Laundry

When you do your laundry, make sure you are only washing and drying full loads of clothes. If you can, wash your clothes in cold water. You can save between 2 to 4 percent on your bill by doing this. In the summer season, hang your clothes out to dry instead of using your dryer. Your clothes will be soft and fresh, and you will appreciate the savings.

Light Bulbs

Replace each one of your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. Compact fluorescent bulbs cost a little bit more, but they last nearly 10 times longer and can save you hundreds of dollars each year on your electric bill. You will be living “greener” because they only use one third of the power that incandescent bulbs use.

Program Your Thermostat

Another great way to save money is to program your thermostat so that it isn’t heating and cooling your home when there isn’t anybody there. Have it programmed to turn on when you arrive home from work, and if possible, shut it off at night if you don’t need it. You can save up to 5 percent on your electric bill by lowering your heat only one degree! In the winter months, dress warmer. In the summertime, use ceiling fans to cool off. Ceiling fans use only a fraction of the energy that your air conditioner uses.

Washing Dishes

Only run your dishwasher when it’s full. If you only have a couple of dishes to wash, just do them by hand. Turn off the drying function on your dishwasher. It isn’t necessary- let your dishes dry naturally or dry them off with a towel.

Refrigerator

It’s alright to keep your fridge stocked, but don’t over-fill it. Clean your refrigerator regularly and throw out old food if it is no longer edible. The more items that you have inside, the harder the fridge needs to work to keep your food cold. If you need to defrost something for dinner, take it out of the freezer early and defrost it in the fridge. Always remember to let any hot items cool before storing them in the refrigerator. It will have to work a lot harder if there is something piping hot in there.

Let Your Hair Dry Naturally

Have your family shower at night before going to bed instead of in the morning. That way everyone can let their hair air-dry instead of using a hair dryer. You will conserve energy and have one less thing to do in the morning before school or work.

Change the Air Conditioning Filter

Be sure to change the filter for your air conditioner regularly. The cheaper the air filter you buy, the more often you need to change it. By routinely changing the air filter, you can save up to 5 percent annually on electricity. As an added bonus, the air in your house will be much cleaner and free of dust!

Doors and Vents

If you are not using certain rooms in your home, shut the doors and vents in those rooms. You don’t want to be heating or cooling rooms that nobody is utilizing.

Weather-Proof Your Home

In the winter months, put plastic on your windows to keep the cold air out and the warm air in. You can also weather-strip around doors and windows to keep your home warmer. Your thermostat will not have to work so hard to heat your house when the temperatures outside are frigid, and you can save anywhere from 1 to 4 percent on your bill.

Turn Things Off!

One of the easiest ways to save money is to turn things off when you aren’t using them. Only turn on the lights that you need and remember to switch them off when you leave. That simple action can save you a lot of money each year. Don’t leave TVs on if nobody is watching them, and if you aren’t using your computer, turn that off, too. Also, don’t keep any of your electronics on “standby” mode. When electronic devices go into standby mode, they use almost as much energy as they would if you were using them. Make it a habit to walk through each room before leaving your house to make sure everything has been turned off.

Saving money on your electric bill is easy. By making these suggestions part of your daily routine, you will spend less and planet Earth will thank you for it.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about insurance and other topics for the Homeowners Insurance Blog.

It’s a Job

When filing an income tax return, it’s imperative to make sure all the deductions you take are legitimate. The IRS is well aware of the tax benefits of being self employed and are constantly on the lookout for dishonest people who claim to be a self employed business person but in reality only have a hobby. In order to qualify for a number of deductions associated with being a freelance writer you must, in fact, be operating a business.

Prove It’s a Business

One important step to take in order to prove your freelance writing profession is a business is to have a dedicated business bank account, separate from your personal account. Another way is to have a record of your expenses organized in such a way that they can be readily accessed. You should also be able to prove how much time you spend doing the job, and be able to produce previous records of having made or lost money as a freelancer. According to the tax reform act of 1986, a person is considered to be a professional in their field if they’ve shown a profit for three of the last five years.

