Money Tips Network

Tax time.  It’s just around the corner.  Yay.

But there’s a bright spot in figuring taxes for most of us:  deductions.  Those subtractions that pare down the adjusted gross income (AGI) that is the primary benchmark that determines your tax rate, and ultimately your tax.  There are a number of kinds of deductions.  One kind is a deduction for extensive medical or dental expenses that was first introduced in 1942.  People could deduct the portion of their “extraordinary” medical or dental expenses that exceeded 5% of their AGI (subject to a cap).

As of last year, the floor is now double that for people under 65.  You’ll need to shell out fully 10% of your AGI in medical and dental expenses before you can deduct a dime of them.  (In 2017, everyone, young and old, will be subject to this floor.)

Naked With Cash is an ongoing series at Consumerism Commentary in which readers share their households’ finances with other readers. These participants benefit from the accountability that comes from tracking their finances publicly and the feedback of the four expert Certified Financial Planners (CFPs).

For more information, read this introduction.

Everybody has their own travel style, along with preferred systems and tricks to make it easier, quicker, safer, and more enjoyable. But don't just ask me: I've asked the hardcore travel community to share their own travel secrets. Here are the 25 best secrets of these frequent travelers around the world. (See also: Things You're Paying Too Much for When You Travel)

Research and Booking

Here are some tips for booking cheaply and expediently, as well as taking the pain out of researching your travel arrangements.

This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson.

Growing up, I learned all kinds of money lessons from my mother. An avid saver, she socked away every cent that she possibly could. She cut coupons, shopped at garage sales, and drove cars without heat or air conditioning. She even paid for our family piano with money she got from refunding (people often earned extra money sending in for small rebates in the ’80s), and paid off my childhood home in 17 years instead of 30 just by making extra payments religiously, every single month.

Whether you're searching for a new job or just looking to boost your networking power, LinkedIn has proven to be a unique and powerful tool in the professional development game. In addition to giving users a place to showcase their talents and connections, it has become a top-contender in the rankings of Google search results — often showing up higher in searches than competing social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. (See also: 25 Websites to Help You Get a Job)

MSN Money details what they call the "50/20/30 rule" for budgeting as follows:

According to the 50/20/30 rule, your monthly budget should be divided into three distinct categories of expenses: 50 percent should be reserved for essentials (think housing and food), 30 percent should be allocated for lifestyle choices (things like nights out and 121 channels of cable) … and at least 20 percent should go toward what we call “financial priorities,” which include debt payments, retirement contributions and, of course, savings.

This is the first time I've heard of this "rule" and wondered what you all think of it?

Personally, here's the progress I suggest for people:

This article first appeared at U.S. News and World Report Money.

Most of the personal finance information that we hear and see is delivered in bite-sized nuggets, often in the form of investment recommendations and short cautionary tales.

Because it’s all delivered in such little pieces, it’s hard to step back and get the big picture of how spending, life goals, parenting, and investing all overlap in our lives. It’s not all about earning as much as you can to just save it and spend it according to some recipe.

Here are four books that are invaluable reads for reconsidering your entire life, not just your financial life, and how to actually transform those life decisions into sensible money choices.

“Don’t think money does everything, or you are going to end up doing everything for money.” – Voltaire

It’s not too uncommon for a frugal person to hear the criticism that they are “cheap.” At the same time, it’s also not too uncommon for a wealthy person to hear the criticism that they are somehow corrupt or that they would do anything for a buck.

Both of these criticisms – whether accurate or not – come from the same central idea, that people who conserve and accumulate money are putting money ahead of other human values.

They’re making a value judgment, in other words. You’re presenting an appearance of placing money above values that they consider more important – whether that’s true or not.

I’m one of the last people to ever suggest that anyone should put a ton of weight into what other people think of them. It’s not worth it.

It's here: the time of year when New Year's resolutions curl up and die. We're already at the end of February, which means that most resolutions have been broken, if not abandoned outright. (See also: How to Make Your Resolutions Stick)

If you are considering giving up your resolutions for weight loss and/or eating better, think again. Sometimes, these resolutions are too difficult to attack head on. However, if you can trick yourself into eating less, you just might be able to achieve more success with these resolutions than you had dreamed possible.