Practical Financial Tips - Q3 2012

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Christy Fuentes Loan Officer Citywide Mortgage Phone: (405)514-6401 Fax: (405)794-4263 License: 218690 christyfuentesloans@gmail.com www.christyfuentesloans.net   How to Make Extra Money Blogging    By John Miley, Kiplinger.com You won't get rich as a blogger, but even a part-timer can make $100 a month or more. More visitors mean more cash. Start by picking a topic you're passionate about – the more specific, the better (for example, "fly fishing in Montana" instead of "fly fishing"). Sign up for a blog template, such as Wordpress, Blogger or Tumblr, and start posting regularly. Schedule a week's worth of posts on a free day if you don't have time to write every day. Above all, be original, says Jessica Quirk, blogger at WhatIWore.Tumblr.com. "You really have no hook without original content," she says. Use social media to attract a community and keep them engaged. As your audience grows, post advertising. Google's Adsense, a free program that lets you embed ads on your site, gives you a cut of the profits. Track your traffic and increase the type of posts that reel in the most visits, comments or re-posts. For tips, search your blog template's Web site for free tutorials and forums. Reprinted with permission. All Contents ©2012 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Kiplinger.com.   Donating Your Car to a Charity Getting rid of an old car can seem difficult. If it's not in the best shape, you may be reluctant to sell it to someone because you're concerned it may break down and they'll come back to you complaining. Of course, you probably don't want to pay someone to just haul it away. Another option is to donate the vehicle to a charity in exchange for a deduction on your taxes. It's a good idea to first consult a tax professional to see if this option is right for you. The following tips can also help: 1. Make sure your charity has 501(c)(3) status. If your intended charity doesn't have this type of status, your donation will most likely not be tax deductible. 2. Make sure the charity accepts vehicle donations directly. Many charities use companies that act as middlemen in the process. In these situations, the companies keep a percentage of the donation as payment for their role. Sometimes their cut is quite high, so do your homework before deciding on a charity. 3. Drive your car to the charity as opposed to having them pick it up. Hiring a service or a tow truck to claim the donation will cut into the amount of money your charity ultimately receives. 4. Understand how your deduction is valued. Discuss with the charity how much your vehicle is worth and how much you can deduct from your taxes - and make sure the charity is aware of and abides by the law when assigning value. 5. Sign over your car to the charity. If a charity asks you not to assign ownership, you should go elsewhere. The problem is that if you do not transfer the title, the car is legally still yours. Think about the liability issue this presents. 6. Get a receipt after the car is sold. It's a worthy point that requires no explanation.   Is Yapta for You? You've worked hard to save for that summer vacation and finally booked your flight and hotel room...only to find that several days later they've dropped significantly in price. Sound familiar? If so, then check out Yapta.com! Launched in May 2007, Yapta, or "your amazing personal travel assistant," tracks prices of airfares and hotel rooms to help you secure cheap rates. What's more, Yapta also tracks for airline refunds, credits and vouchers after you've purchased your airline ticket. If the price of your flight drops below what you originally paid, you will receive a notification which tells you that the airline carrier you're flying may owe you a refund. Here are a few important things for you to know: Yapta requires you to register with them by providing your email address, a password, and your first and last name. Yapta does not get you an automatic refund if you have overpaid. Rather, it lists the various airline refund policies on their website, and not all policies are the same. Some airlines offer refunds for any drop in price, whereas other major airlines only offer refunds if the price drops $150 plus. Yapta has an app that can be easily downloaded to your iPhone, iPad and iTouch. Yapta also posts airfare alerts on their Twitter, which is @yapta.