Eddie Patel

The Most Simple Change You Can Make to Meet Your Weight Loss Goals

2012-01-29T15:22:04Z

For all the information that exists on the internet, in magazines, and on tv about how to effectively lose weight, it blows my mind how people still struggle to understand that weight loss is so much more about PSYCHOLOGY, then PHYSIOLOGY.

At this point (and really since the advent of Google), I think we all inherently understand what science says we need to eat. Sugar is bad, large portion sizes are bad, fiber is good, protein is good and veggies are no brainers. I would go a step simpler and say that we can all agree that NATURAL = GOOD, MAN MADE/MAN ALTERED = BAD.

So if we all understand what we need to do, why aren't we doing it? After over a decade searching for answers, I have finally come to the conclusion that the single most important key to not only weight loss, but mental dominance over my daily goals, both personally and in my work, is

High Income Earners Can Still Contribute to a Roth IRA, You Just Have to Go in the "Backdoor"

2012-01-24T13:04:21Z

Although there was a media blitz on this topic back in 2010, ROTH conversions have not taken hold to nearly the degree I think they should have when the income limit was lifted. A ROTH conversion is nothing more than taking any traditional IRA, paying the income taxes that would be due on it, and ending up with a ROTH IRA.

So why would anyone do this? If you expect future income tax rates to be higher (which it seems inevitable that they will be) having money in traditional IRA's will be a large tax trap that you'll regret you didnt avoid. Additionally, ROTH IRA's come with a myriad of other benefits as I'll discuss at a later time.

For those of you making more than $125,000, the IRS effectively says you can not contribute to a ROTH IRA. But what if there was a "secret backdoor" that could bypass this restriction. There is...

It works like this: Simply make a contribution to a traditional IRA and DO NOT, take an income tax deduction on your tax return for the year of the contribution. After your filing is in, you can convert the traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA via standard conversion rules. Lather, rinse, repeat as they say and do this every year. The effect will be the same as if you had been allowed to contribute to ROTH IRA's in the first place!

Residential Investment Property Basics: 5 Key Factors to Consider

2011-12-24T03:21:43Z

I get asked by my clients all the time for the key to buying good investment property and while there seems to be a lot of angles you could come at this question with, I think the best way to analyze investment property is from the following 5 factors:

Personal Liquidity - How much money do you have for the down payment, associated closing costs, and for mortgage payments in the event of vacancy? Do you have enough money to weather a repair storm? Will you be on sound financial footing after the acquisition as it pertains to your personal life?

What is the Section 179 Tax Deduction?

2011-12-10T20:42:03Z

Section 179 is a fairly simple, yet often overlooked provision of the tax code which allows a small business to deduct in full, the purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software.

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For example, suppose you are in the newspaper printing business and you need a new printing press costing $50,000. Also suppose your business will earn $100,000, net of your other expenses. If you buy the press, you may use section 179 to write off its full value, and therefore only pay tax on $50,000 of income.

Without section 179, you would have to use a depreciation schedule to figure out how much of the $50,000 was actually tax deductible. The result would be nowhere near as favorable.

To get more detailed information about section 179 and it's possible limitation and applications, check back to my blog as I continue to post about the topic. In the meantime, you can visit section179.org for a wealth of section 179 information.

Cook County Will Roll Back Sales Taxes .25%

2011-12-09T16:45:08Z

In a bulletin received in my office this past Tuesday, Cook County announced a sales tax rollback. Here are the new rates and schedule:

Current Rate (as of 12/31/11) New Rate (as of 01/01/12)

1. 8.50% 1. 8.25%

2. 8.75% 2. 8.50%

3. 9.00% 3. 8.75%

... ...

And so on and so forth. Check your Cook County Sales Tax Rate by visiting:

http://tax.illinois.gov

2012 Social Security Payroll Tax Changes

2011-12-07T17:37:37Z

The SSA (Social Security Administration) has announced that the 2012 employee social security rate will increase to 6.2%, up from 4.2% in 2011. This will mean more social security tax clipped from your paychecks. You will pay this tax on the first $110,100 in wages you receive in 2012. This figure is also up from the previous wage limit of $106,800.

Last year if you made $110,000, you paid $4485.00 in social security tax. Under the new announcement you will be paying $6820.00 -- a SIGNIFICANT increase.

As a side note, this has been the subject of great political debate over the last few months. Republicans claim to oppose any tax increase while Democrats have urged repeatedly for Republicans to help them pass an extension of the existing 4.2% rate. At this time, no action has been taken.

Without political action, this post will stand.

Hiring the Wrong Employees Can Break the Back of your Business

2011-11-30T16:53:30Z

As a small business owner myself, I know all too well the pain of hiring bad employees. If you are a small business owner, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Bad employees can disrupt your daily work flow, cost you a lot of money, and ruin the morale of your existing team.

I stumbled on a great hiring tips video from Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy. In summary Bob suggests:

1. Be Patient

Don't be so quick to hire your employees. Take your time, do your research. An employee hired in under ten minutes can break you even quicker than that.

Retirement Readiness for the 99% is at Crisis Levels

2011-11-29T17:49:10Z

Below is an excerpt from an article first written today and published by PAULA AVEN GLADYCH. She writes for a benefits newsletter I find to be quite useful. It concerns the ability of most Americans to retire and it paints quite a bleak picture for those prospects. Let me know what you think by commenting at the bottom.

Retirement readiness hits crisis level for small business workers

Seventy-five percent of small business owners polled in a recent survey said they agree that most American workers are financially unprepared for retirement, but only one in five small businesses offer their employees a 401(k) or other employee self-funded retirement plan.

The Nationwide Financial/Harris Poll of 501 small business owners also found that only 11 percent of respondents plan to add an employee-sponsored 401(k) plan within the next two years. Sixty-nine percent say their business is too small and more than half say it is too expensive.

Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments Due Dates for 2011 and 2012

2011-11-29T01:24:08Z

Are you self employed or an independent contractor? Are you someone who received a block of income on which federal income tax was not withheld (Eg. Annuity Distribution, IRA distribution, bad debt forgiveness, etc.)?

If you answered yes, then you have to pay attention to estimated tax payment deadlines. These are the deadlines on which you must pay your share of federal income taxes that would have been owed on that money.

Here is a summary of due dates for your reference:

Quarter	Period	2011 Due Dates	2012 Due Dates
Q1	January 1 – March 31	April 18, 2011	April 17, 2012
Q2	April 1 – May 31	June 15, 2011	June 15, 2012
Q3	June 1 – August 31	September 15, 2011	September 17, 2012
Q4	September 1 – December 31	January 17, 2012	January 15, 2013

Living Outside Your Means: 5 Signs That You May Be Living a Financial Lie

2011-11-28T19:07:51Z

I thought I would post this great article I found about the psychology behind people who are seemingly happy, but are really living outside of their means.

http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/dollars-sense/5-signs-youre-living-financial-lie.html