4 Creative Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

---

       typesofaid.com Staff
You want to pay your mortgage off as quickly as possible, but this can be quite a challenge. People often get into a habit of making the same mortgage payment each month and never considering that they have options that could shorten the process. There are, however, some creative and often overlooked ways to pay off your mortgage more quickly. Let’s look at some of the possibilities you might not have considered.

1. Make a Small Increase in Your Monthly Payments

Paying even a little more each month will shorten the length of your mortgage loan. You may have to adjust your budget here and there to find the extra money. Most people, if they look at how much they spend on frills such as fast food, coffee and impulsive purchases, can find ways to make a larger mortgage payment each month.

2. Make Biweekly Rather Than Monthly Payments

This is a trick that allows you to make the equivalent of one extra monthly payment per year. The reason for this is that when you make biweekly payments, you will be making a total of 26 payments in a year. This is the same as making 13 monthly payments rather than 12.

3. Use Tax Refunds, Work Bonuses and Unexpected Dividends Towards Your Mortgage

People often like to use tax refunds as a way to make fun purchases or perhaps take a vacation. While this can be nice, it will be better for your financial health to think of your tax refunds as a way to make some extra mortgage payments. Bonuses are another instance where you might have to exercise some self-discipline. It can be tempting to use your bonus to help pay for holiday gifts. If you’re serious about paying your mortgage off promptly, however, it would be wiser to use your bonus to make a dent in what you owe. The same principle applies to any type of unexpected dividends, such as inheritances, gambling winnings or a raise or promotion at work.

4. Refinance to a Shorter Term Mortgage

Refinancing to a shorter term mortgage will allow you to pay it off faster. This will entail higher payments, but it can be worth it in the long run as the day of your final payment is moved forward. The most common way to do this is to switch from a 20 year to a 15 year mortgage. If you can handle it, you might even consider a 10 year plan.

Unclaimed and Undelivered Tax Refunds

Unclaimed and Undelivered Tax Refunds

May 05, 2017 resourcedepot.co Staff
Did you not get a tax refund this year? Did you not send in a tax return because you think that your income is too low? If the answer to either one of those questions is yes, then you may be entitled to some money. Every year, millions of tax refunds are unclaimed and undelivered. In 2011, the IRS had $153 million in refunds that were waiting to be issued. There are a number of reasons that people do not receive their tax refunds.

Undelivered tax Refunds

Every year, the IRS sends out refund checks to about 30 million people. Some of these tax refunds are sent to the wrong address, so they are returned to the sender. Others are never cashed because they are lost in the mail. If you manually filed your taxes and have not received a refund, then you want to make sure that the IRS has your correct address.

Unclaimed tax Refunds

If your income was too low to file taxes, then you may still be able to get a refund. This is because you may be able to get an Earned Income Tax Credit, which is given to low-income earners. You can get this credit regardless of whether taxes were taken out of your earnings. There are income limits that apply. The maximum income is contingent upon your household size and whether you file jointly.

If you have an unclaimed tax refund, then it is important to contact the IRS as soon as possible. You will not be able to get a refund if you do not file taxes within three years. For example, if you have an unclaimed tax refund from 2015, then you will have until 2018 to claim it. The money will become the property of the U.S. Treasury if you do not claim it within three years. Keep in mind that you will not be charged a penalty for filing your tax return late if you are owed a refund.

What to do if you have an Unclaimed tax Refund

If you did not get your tax refund because the IRS does not have the correct address, then you can update your address using the "Where's my Refund?" feature. You will be prompted to give a new address if the IRS was not able to contact you within the past 12 months.

You can also update your address using Form 8862. This is a Change of Address Form, which can be found on the IRS website. You can also call the IRS directly and request a form.

You can also consult with your tax preparer if you have an unissued refund. Your refund may be delayed because the information on your tax refund was not correct. You can update this information by calling the IRS directly.

You can find the forms you need to file your tax returns on the IRS website. You can also get these funds by calling the IRS. Everyone could use an extra $3,116. This is the average unclaimed tax refund amount.

