When it comes to preparing and filing your taxes, there are a variety of options. You can prepare your taxes electronically with software like TurboTax and efile for a few dollars. You can prepare you taxes on paper, double check with software like TurboTax, and then mail in your return (for those keeping track at home, this basically means you prepare your taxes twice). You can work with an accountant, either at an independent CPA firm or one associated with one of the tax preparers, which still gives you the option of efiling or mailing in your return. Whatever method you choose, the only rule is that you file by April 15th (or April 18th this year).

How will you be filing your taxes and why?

Needless to say, last week’s international trade data rocked the boat for Canadian forecasters. Export volumes jumped 8.1% in December alone. For the entire quarter, exports were up a whooping 27.3% on an annualized basis while imports decreased 3.9%. The contribution to GDP growth coming from net exports should be stratospheric in Q4 at above 6 percentage points, a very rare phenomenon historically. Even if business inventories are poised to shave several percentage points to growth, net exports will be able to more than offset a first significant slowdown in domestic demand. As today’s Hot Charts shows, Canadian real GDP growth is set to accelerate significantly in Q4 with a 4% gain. This would represent almost twice the BoC’s forecast in its latest Monetary Policy Report.

Given the fact that this strength is happening at the end of 2010, this should lift 2011 GDP level enough to reach 3% GDP growth this year, well above the Canadian speed limit. For m Read more…

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement plan in which you can contribute money to save for retirement. IRAs may be sponsored by employers, purchased from life insurance companies, or in banks. Roth IRA was introduced by Senator William Roth, who changed it a little comparing to the individual retirement account that was widely used. There are several benefits of roth ira make it suitable for most people.

The fact that this plan is different from the traditional IRA is that in this area, a person must pay tax on its contributions to the account. But when he begins to remove money after his retirement, he is liable for tax payments, and may benefit from a tax-free income in retirement. This makes the plan particularly beneficial in some cases, just a waste of money in other cases. Here are the benefits that can be enjoyed with Roth IRA.

In Roth IRA, the money can be withdrawn before retirement, even after the acclimation period, without paying taxes or penalty. Read more…

I just inherited $100,000 from my dad’s estate. I would like to invest it in mutual funds, but will I always have to pay an annual fee of 1.25 percent for a management fee? Where do I invest, or can I invest so I’m not paying this out every year?

Inheritances often come at a steep price: the loss of a loved one. I’m sorry for your loss. Trying to reduce the drag that fees and expenses have on investment returns is a smart move, and there are ways to manage them when investing in mutual funds.

There are different types of asset management fees. If you’re working with a financial services professional, they may have a compensation model called assets under management, or AUM, in which you pay a percentage fee based on the size of the portfolio. It’s important to realize that your financial services professional needs to be compensated for his or her work, and that there are different compensation models besides AUM, and these models may be more or less expensive than AUM. T Read more…

As for taking personal checks, I don’t take personal checks unless it’s from some I know. I have no desire to verify a personal check and I definitely don’t want to get dinged the fees for bounced checks.

Do you use personal checks? What’s your feeling towards them?

The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners.

1. Investing in a good backup solution can actually prevent you from ever losing data. Combine a USB drive with a cloud solution for best results.

2. Make sure that you monitor your data carefully. Watch out for error messages, they could be a symptom of something more severe.

3. Put a plan in place so that all employees know what to do and who to contact if they suspect data loss is occurring.

4. Try not to panic if your system is hit by a power surge or you knock a cup of coffee over it. Experts will likely be able to salvage most of your data for a fee.

5. Don’t attempt to try DIY data recovery unless you know what you are doing. Y

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