’t need to dole out big bucks and take an extravagant trip; a prolonged weekend in which you simply lounge around at home will do. After all, a well rested person is always a happier one.

Indulge yourself a little and often, which beats occasional splurges in creating greater happiness. That’s the result of numerous researches over the years covering a wide variety of everyday activities. You may try years to save up enough money to treat your family to a month-long expedition to the most exotic places in the world, but the excitement can only last so long. Instead, how about going out to dinner one weekend and the movies the next, or stopping by that neat boutique store on your way home to pick up a nice box of imported chocolate for your wife? Little things like these can truly make your life so much more joyous.

Be charitable and help others, which brings your happiness to a whole new level. What feels better than knowing that you’ve helped out someone in need? According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, people who donate to charity are 43% more likely to say they are very happy about their lives than those who don’t. Besides, you don’t always have to give money to help - volunteer your time and expertise. When you watch the young trees growing at your neighborhood park, or see the smiling face of an elderly patient at your local hospital, wouldn’t you feel like a million bucks, too?

We all hope that the economy will bounce back nicely in 2012 so we can see a significant improvement in our financial situation. But before that happens, it’s not all gloom and doom; we can still take small steps with regards to the little money that we have to ensure a better and happier year ahead.   

Post-Winter Car Care

Get your workhorse in shape for the fun ahead

As the calendar flips to March, the brutal winter across the U.S. is slowly but surely loosening its grips. Although the bitter chill still delivers its bites once every few days, the outdoor thermometers clearly announce that spring is around the corner. But before heading out for the usual chores such as leaning up the lawn, replanting the garden and fixing up the front porch, or speeding down the interstate for a quick spring break, don’t neglect to take care of your loyal workhorse that has faithfully helped you through some of the worst weather conditions you’d ever seen the past few months.

Few cars manage to emerge from the winter unscathed. Sub-freezing temperatures, snow, ice, potholes and road salt, etc. all take their toll. This past winter being the harshest in many’s memory makes the need for post-winter seasonal car care all the more urgent and important.

1. Give a good wash. As soon as the weather permits, pull out the garden hose and give your car a thorough scrub down. You’d probably heeded the experts’ advice and shut the water supply to the outside faucets during the freezing days of winter, which means that you hadn’t had a chance to hose down your car for months. With all those record-breaking storms last winter, you could have a full year’s supply of salt if you were to collect the white stuff sprayed onto your car. And you know what harm salt can do to the paint and undercarriage. So take advantage of the warmer weather and get rid of all the bad stuff. Pay special attention to the under body, and don’t forget the radiator as well. If you really can’t or don’t want do it for whatever reasons, head for a car wash place; it’s definitely worth the few bucks.

2. Kick the tires. No, you don’t have to go car shopping; you just need to check if your set of tires is in good working order. Had you put snow tires on your car prior to the winter? Swap them out for the usual all-season ones for better traction and handling now that the roads are clear. If you had all-season tires on for the winter, the cold weather probably had reduced the tire pressure; and road debris under the snow that you might have run over (i.e. glass, nails), as well as those dreaded potholes could really wreak havoc on your tires. So while you check the tire pressure, it’s equally important to look for wear, tear and punctures. If it’s about time to do so, you might as well bring your car in for tire rotation, balance and perhaps wheel alignment to ensure save, smooth and fuel-efficient rides throughout the year.  

3. Examine the brakes. You might not realize it, but your brakes likely have gotten quite a bit of extra workout in the winter when you tried to avoid those dangerous ice patches and the huge potholes that weren’t there the day before, all while being eaten alive by the road salt. Nothing is more important for a car than its brakes, so it’s imperative to take a good look at whole system, including lines, hoses and the parking brake for winter damage. Low brake fluid level is an indication of a possible leak or excessive wear. If you hear continuous grinding, squealing or screeching, there is a good chance that you need new brakes.