Tax Write-Offs

A portion of virtually everything you do as a freelancer is eligible to be considered a tax write-off, providing it’s connected to the business. Meals, entertainment, business related automobile expenses, including parking fees and miles driven, are all genuine business expenses. In addition, you can take a portion of the value–called depreciation–of the equipment you use for your business, such as computers, fax machines, tape or digital recorders or any other valid business related gear, as a tax write-off. Usual office supplies, such as pens, pencils, paper clips, envelopes or paper are also valid business deductions. Other things that are legal to write-off are postal expenses, such as stamps and packaging material, and the cost of any business related conferences or seminars you took part in, as well as any fees for professional organizations you belong to. The costs associated with subscriptions to professional literature related to the business are also tax deductible.

Working from Home

If you have an office dedicated to your business, then the expenses associated with running that office are tax deductible. However, many freelancers work from home. The good news is that you can still write-off your office expenses. The bad news is that you must have a dedicated office space in your home–a place set aside exclusively for your freelance writing business. It also needs to be used on a continual basis for business purposes. Merely setting up a laptop on the kitchen table doesn’t qualify as office space. For further information on qualifying for tax deductions for people working from home visit the IRS website, www.irs.gov, and check out Publication 587.

Be Organized

The best way you can ensure your freelance writing business thrives is to be as organized as you possibly can. By being structured in your thoughts and actions, you’ll be aware of how much money you spend, and what you spend it on. Cutting expenses is a time-honored way of making a profit, but by taking special note of the expenses that are tax deductible and taking every deduction you’re entitled to, your profit margin will also rise. By consulting with a tax attorney or an accountant, you can make sure you know what can and cannot be considered a legitimate tax deduction.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for www.insurancequotes.org, a site that provides quotes for car insurance.

Ebates – With over 12 million members, Ebates is one of the most popular cashback sites on the web. Membership is totally free, and signing up is a breeze. Shopping by way of Ebates earns members between 1% and 25% cash back, and there are 1,200 stores to buy from. As long as shoppers use an Ebates link to make their purchases, they will start earning money back. Every 3 months consumers can either choose to receive a check by mail, or have their money deposited into a PayPal account. Members can even have their earnings donated directly to a favorite charity. In addition to cash back, this site offers its shoppers special coupons, featured deals, and free shipping on select items, saving customers even more money.

FatWallet – This site not only pays out cashback savings to its users, it also helps them find the lowest prices and hottest deals from more than 1,000 popular online stores. Members of FatWallet can earn cash back as high as 40% in some instances, and they can compare prices on items they want to purchase in order to get the best deal possible. Users can share shopping tips, advice, and more on a variety of free forums, and customer service is offered ’round the clock to insure complete customer satisfaction.

ShopAtHome – Users of ShopAtHome have earned upwards of $50 million ever since its start in 1986. With thousands of retailers and catalogs to shop, consumers can earn up to 35% cash back on their online purchases, as well as access a wealth of money-saving coupon codes to save them even more. This site showcases special weekly deals and cash back offers, and encourages members to rate their online shopping experiences for other consumers to see. Cash back earnings are paid out 12 times each year, providing that the amount each month is over $20. If earnings are under $20, the money will carry over to the next month and be paid out once the $20 minimum is reached.

TreasureTrooper – This site not only offers members cash back for shopping at their favorite stores, it pays them to complete surveys, try new products, sign-up for credit cards, and more. In addition, shoppers can earn money by playing games, entering contests, and referring friends to the site. Membership is free, and users will find this site to be interesting and fun!