How to Prevent This From Happening in the Future

The main reason that refunds are not delivered is because the IRS does not have people's correct address. That is why it is important to make sure that the IRS has your current address. If you choose to get your refund delivered via direct deposit, then you will need to make sure that the banking information is correct.

Make sure that you keep track of the status of your refund using the "Where's my Refund?" feature. There are three options. Your return is processing, refund has been approved, or it has already been sent. If all of the information is accurate, then you should get your refund within three weeks. However, there are several things that can cause a delay in your refund.

Keep in mind that if your refund is rejected, then you can correct the errors and submit your tax return again. There is no charge for submitting an amended tax return.

Furthermore, you may want to consider e-filing your taxes and signing up for direct deposit. This will not only ensure that your taxes are done correctly, but you will also be able to get your refund much faster.

Small Business Grants

Small Business Grants

August 18, 2016 resourcedepot.co Staff
When starting a small business, you may be wondering if there's any way to request small business grants to assist with the creation of the business in question.

In many cases, this is not possible, as the United States Federal Government rarely awards grants such as these to private businesses that are classified as for-profit. There are some exceptions to this rule. Any business that can be classified as a 501C3 non-profit organization for charitable reasons might very well be eligible for federal grants.

Thankfully, other federal resources are available in lieu of not having access to grants. These resources are primarily available from the United States Small Business Administration. This federal agency is designed to assist Americans with the creation and growth of their small businesses. Their services are available to anyone in America, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico. The resources available with the SBA include loans, venture capital and surety bonds.

While they don't directly provide small businesses with loans, they guarantee loans to small businesses that directly qualify for a loan by a lending institution. This provides small businesses with a better opportunity and increased chance to actually become eligible for a loan. There are several loan programs to choose from for potential small business owners. The first of these is the Basic 7(a) Loan Program. These loans can be utilized for everything from working capital and leasehold improvements to land/building and furniture/fixtures. Loan maturity is typically around ten years for working capital, but 25 years for fixed assets.

The 504 Loan Program is designed to assist with longer term financing. This financing is set to a fixed rate and is used for everything from purchasing real estate and machinery to equipment for expansion. This type of loan is provided by a Certified Development Company. Liens are placed on any collateral and the borrower is typically required to put in a contribution of around 10 percent equity. A Microloan 7(m) Loan Program is made for smaller financing projects or even technical assistance. These loans are generally short-term and provide up to $35,000 in loans. These loans can be used for supplies, furniture, working capital, inventory and more. It's important to note that the SBA doesn't directly guarantee this type of loan. They can only guarantee the loan to an intermediary who then takes care of the rest.

For any of these loan types, there are some notable qualifications that a small business will need to pass before being granted the loan. For one, if the business owner is submitting an application for a loan of $250,000 or smaller, it needs to be properly analyzed and sanctioned by the SBA beforehand. If the SBA allows it, the loan will then be considered.

Aside from loans, there are also Surety Bond Guarantee Programs to take advantage of. In essence, a surety bond is an insurance that will provide protection in the event that a contractor doesn't successfully complete the project at hand. The SBA assists with the approval of these bonds. The bonds are usually required for any construction grants on a federal, state or city level. If a surety bond isn't obtained, the grant money may not be awarded.

The SBA will also assist with the acquiring of venture capital. Venture capital is basically a cash investment of any amount by private investors as a means of gaining a certain amount of ownership in the new business. The SBA has a specific program that helps any small business in lower income areas with the acquiring of this financing. Such funds can be used for hiring employees in these areas. However, there are several qualifications that a small business must pass in order to make use of venture capital.

For one, the small business can't be worth more than $6 million or have a profit of more than $2 million in the previous two years. The county the business is located in must also have a current poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, or have a metro area where more than 50 percent of residents qualify for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. If the small business is in a rural area, the median household income must be lower than 80 percent of the median household income for the state.

There is an exception allowed by the SBA with federal grants. The small business requesting a grant must have a focus on innovation research or high technology. The Innovation Research Program offers these funds at the standard development stages. The Technology Transfer Program for small businesses provides grants to companies that partner directly with nonprofit technology institutions that specialize in research. In general, all of the grants available to small businesses can be found in more detail at federalgrants.com.

Take Your Money Out of the Bank!