Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved — George Washington

Today is the birth date for George Washington, the first President of these United States. Recently, I had the opportunity to read a brief biography of our first Commander-in-Chief and realized what a humble man that he was.

Unlike so many politicians of our day, George wanted to help people and live a quiet life. Certainly, he desired to free the colonies from British rule, but beyond that he wasn’t someone with strong political ambitions.

What I am about to share with you really has nothing to do with our first president other than offering you, the reader, some good links which may be of benefit to you. Please read on as I’ve compiled a list of sites worthy of visiting:

Gather Little By Little — Personal finance with a Christian Perspective.

Get Rich Slowly — Personal finance that makes cents.

The Dough Roller — Control your money, control your life.

Where Your Treasure Is — Merging faith & personal finance.

Being Frugal — Making every penny count.

ChristianPF — Save money. Make money. Give money.

Sense to Save — Join me on my journey to live a more frugal lifestyle. Here, you’ll find common sense and not-so-common sense on ways you can save money.

Money Saving Mom — Helping you be a better home economist.

The Simple Dollar — Financial talk for the rest of us.

Working For Financial Freedom — One Family. $58,000 in debt. This is how they pay it off.

Frugal Babe — A rich life without a lot of money.

I’ve Paid For This Twice Already — From financial imprisonment to financial independence, a penny at a time. This is one family’s story.

By George, I think that I’m done!

Are you in debt? Is the Internal Revenue Service breathing down your neck and threatening your livelihood? Do not be overwhelmed by tax debt as there are ways for you to solve your tax debt problems and keep the tax collector far away. Read on for some helpful advice.

A Little Bit of Equity. If you own your home, you could have a significant amount of equity in it, especially if you have lived in it for more than five years. Through your bank or similar lending institution you can apply for an equity line of credit or equity loan. Just with this amount of borrowed money, you may be able to obtain enough funds to cover your tax debt and penalties. Current rates are still low – shop the internet for the plan that is right for you.

Sell Some Valuables. Your antique desk or chair, stamp collection, jewelry, or even an extra car may have considerable cash value to it. Turn what you own into cash; get on eBay to post your item[s] and to obtain multiple bids on what you are attempting to sell.

Friends and Family Plan. Swallow your pride and ask trusted family members and friends for help. To keep everyone happy, only accept money if a contract outlining explicit repayments terms is used. Check the internet for sample forms.

Get in Touch with the I.R.S. Talk about making a deal with the devil! Seriously, if you owe the Internal Revenue Service money and you cannot pay them back, contact them directly to arrange a repayment plan that works for you. No, they won’t forgive your tax debt, but they can spread out repayment over an acceptable timeframe. Just remember this: any unpaid balance will incur interest charges and further late payments by you will likely involve additional penalties. Read all the “legalese” before signing anything!

Finding tax debt help is the first step in tackling your problem. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away and may worsen an already bad situation.

Once you have a plan in place, contact your county’s consumer affairs division for free debt counseling. Chances are your tax debt problem is only the tip of the iceberg and further help will be necessary to educated you on how to avoid future mistakes.

Copyright 2006-2008 – For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

Decreasing your debt is paramount to having a good credit rating as well as giving you peace of mind. You want to get out of debt, but not all debt reduction options may be beneficial. Let’s take a look at five debt reduction options which may help you in your quest to get out of debt.

1. Consolidate Loans. Before declaring bankruptcy, consider pulling together all of your outstanding loans into one low monthly payment. Loan consolidators can help you come up with a plan to pay off all of your debt while maintaining your credit standing. Bankruptcy, unfortunately, ruins your credit rating while a consolidation loan may help you save it.

2. Your Life Insurance Policy. Your life insurance policy may have a cash value to it. Consider taking the cash from the policy and using it to pay off or lower your debt. Of course, your payout will be much lower upon your death; make sure your loved ones are adequately provided for when you have released this mortal coil.

3. Federal Loans. Government loan programs — local, state, and federal — may be available to you and at a rate much lower than what you currently pay your creditors. Check out loan programs, which you must pay back; as well as grants, which are gifts to you to see what your eligibility is.

4. Borrow From Your 401(k). If your company has contributory retirement plans such as a 401(k) or 403(b), you can take out a low interest rate loan and use the proceeds to pay off what you owe. You are borrowing from your retirement account so your loan must be paid back; if you do not pay it back you will incur IRS taxes and penalties. Still, the borrowing rates are quite reasonable.

5. Bankruptcy. The U.S. constitution gives Americans the right to discharge debt, and it is one option some must take in order to get creditors off of their backs. With medical expenses surging, gas prices hitting record high levels, and many other expenses increasing, bankruptcy may be your only choice to help protect your assets from overreaching creditors..

Obviously, some of these options have different consequences than others — like a ruined credit standing — still, when your back is to the wall your choices are extremely limited. Find your comfort level and choose an option that is right for you.

Yes, you have heard it all: get free money. Well, little in life is truly free, but if you are wise about it you can save a little bit of money here and a little bit of money there and accumulate wealth. Have you shaken the money tree yet? If so, tell me where it is so that I can get my fair share. Seriously, if you want free money you’ll have to put a little effort out first. Let’s examine some sources of free money just waiting for your hand out.

5 Easy Money Saving Tips

Clip Coupons – All those coupons you see in your Sunday newspaper, which come in your mail, that even pop up your computer screen are meant for you to take action. Simply cut the coupons out, march down to your local supermarket, and use the “cents off” savings to get free money. Okay, you won’t be handed a wad of cash but you can pocket the savings nevertheless. Even better: shop at those supermarkets willing to double even triple your savings.

File Your Tax Return – So, you didn’t file your tax returns in 2003, 2004, and 2005 because you made a pittance, eh? Well, you may be missing out on some free money. Depending on your household set up, you could be missing out on the government’s earned income tax credit for your children. If you don’t file, you don’t get the free money which could amount to several thousand dollars per year!

Rebate It – Oh, that new color printer you bought is a real scream! Did you notice the $20 rebate that came with it? Oh sure the $99 sale price was a bargain but did you notice any additional money savings with that offer? For the price of a postage stamp you can submit a rebate and await your $20 check a few weeks later. Free money? You bet you: most people don’t bother to redeem rebates!

Property Tax Relief – So, you are over 65 and finding it hard to make ends meet. Well, in some communities help is as near as your local property tax office. Maybe you shouldn’t pay the full property tax amount every year; some locales discount property taxes for cash strapped seniors by as much as 10% each year. That could translate into hundreds of dollars in savings especially if you live in a high tax area!

Take A Survey – Most of those mall survey people will pay you to take a survey. Typically, you will get $5 or a coupon for a free meal at McDonald’s. In some cases you could be eligible for a much more comprehensive survey. If so, hundreds of dollars of free money could be awaiting you.

Yes, read the fine print with any offer as some are certainly “too good to be true.” In many other cases, however, free money can be had. Check around to see what offers are available in your area…someone has to get the free money, why not you?

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Copyright 2006-2008 – For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his writing blog.

Bankrate.com, the big internet personal finance site, is currently running an article titled: 5 Homeownership Tax Myths. The article covers topics such as writing off the loss of your home, selling your current home and buying a new one to avoid taxes, putting your home in your adult child’s name, and more.

Without giving away the entire article, you may be surprised as I was to learn that there are several myths which you may have thought were true. Some of these “myths” were at one time true, but are not today. A good read for every person considering buying a home.