Here’s a quick look at some of the articles that caught my eye over the past week… [more]

In late November, I wrote about the fact that we were finally putting together an estate plan. Well, last Friday, just before everything shut down for the Holidays, my wife and I finally put the whole “last will and testamentary trust” thing to rest… And not a moment too soon, as this was one of our New Year’s Resolutions dating back to January 1, 2006. Even though it took 11.75 months to get it done, it still counts. Right?

The third and final charity that we are focusing on this year is our local food bank. They’re actually part of America’s Second Harvest, which is the “National Food Bank Network.” You can go here and search by zip code to find details about your own local food bank. We opted to make a cash donation as opposed to donating goods because we want the food bank to have the flexibility to purchase what they most need, as opposed to making do with our best guess. If you’re looking for a worthy charity, please consider donating to your local food bank.

See also:
Part I (Modest Needs)
Part II (American Red Cross)
Part IV (The Conservation Fund)

As we head into the New Year, I thought I’d put together a rundown of key tax-related deadlines for 2007:

January 16th - Final estimated tax payments for 2006 due using Form 1040-ES.

January 31st - If you didn’t pay your final estimated installment by January 16th, file your return by this date to avoid penalties for late payment of your final installment.

February 15th - File a new Form W-4 if you can claim exemption from withholding.

March 1st - Farmers and fishermen need to file their 2006 income tax return (Form 1040) to avoid an underpayment penalty for the last quarter of 2006 if they were supposed to make an estimated payment by January 16th but didn’t.

April 16th - This is the big one:
- 2006 income tax returns due.
- Deadline for 2006 IRA contributions.
- Deadline for automatic six month extensions (file Form 4868, pay tax you think will be due).
- If you’re not filing an extension, make Keogh or SEP-IRA contributions (if applicable).
- Pay the first installment of your 2007 estimated taxes.
- If you made taxable gifts, file gift tax return (Form 709 or 709-A) and pay taxes due.

June 15th - Pay the second installment of your 2007 estimated taxes (if applicable).

July 2nd - File Form TD F 90-22.1 for financial accounts in a foreigh country (if applicable).

September 17th - Pay the third installment of your 2007 estimated taxes (if applicable).

October 15th - 2006 income tax return due and 2006 SEP/Keogh contributions due if you filed for a six month extension.

December 31st - Last day to establish a Keogh plan for 2007.

[Source: Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2007]

The second charity that we are focusing on this year is the American Red Cross. I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the Red Cross ever since our second son was born. Due to complications during her C-section, my wife ended up needing multiple blood transfusions, and the blood was supplied by none other than the Red Cross blood bank. The Red Cross also does a tremendous amount of disaster relief work. While they do a lot of high profile work in response to huge disasters that hit the front page of the paper (e.g., Hurricane Katrina), they also help a huge number of people that are suffering through individual disasters (e.g., home fires). [more]

A few weeks ago I wrote about signup bonuses for business credit cards. The beauty of these cards is that they not only give sizable signup rewards, but they’re also available to everyone, not just businesses… If they ask for a business name, just use your name and leave the Federal Tax ID blank.

Anyway, it has come to my attention that the juiciest of these deals is expiring soon… For the time being, you’ll get $150 in free money for doing nothing more than signing up for the Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express — act fast before this deal cools down!

Here’s how it works:

(1) Apply for the card.

(2) Receive a 5000 point bonus (redeemable for a $50 gift card) with your first purchase.

(3) Receive a $100 statement credit as soon as you charge $100 or more.

That’s it! The only catch is that this card has a $125 annual fee, but it’s waived for the first year.

And if you’d like to earn even more bonuses, consider applying for these other three business cards, as well… These three cards will net you an additional $350 in free money, bringing your grand total $500 for a few minutes work:

» Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express (Click to Apply)

Earn 10,000 points following your first purchase, redeemable for a $100 gift card at a variety of different merchants. Earn an additional 15,000 points if you spend $15,000 in the first six months. Note that there’s a $30 annual fee, but it’s waived for the first year.

» CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network (Click to Apply)

This card is part of the Citi ThankYou Redemption network, and you’ll receive $100 worth of ThankYou Rewards (redeemable for gift certificates, student loan payments, etc.) after $250 purchase. Best of all, there’s no annual fee.

» $150 offer cancelled, sorry…

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my wife and I are in the process of separating our business and personal finances. When I talk about “business,” I am (of course) talking about income from online publishing (including this site). Well, last week we took what is perhaps the biggest step toward creating a separate business identity — we registered a Limited Liability Company. [more]

Over the next few days, I thought that I’d spend a little time writing about our charities of choice. During the past year, I’ve moved to a new job (complete with a 45% raise) and our self-employment income has also jumped up considerably. Thus, we’ve decided to step up our charitable giving this year. [more]

Effective this month, I’ve enrolled in an optional 403(b) retirement plan through work. I’m contributing the max to my ’standard’ defined contribution retirement plan (5% of my salary). When combined with the matching funds (a bit over 8% of my salary), I’m stashing a little better than 13% of my annual salary in that account. On top of that, my wife and I have both been maxing out our Roth IRAs (we do this every year). So what’s the point of the optional 403(b)? [more]

Here’s a quick look at some of the articles that caught my eye this past week… [more]