Rabu, 09 Maret 2011

A Life Of Their Own: Top 5 Cars That Were Built To Last: Bible Money Matters

A Life Of Their Own: Top 5 Cars That Were Built To Last: Bible Money Matters

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A Life Of Their Own: Top 5 Cars That Were Built To Last

Posted: 09 Mar 2011 04:52 AM PST


Reliable Dependable Cars

My oldest sun turned 16 recently and you know what that means; he’ll be on the road soon.

He’s a good kid, I trust him to be a safe driver but that sill leaves the task of finding him a good first car. For the first time in a decade or two, I’m in the market for a vehicle. A lot has changed, but not everything. There’s still the same list of things to consider when thinking about which car to buy.

Some folks want something that goes super fast and will get them from place to place as fast as physically possible and look flashy while they’re doing it.

Some want something as a sort of status item to let people know that they are successful.

If you’re like me, something that gets good gas mileage is nice, but you’re really looking for something with some longevity. A car that you can depend on to never let you down. For this reason, I consolidated my research into a list of my personal favorite top 5 cars built to last.

Top 5 Dependable Cars Built To Last

  1. Porsche Boxster

  2. I know what you’re thinking, “Really? You’re going to get your 16-year-old a porsche?” No way. This obviously isn’t going to be my son’s first car, but I repeatedly ran into this car when researching about dependability in vehicles. On most occasions, the Porsche Boxster stood head and shoulders above others in its class as far as reliability. The Boxster was introduced in the mid '90s as a light weight, turn hugging speed machine, featuring a 2.5 litre flat 6 engine. In 2000, they released a variant with a 3.2 litre and upped the base class to 2.7. From release to today, the Porsche Boxster remains one of the most dependable “vroom” cars out there.

  3. The good old VW Bug

  4. In 1933, Ferdinand Porsche was comissioned to create a car for use by the greater German populous. Thus, a people’s car (or Volkswagen in German) was born with integrety through simplicity and economy being the basic ideas behind it’s conception. The factory survived ally controlled Germany in the mid to late 40s by serving to produce cars for the British army. The factory was almost moved to Britain but the British government decided it would be a massive waste of money and an un-marketable flop. Finally in the 60s, 70s and 80s the factory was pushed back to full production, distributing internationally and playing a major roll in the German economic recovery. To this day, the Volkswagen Beetle in America and Britain alike remains reminiscent of the 60s and 70s and one of the most simply built, dependable and economic vehicles of its time.

  5. Jeep

  6. To this day, enthusiasts can’t come to an agreement about the origin of its name: a sluration of the army name “General Purpose” or GP or of GPW (G for government, P to designate it’s 80″ wheel base and W for it’s Willys-Overland designed engine). Originally developed for militaristic use as a light transport vehicle during WWII, Chrysler’s Jeep set a trend for four-wheel-drive SUV’s that is still an important image in today’s culture. They kept true to the idea that simple means dependable and created a rock solid vehicle that rarely if ever breaks down. When and if a Jeep does break down, the engine and frame were designed to allow complete strip down and rebuild in a matter of hours. Although not number one on my list, this is my personal favorite.

  7. Honda Accord

  8. Between 1982 and 1997, the Honda Accord was consistently the best selling Japanese car in America. Honda developed that title built around a name that became synonymous with dependability. The name “Accord” was meant to be symbolic of “Honda’s desire for accord and harmony between people, society and the automobile.” In 1982, the Accord became the first Japanese car to be manufactured on U.S. soil in Marysville Ohio, concreting its position in one of the largest automobile markets in the world.

  9. Toyota Corolla

  10. Staying true to Toyota’s tradition in using the variations on the word “Crown” in their main models, Corolla is Latin for “small crown.” Introduced in 1966, the Corolla is widely accepted as one of the most dependable, most economical cars ever, breaking the molded cliche of shoddy Asian car production. In 1997, the Corolla earned the title of the best selling nameplate in the history of cars and has maintained that through the new millennium. Over 35 million Corollas were sold as of 2007. Over the last 40 years, has been sold on average every 40 seconds. Where economy and dependability are concerned, it seems Corolla can’t be beat.

What are your thoughts on this list? Do you have your own car that you’d put up as the most reliable car? Tell us in the comments!

John is an Operation Freedom War veteran and a frugal father. Along with raising his son, he is a manager for Airsplat, the nation’s largest retailer of Airsoft Guns including Spring Airsoft Rifles.

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This article was written by Guest Poster. We love guest contributors here at Bible Money Matters. Would you like to write for us as well? Please check out out our guest post submission guidelines and then contact us with your post idea!


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How To Find Your Unclaimed Money

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 05:21 AM PST


How To Find Unclaimed Money

Right now there are billions of dollars in unclaimed money, just waiting to be united with their rightful owner! No, this isn’t a scam or some lottery, but various state treasurers and other agencies are holding cash that may belong to you! A recent article on Market Watch highlighted this problem.

What Is Unclaimed Money?

Well, unclaimed money and unclaimed property are just what they sound like. It is money (or property) that has not been claimed by the rightful owner. This homeless money is usually the result of missed paychecks, refunds, insurance settlements, dividends, and even estates.

Apparently, even the rich and famous have unclaimed money that is owed to them. Another Market Watch story reported the following:

The state of New Jersey is holding an "unknown" amount for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, tied to his last known address there. In addition a "Ben S. Bernanke, Stanford" is owed $72 reported to California by American Express Company. Bernanke taught at Stanford in the 1980s and at Princeton in the 1990s.