4. Change the oil. The last winter was so cold that nobody wants to stay out there for a second too long, so chances are you haven’t done a thing for your car the for the past few months, including changing motor oil. As we all know, to minimize engine wear, you must change your oil and replace oil filters regularly according to the maintenance schedule in the owner’s manual. This is especially necessary after months of extremely cold starts and constant stops-and-goes on the snow-jammed roads. To prepare for the hot driving days ahead, you might want to consider spending a few extra bucks and switching to synthetic oil, which is specifically designed to provide better and longer lasting wear protection, and therefore help keep your engine cleaner and running a bit more smoothly.

5. Check the Battery. Did you notice that your car needed a few more cranks before it finally got started on those freezing mornings? Car batteries work overtime in the winter. The colder it gets, the more power it drains. The past winter being so cold for so long a period, it’ll be a good idea to have your battery checked out, especially if it already has more than a few year under its belt. Inspect the terminals and posts, too, and make sure they are tight and free of gunk. If corrosion is present, clean it off with a wire brush before applying a good coating of lubricant.

6. Test the air conditioning. Not everyone does this: run the air conditioning periodically in the winter so it helps to keep the system well lubricated and leak tight. Blowing cold air on a freezing day is just not a natural thing to do. If you haven’t been using the air conditioner for the past few months, the time is now to put a little test on it because you don’t want to wait until you break out a stinky sweat on a hot summer day before realizing something’s wrong. To test, turn the unit on high and to the coldest level. If the air coming out is warm, has little pressure, or with unusual noises, schedule an appointment with your favorite shop to bring the car in. It’s better to leave this kind of jobs to the pros.

A car is more than just a commuting tool that brings you from point A to point B. they keep us safe and comfortable from the elements, absorbing all sorts of abuse and harm without a whimper of complaint until the very end. They deserve a little bit of care from us, especially after such a long and brutal winter. Besides, a well-maintained car can ensure you of uninterrupted fun when the weather turns truly fabulous.

Where Are the Parents?

Being There May Make All the Difference

The traumatic shock resulted from the tragedy has made sure that we remember this surreal day of January 8, 2011. On this peaceful Saturday morning under the brilliant Arizona sun, as Time magazine reports, a taxicab pulled into the parking lot of a Tucson strip mall, and out came a crazed young man named Jared Loughner with a Glock 19 pistol. Within fifteen seconds and after 31 bullets, six people lay dead and 13 would have to fight for their lives.

Among the victims were nine-year old girl Christina Green, who just wanted to grow up “so bad” before she lost her life, and congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was the actual intended target and gravely wounded in the head.

Saddened, angry and perhaps overwhelmed, people are still trying to make sense of this senseless act of violence. And a lot of fingers started pointing each and every way.

Some political pundits are quick to blame the guns and the irony that a mad man can easily buy one in a store but a ordinary mom can’t bring a bottle of baby formula onto an airplane. Others decry extreme rhetoric that has been poisoning the political atmosphere and in the process might have finally pushed the troubled young man over the edge. But the psychiatric experts would argue that there is no way political rhetoric alone would cause a mentally ill person to commit violence.

Each camp appears to have done a convincing job making their points, but amidst all those back-and-forth debates, no one seems to want to ask, at least in public: Where were the parents before the seemingly normal young man turned into a killer?

This is a very sensitive topic; and at this difficult time, out of respect, even the normally aggressive news media are unwilling to press the “distraught” elder Loughners for answers, and rightly leave them alone. No one is in the position to pass judgment on them, nor should anyone. Let ‘s just simply step back and take a look at what we know so far.

Like most kids, Jared “was a nice, friendly boy, tooting his saxophone in the school band”, or even “a little nerdy”, as Time describes. Then he changed in his mid-teens, started drinking heavily and doing drugs, lost touch with friends and eventually dropped out of school. At this point, experts point out, Jared was already showing signs of mental illness.

This kid’s descent might have been gradual and happened over a long period of time, but it must have been obvious enough for anyone around him every day to realize. If he lives at home, normally a child’s parents should be able to notice things change about him. But was this the case with Jared’s family? Were his parents with him often enough to actually detect the changes in Jared’s behavior? What if they were able to talk things over? Perhaps they could go to a doctor, or seek counseling. Would that have helped?

