Cash for Caulkers

An interesting read from our friends at Yahoo Green!!

Details for the U.S. government's Cash for Caulkers program aren't available yet, but it's not too early to start thinking about how to cash in on the proposed stimulus program.
"Homeowners that educate themselves will be the first ones to take advantage of the program," says Lane Burt, at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He recommends that you get educated about your home now so you'll know what kinds of changes you'd like to make when the money becomes available. This is good point when you remember that Cash for Clunkers ran out of cash in the end. "Understand what you want to do so that you're not the one left in line when the program runs out of money," says Burt.
While the details are still being hammered out, there are potentially two ways to have the government help with the costs of making your home more energy efficient:

1. One idea is that an accredited buildings professional would come in to conduct an energy audit to determine where energy efficiency improvements can be made, help you decide on a plan of action, and then execute that plan. The expectation is that homeowners could get back 50 percent of what they spend up to a maximum rebate of $12,000.
2. The other way to get government money is to buy an energy-efficient furnace, windows, or other component. There are federal rebates already available and several states also offer rebates for purchasing energy-efficient appliances and more.   

If you decide to make changes yourself and get a rebate on an individual purchase, then know that which order to make home improvements in is important. You'll want to seal leaks and tighten your building's shell so the air you pay to warm or cool doesn't leak out before you buy a new furnace, for example.
While we're all waiting for the proposal to get passed, Burt suggests thinking what your home needs. Figure out where you are wasting energy. Take a look at your energy bill and compare it to others in the area. Start looking for leaks. Look at ducts and make sure they are all connected.
Do the things that you can do yourself and that don't cost much money. Some suggestions:

• Install a programmable thermostat.
• Weatherstrip windows and doors.
• Caulk the obvious leaks.
• Insulate your water heater.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs or efficient halogens.

These are all baseline changes that should be made before you embark on more extensive changes so that you can maximize energy and money savings.
Also, think about whether you want to hire a contractor and go for the whole-house approach or if you'd like to pick one project to focus on.
Experts say that you'll most likely need to hire a professional contractor to get the most financial support from the government. If you hire a contractor, that person will tell you exactly where you can save money and in which order you should make changes so that you can maximize savings.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users.

Tax Preparation - How To Make The Process Easier

The holiday season is over, hopefully it has produced some great memories, but alas, it is time to get back to work. It is this time of the year that the government particularly wants you to get to work gathering all your paper work for the end of the year tax preparation.

Using a Naperville accountant to file taxes makes sense. Undoubtedly, they are better informed and are updated on the new and changed taxes laws. Using a professional accountant has definite benefits over using the internet to file on your own. Even if you only have a part-time income or a minimal amount of income for the year an accountant may still be able to find ways to get you a better return. Let us help you keep more of what you have earned.

Working with an accountant on your tax preparation will require gathering together all of your financial information. There are methods to make this process less burdensome. The best way to be prepared for this year's tax preparation is to have started with a complete filing system immediately having filed last year. However, if you didn't do that, there's no better time than the present.  First begin by creating a filing system and label all of your folders with the proper identification such as Income, deductions, receipts, and records.

You should also create an income folder that includes any w2's for the year. You may have several w2's if you worked for more than one employer during the year. If you worked on a freelance basis then you should receive form 1099's from any client that you did more than $600 worth of work with. Your income folder should also include any investments that you may have had during the year. This may include dividends and interest income and a 1099-DIV or 1099-INT for this income.

You will also need to gather together all of your deduction information and place it into a folder marked deductions. Your deductions may include any charitable donations including any receipts for material donations such as clothing or furniture. All of these types of donations are deductible. You should also have records of any student loan interest, mortgage interest, military expenses, moving expenses, self-employment expenses and taxes, tuition, property taxes, your tax preparation fee and medical expenses.

You may also want to keep a separate folder for all of your receipts pertaining to all expense including those covered by the deductions folder. Or you may decide to keep these in the deductions folder. Either way in order to claim a deduction or expense you will need a receipt.

There is other information that you may also want to keep track of including investment property income and expenses, vehicle registration, any property theft and social security income, you may also keep track of any gambling losses. The good thing about getting organized for Naperville tax preparation is that you will have the filing system in place to use for the following year; the trick will be to keep it up and be sure to file things throughout the year.