Pennyful – With more than 1,000 stores to choose from, shoppers earn cash back on every purchase simply by signing up for a free membership and using this site to do their shopping. As well as cash back offers, this site hosts hundreds of coupons to make saving even easier. One of the best features of Pennyful is their referral program. If you refer a friend to Pennyful, you will earn 20% cash back on every purchase your friend makes for one year! Earning cash back with this site is both straightforward and hassle-free.

Guest post from Bailey Harris, who writes for the homeowners insurance guide

Sell Your Artwork/Handcrafted Items

If you are a creative person with some artistic ability, you can make and sell your artwork or handmade items online. Websites such as Etsy and Artfire make it easy to set up your own online store–or you can create your own website to sell your work.

Become an Online Tutor

There are several sites where you can apply to become an online tutor. Each site operates differently, but you will most likely have to take and pass a series of tests to make you eligible for this type of work. On average, most online tutors start at around $9.00 per hour, with the opportunity to move up on the pay scale.

Create Designs for Social Networks

If you know how to use programs like Photoshop, you can easily make money by creating layouts, backgrounds, and other designs for online social networks. With the growing popularity of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and My Space, this type of work is in demand! Once you’ve created some designs, why not try selling them on your own website?

Offer Software Support

It’s no longer common to call on someone to come to your home or office to help you learn the ins and outs of software. For individuals who are familiar with various software programs, you can offer your services online. Whether you set up tutorials or help your customers by chatting with them directly online, you can bring in some substantial income.

Make Money Playing Online Games

Millions of people all over the world play online games every day. If you are one of those gamers, you can make money playing! Many online games require in-game currency to advance further in the game. If you have an in-game “trade” that you are good at, you can sell the currency you earn to other gamers. You can also sell rare or sought-after items that you’ve earned or found in the game.

Online Auctions

Another way to make money online is to sell items by way of online auctions. On some auction websites, you can even set up your own store to sell items. You can sell almost anything–household items, clothing, electronics, video games, movies, antiques, collectibles, and more! If you are really motivated, you can be on the lookout for items at garage sales or flea markets that you can buy and re-sell for more money.

Virtual Office Assistant

If you enjoy office work minus the office environment, you may have the potential to be a virtual office assistant. Clients may ask you to do things like read and answer emails, deal with customers by phone, file reports, make appointments, and more. You can advertise the services you offer online so that potential employers can find you, or browse “help wanted” postings to find work as an office assistant. This type of work may require that you work certain hours, and you definitely need to have good people skills.

Become a Freelance Writer

Freelance writing online is a growing field and there are many opportunities out there for writers to take advantage of. Many writing jobs do not require that you have a formal education–you simply need to possess impressive writing skills. There are several sites where you can search for writing jobs or post your services so that clients can search for you.

Sell Your Photographs

You don’t need to be a professional photographer to make money selling photographs online. There are a variety of websites that you can join to do this. Once you post your work, you can make royalties every time one of your pictures sells.

Take Surveys

Top companies are looking for consumer feedback to help them sell more of their products. Many of these companies are willing to pay you just to complete one of their surveys. There are several free websites that tell you where to find the top-paying surveys–but you should know that in general, the shorter the survey is, the less it pays. Taking surveys can be time consuming, but most often you will be paid more if you are willing to invest the time.

As you can see, there are many different ways to make money online. By doing a little bit of research, you may find just the right opportunity to increase your income- and you won’t have to leave home to do it.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about online car insurance quotes for www.insurancequotes.org.

For example, using the 1040EZ, you can’t deduct student loan interest as you can on the other forms.

Here are the IRS requirements for who can file Form 1040EZ:

• Your filing status is either single or married filing jointly.
• Your age is under 65.
• You (or your spouse) was not legally blind during the last tax year.
• You have no dependents
• You have interest income of less than $1,500.
• Your income is less than $100,000

The 1040EZ is definitely the easiest form to file. It will not take long to do and it should be use for only the easiest of tax situations.

However, beware of the dangers of going with a simple tax form if you’ve got a more complicated situation, because you could be leaving money on the table.