By the time he turned twenty, Jared’s mental disorder had deteriorated to such a state that he established bizarre beliefs. Through his own distorted lenses, he saw a crooked world that was out to victimize him. And he decided to “fix it”. His behavior frightened his classmates so much that his community college had to ask him to stay out until he could produce a letter from a mental-health professional certifying that he was fit to return. Of course, as we now know it, he bought a gun instead.

We missed another golden opportunity to save Jared and his potential victims here. If only someone, especially his loved ones were able to heed the demand of the community college and bring him to a mental-health professional, Jared would have been correctly diagnosed and provided with proper treatments – perhaps through medications and even mental institution. Unfortunately, this never happened. Once again, the question arises: Where were the parents?

In this country individualism and independence are so highly regarded and encouraged that youngsters are often left on their own at an early age in the name of  “finding themselves”. Or many parents are just “too busy” to spend time with their kids.

Have you ever seen how a gardener plants a tree? He would find a suitable spot, dig a hole of the proper size, lay the tree in, provide enough planting soil, fertilizer and water and cover the area with mulch. Before leaving, he always makes sure to spike in two or three stakes and tether them together with the young tree! He does this because he realizes that without the support, this young life is not going to stand the elements and may not even survive the first storm it faces.

Raising a child is not much different from growing a tree. You obviously have to provide him with food and shelter, but that’s not going to be sufficient for him to live and grow up in a healthy way in this increasingly complicated and challenging environment. He needs continued support, just like a young tree needs regular watering. Just as important, he needs guidance and discipline. Temporarily tying the tree down is not going to restrict its growth; and doing some hand-holding and letting your child know the right from wrong can prevent him from going astray and help him become an asset for the society.

It’s enviable that you work for Goldman Sachs and are able to afford a 6,000-feet Mac Mansion, give your boy a gleaming BMW as soon as he got his license and throw in a iPhone G4 by the way. But are you there when he has a math problem, was hurt in a football game, or got in a fight with some bully at school?  A random stranger can provide your children with some kind of room and board, but only you the parent can give them the support and guidance that they sorely need for life.

We’ve seen this scene too often on television: A young person had got in trouble with the law and his mother weeps in front of the camera: “…He was such a good boy…couldn’t have done this…” It makes me cringe whenever I see this. Hello! This is your child; you didn’t know he dropped out of school? All these years when he was doing drugs and involved with the gangs, where were you?

Fox Channel 5 in New York has the right idea starting its evening news broadcast with this question: “It’s ten PM; do you know where your children are?”  You don’t have to be your children’s best friend; just be around them more often; get to know them; and get them to know you, too. I am sure your work schedule is very demanding, and you have other obligations, too, so time for conversations is hard to come by, as you may say. But what’s more important than the well being of your own children? Kids do listen to their parents if they are there for them. You’ve just got to make yourself available.

How about starting with having dinners together regularly as a family?

Get Going on Your Tax Return Now

The winter of 2010/2011 is no doubt the harshest ever in most people’s memory. While January has barely ended, this nation is still withering under the relentless attacks from record-breaking snowfall and ice storms, so it’s no surprise that filing for tax return is not on top of many’s to-so list. But this one of two sure things in a person’s life will show no mercy because of bad weather; and the dreaded deadline in mid-April is indeed fast approaching.

As if to show the government is at work, the IRS never stopping cooking up something new. And this year is no different. Fortunately these days there are plenty of tools and options for everyone, whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or don’t know how to spell “tax”. However you decide to prepare your return, these few pointers might help serve as reminders:

1. The forms are not in the mail. That’s right, you will not find that hefty instruction book, Publication 17, in your mailbox anymore. From this year on, the IRS has stopped sending out to tax payers their paper tax packages. The rapidly increasing use of electronic tax filing has all but eliminated the need for paper forms. And in this trying time when everyone is doing belt-tightening, this cost-cutting move makes sense. Besides, imagine how much natural resources will be saved by skipping the papers. So let’s go green! However if you still insist on doing your returns by hand, try your luck at your local IRS offices, post offices and libraries. Or you can download the forms at www.irs.gov.

