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Reasons to Accelerate Depreciation Companies typically use accelerated depreciation to minimize their taxable income because it allows for greater depreciation expense deductions in the earlier years of the equipment or asset’s life. Accelerated depreciation methods could also be seen as more accurate, as they assume that an asset loses a majority of its value in the first few years of its use. Calculating Sum of the Years’ Digits Depreciation To calculate depreciation charges using the sum of the years’ digits method, you’ll need to first get the depreciable base, which is the cost of the asset....

Nearly six of ten respondents reported paying higher wages in the third quarter and none reported paying less, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economics. NABE calculates its Net Rising Index (NRI) by subtracting the percentage of respondents reporting “falling” results from the percentage reporting “rising” results. The NRI for wages was 58 in the third quarter, up from 51 in the second quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly gain....

Let’s look at the different aspects of taking a year off work, including the pros and cons of such an endeavor and things to consider before leaping. Pros and Cons of Taking a Year Off From Work Pros Explained Growth opportunities: Dedicate time for personal insights and development while traveling the world or for professional growth while earning new certifications or skills.Improved work/life balance: Nonprofit leaders who took well-planned sabbaticals said the sabbatical improved connections with family, physical health, and work/life balance, according to a study from nonprofit consulting firm TSNE....

Here’s what you need to know about each of these life insurance options so you can make the best decision for your needs. What’s the Difference Between Term and Whole Life Insurance? Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance, a category that also includes universal life, variable universal life, and indexed universal life. Like term life insurance, whole life promises to pay your beneficiaries a death benefit in exchange for your premiums (as long as you die while the policy is in force)....

Both parties are currently neck and neck for control of the House and the Senate as the last votes get tallied. If Democrats manage to maintain control, the administration could have an easier time passing proposals like raising taxes on Big Oil and the wealthiest Americans, and making decisions on government spending and the debt ceiling. With yesterday’s election still undecided, markets are lower as optimism from earlier this week wanes....

I know what you’re thinking: Kristin, how could a strong job market be bad news? A strong labor market means that the economy is strong enough to handle more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. More rate hikes increase the likelihood of recession, which no one wants. And then there’s the fact that the Fed is actively trying to slow economic growth in an effort to bring down inflation. While “maximum employment” is one of the stated goals of the Fed, for right now, pumping the brakes on the U....

Who’s On LinkedIn When you use it correctly and with panache, LinkedIn can perform near miracles for your career’s development. Recruiters and employers both use LinkedIn to source candidates for employment, sometimes even using recently departed employees or newly placed employees for career networking opportunities of their own. But as with many job search tools, there’s a possibility for it to become a waste of time. Here’s what you need to know about using LinkedIn for your career....

Sharing your business background goes far beyond simply telling a clever story of how you triumphed over adversity to launch your new business. What investors will care about is how your personal history, work experience, skills, strengths, and education will help you succeed in the business. The background portion shows what you’ve already done to start executing and bringing your idea to life. Potential investors want to know you’ll be able to return their investment with dividends in the years to come, and the background section can help....

When a couple is in the beginning stages of selling two houses to buy one, they often attach themselves initially to the wrong game plan. The game plan is usually to buy a home, followed by selling the other two houses. That plan makes logical sense, but it is not the way that selling two houses to buy one home works out for most of us. Here are two common ways couples can go about selling their homes in order to buy a new one together, plus an explanation of the pros and cons with each....

AzmanJaka /Getty Images The move comes as Robinhood prepares to go public, having filed its draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, amid allegations that the company gamifies its app to lure naive traders to its investment platform. Last year, Massachusetts securities regulators accused Robinhood of using features on its app, like the confetti, “to encourage and entice continuous and repetitive use of its trading application....

Paying Employees Minimum Wage and Tipped Employees. Federal laws say you must pay at least the minimum wage (currently at $7.25 per hour). Minimum wage requirements also apply to tipped employees. You can take up to $5.12 as a tip credit against the minimum wage, but you must pay the employee at least $2.13 in cash wages. Overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act regulates overtime pay. Unless an employee is categorized as exempt (managerial, professional, and supervisory employees), you must pay the person overtime at one and a half times hourly pay for all hours worked over 40 in any week....

Penny Stocks: The Fairy Tale Are penny stocks terrible risks, full of nonsense investments, and scam artists in fancy cars? The answer is “Yes.” Or are penny stocks diamonds in the rough? Are they small companies just getting started, that may have been overlooked or ​undervalued by investors, who can grow a small amount of money to a huge figure in a short time frame? Again, the answer is “Yes.” You may have heard about old widows being swindled out of their savings....

Digital marketing can be complex and time-consuming, and your small business might not have a dedicated employee to handle the job. If you are not experienced in these areas, consider outsourcing them so you can focus on growing your business. Website A website is the foundation of a digital marketing strategy. It is where you will direct traffic, collect leads, and provide useful information about your company. Having an online presence doesn’t have to be expensive or take a great deal of time to manage, but about one-fourth of small business owners still don’t have a website....

But what if your insurance company tells you it is going to cancel coverage because you didn’t comply with a recommendation or do repairs? Here’s what you need to know to help protect your coverage. What Makes an Insurance Company Require Repairs on a Home? Requests by your insurer for you to do a repair will usually come following one of three things: Do You Have to Do What Your Insurer Asks?...

What Is Google for Jobs? Google for Jobs is a job search feature powered by Google. Job seekers can search for and apply to open positions directly from the Google search bar. Google for Jobs is similar to job search engines like Indeed.com, which pulls job listings from many different sources. The difference is that Google is pulling the job listings for your review and Google’s technology will power the search results....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.93% from 6.19% the previous business day, which had been its highest point since at least 2019. The average for a 15-year mortgage fell to 5.09% from 5.14% the previous business day. Last week the 15-year was at 5.26%, also the highest since at least 2019. (Our daily mortgage rate data only goes back to April 2021, but our data on yearly highs and lows date back to 2020, so we know rates weren’t higher in 2020....

But even without an employer providing fancy benefits, it’s possible for employees to create their own sense of happiness at work. Whether your job is one you feel passionate about or one that you simply know you can do well, you can increase your happiness at work with a variety of everyday strategies. No employee is happy at work every single day, and even jobs you are passionate about can sometimes be frustrating or tedious....

Here are some simple tips from millionaire traders to keep you on track. One comment or tip isn’t a trading strategy, though; you need to take that advice and incorporate it into your trading plan in a way that works for you and your trading style. Jesse Livermore on Letting Go of Losses I did precisely the wrong thing. The cotton showed me a loss and I kept it. The wheat showed me a profit and I sold it out…....

While there are many kinds of health plans to choose from, two of the most common are traditional health insurance plans and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Traditional plans have lower deductibles and higher premiums, while HDHPs have higher deductibles and lower premiums. Learn more about the two and how they differ, so you can decide which, if either, is right for you. What’s the Difference Between a Traditional Health Insurance Plan and an HDHP?...

In the past, you would purchase Treasuries by going to a bank. You are now able to buy them from the website, banks, brokers, or dealers. The TreasuryDirect website allows you to buy bonds directly from the government and have the money drawn from a source of your choice. What Types of Treasuries Does TreasuryDirect Offer? There are many types of securities available via TreasuryDirect: Treasury bills (maturities of one year and less) Treasury notes (maturities of two, three, five, seven, and 10 years) Treasury bonds (maturities greater than 10 years) Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) Floating Rate Notes Series I Savings Bonds Series EE Savings Bonds...