Actress Angelina Jolie is owed $659.01 in salaries and wages reported to the state of California by The Walt Disney Company & Affiliates.

Bradd (sic) Pitt of Malibu is owed $5,000, reported to California by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Johnny Depp is owed $2,159.06, reported by Porsche Cars North America Inc.

Zsa Zsa Gabor is owed 129.35, reported by Warner Bros. Film and Entertainment.

It would seem as though either a failure to report an address change or a clerical error (misspelled name for instance) are the primary reasons behind all of this lost cash!

Since you are reading this article, you have no excuse when it comes to keeping your employers, financial institutions, and even relatives updated with your mailing address and contact information!

How To Find Your Unclaimed Money

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators has a database that covers both the United States and Canada, which attempts to connect state governments “that actively find owners while protecting forgotten funds until claimed”.

You are able to select your state or province, and then enter your name in a search (remember to try common misspellings) to see if you might have some unclaimed money lying around! Their site also provides a lot of information and other tools to assist you in your search.

Also, you can check out Missing Money’s list of each state’s Unclaimed Property Division (or the equivalent for your state).  There are also for-profit companies that will help you to check for lost money or property, like CashUnclaimed.com.   Be careful however as some of those sites can be a bit shady.

Most state treasurers actively cross check public data, use various websites, and some even hold “awareness events” at public functions, all in an effort to match unclaimed property with the lost owners. In FY 2006 there was over $1.75 billion returned to the rightful owners from over 1.9 million accounts!

Having the same name that appears in an unclaimed money database isn’t enough to claim the cash – you will also need to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are the correct person. Be prepared to show every form of identification that you have, including pay stubs and bank statements.

There are also many companies and non-profit organizations that have money due to them, so be sure to check those names as well, if applicable.

Don’t forget that you may have to pay taxes on your new-found money – especially if it is a payment of income, capital gains, dividends, or even an inheritance.   Speaking of taxes, while you’re at it don’t forget to check and see if you can claim a past tax refund that you never collected!

Reader Questions

  1. Have you ever had to track down any lost money?
  2. Were you ever contacted by a state agency or other company who was looking for the owner of unclaimed money?
  3. Do you think there is a more efficient way of handling situations like these?

This article was written by Khaleef Crumbley. Khaleef founded KNS Financial in order to assist people with financial matters in a more organized and systematic way. KNS Financial provides Personal Financial advice, Budgeting Assistance, Tax Preparation and Advice, Debt Management, and Economic Commentary. He also writes for the Faithful With A Few blog where he seeks to help Christians understand how to manage their finances in a way that honors God. Be sure to subscribe in order to keep up with Khaleef's writing.


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Unclaimed Tax Refunds: Do You Have A Refund Waiting For You?

Posted: 28 Feb 2011 11:37 AM PST


Unclaimed Tax Refunds

The IRS estimates 1.1 million taxpayers who neglected to file a 2007 return are eligible for refunds, but that they had better act soon. The deadline for claiming a refund for that tax year is April 18th of 2011, and you must file a return to get a refund.

1.1 million taxpayers didn’t file their taxes in 2007 and the IRS believes that there are about $1.1 billion in unclaimed tax refunds from that year. They are kind enough to mention it this year because this will be the last year in which you can file your 2007 tax return. The IRS gives you three years to file a tax return and you have until April 18th of 2011, since it’s the due date of your 2010 tax return, to file your 2007 tax return to see if you are due a refund. Half of those taxpayers are set to receive a refund of at least $640, which is much smaller than the average tax refund that year but still a sizable chunk of change.

So for those who didn’t file a good number of them are set to receive a refund, if they would only file!

Did You File Taxes For That Year?

So if you’ve determined that you may be eligible for a refund for a past year, what should you do, and how should you proceed?

First, make sure if you filed a return that year or not.  If you filed with an accountant or tax software like TurboTax, they’ll probably have your records on file.  Otherwise, you can make a call to the IRS, and ask if they can look up your tax records. Call them at 1-800-829-1040.

How To File Your Taxes For A Past Year

Once you determine that you didn’t file,  you’ll need to actually get things together and file.  Keep in mind,  however, if you file for one year you’ll need to file for all subsequent years as well. So if you’re claiming a tax refund from 2008, you’ll need to file for 2009 and 2010 as well.

To file get your paperwork together for those past years.  Then you’ll need to get the IRS tax forms for that past year so that you can file. You can go to IRS.gov to download the forms for the tax year you’re filing for.  Remember, tax laws change, so you can’t just use a tax form from a current year.

Another thing you can try is – some of the tax preparation companies will allow you to purchase copies of their software from previous years – some up to 5 years in the past.  So you can download and prepare your taxes for that year using one of those software like TurboTax.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, or if you have too many questions to do it all on your own, you may be better off getting some advice and filing through an accountant, who can guide you through the process.   There are also services like PriorTax.com that can help to guide you through the process as well, although it won’t be free.

Check Your Refund Status

Once you’ve filed your return, you can check your refund status online.

Good luck!

Related Links

This article was written by Peter Anderson. Peter Anderson is a Christian, husband to his beautiful wife Maria, and father to his baby boy, Carter. He loves reading and writing about personal finance, and also loves a good board game every now and again. You can find out more about him on the about page or check out his design site at http://www.logosforwebsites.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @moneymatters.


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