2. Take advantage of free filing online. Who doesn’t like a free lunch? And you can actually get something close to it with Uncle Sam this time around. If your taxes are relatively simple and adjusted gross income is no more than $58,000, there is a Free File program for you at www.irs.gov/freefile. It links you to certain for-profit outlets (e.g. TurboTax) that will let you use a stripped-down version of their software to prepare and electronically file your federal returns at no cost. You may also take advantage of the Free File Fillable Forms on the IRS website, regardless of income, by choosing the appropriate form and fill them out right there and file online. Obviously the free stuff can only do simple calculations and provide basic help for you. For folks with higher income and more complex tax implication, you may want to step up your game and see what ‘s on the market.

3. Use commercially available tax-prep software. Various venders have been selling tax software for many years. Among the ones with the long history are TurboTax and H&R Block At Home (formerly TaxCut). There is also a new kid on block – TaxAct. While TurboTax enjoys the highest profile perhaps due to its relentless advertisement campaigns during tax time, all three works virtually the same way: Start with an interview, which collects relevant tax data from a potential filer; appropriate forms will then be chosen and filled out; upon previewed and approved by the filer, the return can be e-filed or printed out for the post office. Certain versions of these softwares allow you to import previous year’s data, even if you had used a competitor’s product. They have proven to be reasonably easy, reliable and cost-efficient. With decent accuracy guaranty and audit assistance, hence peace of mind, no wonder this form of tax filing is gaining popularity steadily over the years.

4. Choose a tax professional wisely. More than half of Americans still pay someone to do their taxes, with somewhat mixed results. One of reasons is the varying levels of training, from board-certified professionals, such as CPA’s to enrolled agents like the seasonal employees at H&R Block. Fees charged is another concern. You might have to pay a CPA upward of $300 for an itemized return while someone on the Craig’s List advertises a cut-rate $99. All factors being considered, look for an experienced professional with clients similar to you in terms of tax and economical situations. Also bear in mind that true professionals such as CPAs and reputable enrolled agents, once hired, usually represent you before the IRS in all matters, including audits, collections and appeals. Avoid tax preparers who base their fees on the amount of your refund, and run if someone asks you to sign a blank form.

5. Get moving now! Remember that whether you do it yourself or go to a professional, you are responsible for all the information on your return, which mean every single piece of document that is relevant. Some of them, such as the W-2 from your employer and 1099 from your savings bank or stockbroker, will be sent to you automatically, while some others, including the receipt for that brand new desk now sitting pretty in you home office or that gigantic tuition bill for your daughter’s med school, are totally your responsibility to put together. Looking for and getting all the needed documents in order require more time and efforts than you might think, and the filing deadline always approaches faster than most people want. There is no reason to procrastinate, especially when you, like most of us, are expecting to have an added bonus for early filing – a tax refund! 

For many, filing returns resembles going to the dentist: it’s not always pleasant and even painful sometimes, but a must-do. However, taking proper measures and giving yourself a head start can indeed make tax preparation a less taxing process. 

How to Make Your Money Resolutions Stick

Sometimes you need to force your hands

Whew, you made it! What a tough couple of years! After surviving the disastrous 2009 and managing to climb out the deep hole of 2010 in one piece, you promised yourself on the New Year’s Day of 2011: Never again! So you made New Year’s investing resolutions and determine to save successfully. And you are set for a productive and prosperous year!

Ironically, a study shows that about a quarter of Americans abandon their resolutions within one week after the ball drops at Time Square. Contributing to my Roth IRA? There is still time. Cutting back on spending? But Best Buy is having this clearance sales going on. What about supporting the Red Cross? Well, we are still kind of tight, aren’t we…

No one would argue that it’s easy to keep your resolutions, especially those that involve life-altering moves. But some tried-and-true measures can help put you on the right track to reach your financial goals where many others have failed.

1. Start early. Don’t wait until the new years’ bell rings before uttering your resolutions; they may be just some impulsive and vague wishes that you are likely to forget once the your hang over subsides. Instead, plan way before the old year ends so you can have time to look back when the memory is still fresh and give some real good thoughts, without pressure and distraction, on what have worked, what need to be worked on and come up with sensible goals. The company froze my pay so I decided to brown-bag my lunches, and somehow manage to do just fine. But I haven’t funded my Roth IRA for quite a while now; maybe next year… Call these “pre-resolutions”; you will have a full list of to-dos for the new year before everyone else rushes to the Time Square. Better yet, start acting on them, albeit a little bit at a time. You’ll have a head start and be gaining momentum going into January 1^st when TV reporters starting popping the same old question to the wide-eyed revelers. 

