Are you tired of having to wake up early morning, and driving long hours to work? Are you tired of having to worry about your boss? Are you looking to stay home and work? Do you want to be able to start a home based business and be your own boss? Well, it may just be possible.There are so many Home Based Business Opportunities, and what’s even better is this business can begin with you being our own boss. You do not have to worry about how you have to please him/her to get your bonus. You get to have your own flexible time; you can choose when you want to work and when you can take a quick nap. If you’re a mom, you can even take proper care of your baby, and not spend extra money on a nanny. The other added benefits are that you will be able to save money on fuel and travel expenses, you definitely gain tax benefits as well, and you can do what is required of you and not have to do someone else’s work.The fact is everything has its pros n cons just like every coin has two sides. The negatives to this maybe that you will be alone and you will have all the responsibility of running the business because it’s yours! And the entire decision making lies in your hands, if you make a good decision then all the profit is yours and you do not have to share it with anyone. If it is a bad decision you will have to bear it all by yourself again.There are so many small businesses opportunities and internet business plans like, starting a franchise, or medical transcription, online typing work, new investment portals, and many more.There are a lot of Home Based Business Tips and Internet Business Plans that are available on the internet. Here are a few Home Based Business tips that you can use to make the Internet Business Plan that works for you. Some of the things you have to keep in mind are:Work like you’re at the office even when you work at home. Your commitment level needs to show that you are serious about this business that you’re starting.Do not look at your Home Based work as a part time job, or a hobby.Create a new Schedule and most importantly stick to it!Ensure that whatever task needs to be completed has to be done that day and cannot afford to be pushed to the next day.
Public Schools: Education or Indoctrination
Educators have pondered for years the achievement gap between Caucasian, African-American and Asian students. In order to narrow the gap educators have tried segregating schools, they have tried providing comparable facilities and they have politically corrected all the pictures in the text books to reveal a member of each race of people and all gender possibilities. The academic performance of the child seems not to depend so much on these issues as the attitude of their parents toward the educational process. If the parents consider the school a glorified baby sitting service then it’s unlikely their children are going to perform well.
Like two ships passing each other in the harbor, Christians and secular humanists reveal two opposing viewpoints when it comes to the purpose and philosophy of education. Christians understand their responsibility in educating their children. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 reinforces the obligation parents have toward their children: “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
The early American theologian and Civil War Army Chaplain, Robert Louis Dabney, said, “True education is, in one sense, a spiritual process. It is the nurture of the soul.” Because we are, by nature, spiritual beings we will develop our foundational concepts of spirituality during the elastic years of childhood and adolescence. Men are created to worship and worship we shall. We will either worship the one and true God or we will worship his creation (materialism) or ourselves (humanism).
The Puritan poet, John Milton, expressed the Christian view of education well when he said, “The end of learning is to repair the ruin of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge, to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him.” Education is not the primary responsibility of the schools, nor is it the responsibility of the government or the church. It is every parent’s responsibility to be sure his child is educated in the truth of God’s word. Even though John was talking of his spiritual converts, 3 John 4 fits well here, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Christians believe that the sole purpose of man’s life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. We find ourselves strongly opposed to anything that blocks us from that goal.
Those who believe that government schools are prohibited from promoting religion are deceived. They are prohibited from promoting Christianity but most any other religion is fair game. The religion most commonly propagated in our public schools is secular humanism. In the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins the U.S. Supreme Court defined humanism as a religion. The first Humanist Manifesto openly identifies humanism as a religion and Julian Huxley referred to humanism as a Religion Without Revelation. He taught that Christianity was fading and in its place was emerging the religion of humanism.
Many are awakening to the fact that our schools have become more focused on indoctrination than education. Our public school system is based on an industrial revolution model that came out of Prussia. It is a system that is compulsory. You must send your children to school and you must pay taxes to support the educational welfare system. Why do so many Americans think education is free? The average cost of paying for a child’s education is between $10,000 and $12,000 per year. It costs a whopping $27,000 to educate a child in Washington, D.C.
The social agenda seems to be to convert our children to humanism. They are taught that homosexuality is an acceptable and alternative lifestyle. They are taught that marriage is no longer between one man and one woman but can include partners of the same sex and a multitude of other combinations. They are taught that we all evolved from nothing and God had nothing at all to do with our existence. They are taught that the fetus in a mother’s womb is simply a mass of cells that can and perhaps should be aborted as the mother wishes. The result: the minds of our children are clouded about the existence of God, they are gender confused and they no longer believe in the value and sanctity of life.
90% of Christians send their children to government schools in which federal law forbids the mention of the name of Christ. Some of them have no choice because they cannot home school and they cannot afford a private Christian school. These parents must do all in their power to counteract the humanistic indoctrination their children are learning at school. It will require an organized effort to read and explain the Bible to their children in the home setting.
Other parents use the salt and light argument for sending their kids to public schools. They often say, “My child will be a witness for Christ.”. A study done by the Southern Baptists indicates that 88% of Baptist youth who graduated from public schools left the church. Our missionaries are not converting others, instead they are being converted. They are going up against a systematic effort of organized policy and well-developed curriculum that is designed to indoctrinate social servants of the state.
