Archive for June, 2009

Here’s another Mystery Shopping Scam report.

I was a victim to this so called “mystery shopping” this past week. Earlier this month I found an ad online about mystery shopping and a friend of mine used to do it in college so I thought it was legit. The man whom emailed me was named Jack McCallister and he had an acct. with gmail. He emailed me regularly telling me what I would have to do when I recieved the funds. I received the check of 3,000 dollars on June 24th, 2009 and deposited it into my bank acct. the next day. The check was from a business in Atlanta Georgia and is called Schlumberger Industries, which I googled and it is a legit industry, but nothing to do with mystery shopping which was odd. I waited for the funds to clear, which took a couple days and then I sent 2500$ to a Miles Mcfadden that lives in San Antonio Texas. Today the check came back to the bank and now I’m way overdrawn in my acct and I had to discuss this matter with the Bank Manager and she advised me to get all the information and fil e a police report to cover my tracks because the fraud dept of my bank would be contacting me. These people are ruthless and are making ALOT of money off of people like me. The police officer who filed my report informed me that this thing happens ALL the time and that it is so hard to trace these people because there aren’t enough detectives willing to break the case.

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photo credit: kunalmehta

When making the decision to take on a partner for your start-up, one needs to remember to choose wisely. This person should be considered as your right hand man, someone that you will be involved with for the long hall. I recently read an article on Entrepreneur.com that gives some examples of the people to stay away from when choosing your partner that i couldn’t agree with more.

Mr. College buddy is never a good choice for several reasons. Remember his behavior in college? Unless he’s made a drastic transformation i wouldn’t suggest choosing him. He also is the one who is most likely going to forward you his new expensive address so you can mail his 50% to him every month.

Mr. Spender can’t possibly survive without a six-figure salary, lavish office and an in-house cigar roller. Price is no object when it comes to entertaining a client or flying first class.

Mr. Vacation is another one pretty similar to Mr. College buddy, they are NEVER around especially when you need them the most. Mr. Personal issues, this is the guy who has a personal reason and or excuse for everything in the book. He has a built in way out of everything that you need him to do for the company.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

The Wall Street Journal:

Perhaps the greatest advantage of hanging out your own shingle or making that consulting business full-time is the independence that comes with being your own boss. But higher expenses and other costs come along with your newfound liberty. You may not be able to sock away as much pretax for retirement, and you may have trouble refinancing your mortgage. Your higher tax bills may shock you, too.

All in all, if you go out on your own, you may need to bring in up to 20% more than before just to break even, especially if you can’t piggyback on your spouse’s health insurance, says David Strege, a financial planner in West Des Moines, Iowa.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. There are few more gratifying accomplishments than making it on your own. But here’s what you should keep in mind as you figure out what to charge for your work and how to budget for your future.

As an employee, you will pay 6.2% of your earnings (up to $106,800 this year) for Social Security and 1.45% of your income (with no limits) for Medicare, while your employer will pay an equal amount. But when you say goodbye to the Man, you will pay the whole 15.3%.

The good news is that the taxes apply only after you deduct your expenses, and your “employer” half is deductible from your federal taxes. But if your expenses aren’t especially high, your total tax costs will go up.

Continue Reading: “Working For Yourself Means Freedom — But It Doesn’t Come Free”

Photo by cvukom.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.