2. Be realistic. Let’s be honest here: if you are making $50,000 a year from a 9 to 5 job, you are not going to save up $60,000 by December without the help of a healthy lottery jackpot or some kind of illegal activities. Hoping for something too far-fetched will only make you lose your hope soon and therefore desert your goals fast. Instead, take good inventory of your financial condition: your assets, liabilities, incomes and average expenses for the past six months, and you get a pretty clear snap shot of your reality. Remember to differentiate your “needs” from your “wants”. Every home keeps a different book; one’s cake could be another’s pie in the sky. So proceed with care when making your new year’s resolutions. Do you really need to pursue that 6,000 square feet Mac Mansion on the beach? And perhaps your noble pledge to donate $20,000 this year to United Way is not very practical after all. Failed resolutions can cause you to fall back on your old poor money habits that bring you farther away from your financial goals.  

3. Draw plans. In the moment of impulse, people tend to spit out vague words like “Start saving for my kids’ college” or “be responsible in spending” without much of a clue what to do next. This lack of planning will most likely lead you to ditch your grand resolutions without even feeling guilty about it – you were just talking about it, after all. So if you really mean to do something, take time to create a detailed plan on everything about it. Say junior is ten years away from college; you are kind enough to decide to help him out and understand that a 529 plan is good way to go. Now here is the plan: You can afford $6,000 a year, so do research on each weekend in January and decide on a plan, pick the funds, fill out the application and mail it out with your first contribution of $500 by the first weekend of February. Soon enough you’ll get your first statement that shows junior’s 529 is up and running. So is your resolution of “saving for college”.

4. Handicap yourself. Life is full of temptations that can derail your very best plans. It has been kind of tough the past couple of years; you have dinner at home almost every night, still watch television on that 12-year old bulky 27-inch CRT set, and has postponed your dream Hawaii vacation five times! Every body is entitled to some indulgence and splurge after this painful belt-tightening, right? You know you want it. But when your “wants” start becoming a distraction for your goals, you need to have your hands tied before they reach into the cookie jar. If you haven’t done it already, how about setting up a 401(k) or 403(b) plan with your employer?  Once established, an allowable amount will be deducted from your payroll each pay period and invested in your plan, which you can’t touch without penalties until retirement. In the case of your junior’s 529 plan, make sure that on the application form you have authorized automatic withdrawals of your $500 monthly contribution from your checking account, so that it’ll be on cruise control.

5. Recruit enforcers. Still find yourself itching for the dough? Time to get others, particularly your loved ones involved. If you wanted to cut household spending and yet every month find yourself $30 away from emptying the kitty with more than ten days to go, perhaps you want to turn the book over to your more frugal better half, and run the number by him/her before you go out and buy again. You may also take advantage of today’s electronic gadgets, such as your computers and cellular phones, which should have enough scheduling firepower to alert you when it’s time for action. Empower your children, too – inform them of your resolutions and plans, and let them check off the “done” items on the list. That way, if you by any chance drop the ball on making a contribution to junior’s 529 plan, you sure will hear from him to no end.  

Year over year so many people make and soon drop their new year’s resolutions. It’s not because they don’t have the genuine desire to follow through; or because it’s too hard. Very often people lack a concrete plan, or a clear road map and the necessary discipline to guide them through the maze of money saving and investing. They become disoriented, get lost and eventually drop out of the race to reach their goals. We can do better. Let 2011 be the year in which we get our acts together and make our money resolutions stick.

How to Save Successfully

Common sense and good health make saving sustainable

Tightening the belt is no fun, especially for many Americans, who had been so accustomed to Hummers and Mac Mansions. Although the recent financial crisis and economical downturn have re-instilled some sense of thrift in our lives, judging from the speed of large flat screen TV’s flying off the shelves during the last Christmas shopping season, saving is still in many people’s back burner.