I am no enemy of public education. I know many wonderful Christian teachers and administrators here in Columbus, Georgia. They love Christ deeply and they are doing all they can to be a light shining in a darkened world. Most of my Christian teacher friends stay in government schools because they believe it is important to demonstrate Christianity to their students and co-workers. I agree with them but that is only half of the command of Christ. He also said, “…everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32) We are instructed to boldly declare the name of Christ. If you follow this directive in the government schools you will be looking for another job.
Neutrality is not an option. I am teaching my six-year-old son the concepts of driving an automobile. The line in the center of the road provides a parameter for travelers. If you decide to straddle the line you may lose your life. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Straddling the fence on this issue can be fatal. We must not only demonstrate the lifestyle, we must proclaim his name boldly. Don’t be deceived by the politically correct approach to Christianity in government schools. If you are not for Christ…you are against him!
Christ addressed this problem in Luke 6:40 “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” When it comes to secularism, nine out of ten Christian students will cave. If our children have secular teachers they will likely embrace secular teachings, if they have Christian teachers they likely will embrace Christian teachings. Who is your child’s teacher?
Find Your Real Estate Investing Tax Breaks
Real estate investing tax breaks are one of the big reasons many investors buy property. As an investor, you can write off all sorts of things that will end up reducing your taxable income, and therefore, reducing the amount that you owe.
Just to give you a feel, here are some of the things you can deduct that you’re probably already spending money on in your real estate investing activities:
Travel to go see your property (Maybe it’s even in the same city as your in-laws or your favorite beach vacation spot)
Interest on your mortgage for the property
Insurance on the property
Property Management, Accounting, Legal Fees, Accounting, and other professional advice
Training and education associated with your property
Repairs and Maintenance at the property
But remember, you can’t charge for your own time working at the property, you can only account for things that you pay someone else to do. So, the next time you’re wondering whether to pay the neighbor’s kid to mow the lawn at your rental property or do it yourself, remember, you’d be paying him with pre-tax dollars.
Don’t buy a property JUST to save money on taxes…
Tax savings can really add up! They can turn a property that puts money into your pocket every month into a tax write-off. But remember, it’s not all fun and games. You still have the responsibility of finding a good deal, managing your property, and selling it when the time is right. Don’t buy a property JUST for the tax benefits alone (a lot of people who did that got wiped out – bankrupted! – in the 1980′s when the tax law changed and their tax write-off’s went away.) Always make sure your property fundamentals are sound!
Knowing When To Sell To Maximize Tax Breaks
Knowing When To Sell To Maximize Tax Breaks Speaking of selling property, bear in mind that one of the purposes of the tax law is creating incentives for you to do certain things. The government is rewarding you (with tax breaks) for taking desired actions.
In the case of real estate investing, the government wants to reward you for holding property long term (over 1 year) as affordable rental housing in many cases – rather than having you get rich with short term fix-and-flip strategies.
If you hold the property for less than a year, the government treats your income as short-term capital gains tax, which is taxed at your ordinary income tax rate (that’s HIGHEST of your tax brackets, usually).
To get the lowest tax rates, hold the property for at least a year and your profit on the sale will be considered long-term capital gains and the tax treatment will be much better. Currently, long term capital gains tax rates are just 15%, but President Obama has suggested he will raise the tax rates to 20-25%… so stay tuned!)
If you don’t want to pay any taxes at all when you go to sell your property, consider participating in a 1031 Exchange, or Starker Exchange (same thing, different names). This is a transaction in which an intermediary helps you sell one property and then buy another similar investment property. You can roll all your profits from the sale of the first building into the purchase of the second building. If you do – you won’t pay any tax on the new building! Do your own research, but it’s worth getting more information on 1031′s if you’re selling a property with a lot of equity and want to make sure you’ll minimize your tax bill!
Real Estate Professional Status
Long term capital gains tax treatment isn’t the only real estate investing tax break in jeopardy… The Real Estate Professional status is also getting harder to qualify for. Real Estate Professional is an IRS designation which says you spend at least 750 hours a year working in real estate investing, and that real estate is your primary business. If you qualify for this designation, you have the ability to deduct ALL your losses from real estate, even if they are in excess of $25,000/year. If you don’t qualify, your real estate deductions may be limited, especially if you are a passive investor not actively involved in real estate investing, or you have an especially high income.
Another bug-a-boo in the land of real estate investing tax benefits is the AMT or Alternative Minimum Tax. This is a tax that hits high income earners if they have too many tax deductions, even if those deductions are legitimate. Congress keeps patching this, but it’s hitting – and hurting the middle class. If you earn more than about $130,000/year this may affect your family, so consult with a tax advisor to see if you’ll be able to take advantage of the real estate tax breaks you’re expecting.
More Real Estate Investing Information
Please, as you read through this article, bear in mind that I am not an accountant or tax attorney. I am another investor like you and I am just sharing from my own personal experience. Tax law is complicated and changing, so I encourage you to consult with your own team of professionals on any topics that you need more information on or strategies you plan on implementing.