It’s true that the stock market is back; the economy is steadily improving; and the national savings rate has rebounded from a negative number in 2006 to almost six percent in October 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economy Analysis. But compare to many other countries, including developing ones such as China, we still have a long way to go.

Saving is a life-long project; it could be a struggle for those who haven’t formed a good habit for it. But a few basic approaches and some common sense can make this a nearly painless process, and therefore keep you on the right track.

1. Live beneath your means. This can’t be obvious enough: You spend less than you make, and you have money to save! The problem is too many of us think they have the “need” to spend so much that they end up having only thirty dollars left at the end of the month. But is an iPhone really a “need”? Are weekend getaways just luxury or actual necessity? Of course you get different answers from a guy who gets a quarter-million-dollar bonus from his Wall Street firm than from a lady who flips burgers at a McDonald’s. One person's indulgence may be another's basic need. A brand new set of black Italian leather sofas looks great in the living room, but in terms of giving yourself a chance to save, we must determine what is really a “need” and not simply a “want”.

2. Set a budget. How do you make sure that you won’t run out of money before you next paycheck? You’ve got to know what you must pay for first: food, housing, utilities, basic clothing, transportation and medications, etc. Dig out those old bills (if you are fortunate enough to have kept them) for the past few months and see how much they cost you on average per month. These are your “needs” that you must take care of first. Now find out how much you have splurged on things like eating out, fancy clothes or that cruise trip to the Bahamas – those might well be your “wants”. Now you know where all the money has gone. Compare it with your regular payment checks for a month, and you have a very good idea whether the 61-inch LED TV that is supposed to be “on sale” will fit neatly under your means. Check out Websites like Mint.com, which can let you keep track of your worth and spending, and ultimately help you establish some kind of budget.  

3. Make saving a habit. A good budget can help you successfully live beneath your means, which in turn can leave you with some free cash on hand. This is tempting. After all, the past couple of years had been tough; we haven’t been to a single skiing trip for three years; our Honda Accord is five years old and I heard the Porsche Cayenne is pretty good! Well, beware of the slippery slope – you’ve been down there before. Why not squirrel away a good part, if not all of the cash after paying off all the budgeted “needs”, putting it in a savings account for emergency money or investing it in an IRA for your retirement? Better yet, how about designate 10% of your take-home salary as savings to start the day? When there is less to spend, you’ll be more likely to make better choices with the money. Any ways you do it, once you establish a good habit you’ll sure see your savings cache grow.

4. Let saving be painless.  Most in the U.S. are pretty much wired to spend whatever amount of money they have coming in, if not more, thanks to the exuberantly booming economy the past decades until its crash. It has become difficult for some to identify “needs”, and even painful for them to part with their “wants”. No wonder there are so many people crying that they are “barely making ends meet”. So I believe the best way to deal with this tendency to overspend is to limit the amount of money you have available for spending. Why not try having an allowable amount automatically deducted from your payroll to fund a 401(k) account? You can’t touch the money without penalties until retirement. Your employer is hiding it away for you; you won’t see it on your paycheck so you can’t spend that part of your salary. The whole process is running nearly silently on the background with little for you to worry about once you’ve set it up. And you are saving automatically and painlessly.

5. Stay Healthy. This does not appear to have much connection with saving money on the surface, and most personal financial experts fail to make it a point in their advice. But it’s easy to see how illness affects your wallet. You don’t need anyone to tell you that Health care costs have been rising forever. In fact, expenditures in the United States on health care surpassed $2.3 trillion in 2008, amounting to about $7,681 per resident. And this is just the average that has included the healthy. The daily pre-meal doses of insulin are both painful and costly, practically drilling holes in your pockets; while a major heart surgery, which often runs the tab in hundreds of thousand dollars, will easily wipe out the entire savings of most people. So eat right, exercise regularly and don’t skip your annual physicals anymore. Only when you are in good shape can you be the most productive and cost effective, and therefore on top of this savings game.  

It’s never too early or too late to start saving. And it doesn’t have to painful, either. These basic approaches are simple to follow and can be done by anyone as long as you have the will to do it. Every single one of them alone can yield some result for you. Let them work together, and you bet you will enjoy significant gains in no time. So “now” is a good time to gain control of your life and start racking up some savings.