In truth, there’s no concrete evidence readily available to support the value of green home upgrades, but logic dictates that they are a wise investment for several reasons. For one thing, you’d be hard pressed to find a prospective homeowner that’s going to complain about eco-friendly amenities. While some say that solar panels on the roof are unsightly, when properly installed they help to protect the roof. And of course they provide homeowners with a free and abundant source of energy, allowing them to live “off the grid” and save a ton of money on utility bills. That’s a bonus for the majority of homeowners. And while the thought of using gray water to hydrate your landscaping is maybe a little weird, it’s a lot cheaper than drawing fresh water for the task, saving homeowners on yet another monthly expense.

Beyond that, however, there is actually a growing market of buyers on the lookout for eco-friendly accommodations. This demographic of young adults is concerned about the ongoing state of the environment and what eco-friendly changes at the personal level could mean for the future of our planet and our species. They are therefor compelled to purchase goods that do less harm to the environment, and homes are no exception. As a result they may even be willing to spend more than average buyer in order to get the products they seek, as well as the satisfaction of knowing that they’re cutting their carbon footprint with every dollar spent.

So you can see that eco-friendly remodeling is unlikely to be a hindrance to your home sale, and it may even have the power to increase your chances of selling and raise your profits by appealing to a broader demographic of buyers. As an investor, you obviously want to earn as much as you can from the sale of your asset one day, and improvements of any stripe can up the ante. But as a concerned citizen, you can use your home renovations to find common ground with prospective buyers, and this personal connection to a home and to an environmental cause could just net you a bigger return on your investment.

The post Is It Worth the Money to Invest in Green Home Improvements? appeared first on Millionaire Money Habits.

The major consideration, of course, is whether or not you can actually afford another property. For one thing you’ll need a down payment, and since the housing market crashed this percentage tends to be higher these days than it was several years ago. But you also need to be able to make the monthly payments. What if you’re relying on renters to foot the bill but there’s a snafu in the process? What if the house must be renovated in order to make it habitable and the contractor is behind schedule? Or suppose you simply can’t seem to find renters you’re comfortable with (or any renters at all). You should be prepared to pay the mortgage every month on your own for at least the first year and potentially longer.

Another thing to think about is what you stand to gain or lose from owning a second home. If you have a property, such as a summer home, that is empty most of the year, you could show up for a vacation only to find that the house has been taken over by squatters. In some states they can be difficult to oust and you may have to pay for legal fees to do so (not to mention the cleanup afterwards). You might hire a live-in house-sitter to watch the place in your absence, but that’s pretty expensive. Another issue could be the extra costs of owning a second home, such as maintenance, insurance, property tax, and perhaps even a management company if you don’t want to play landlord. In short, owning a second home is a major luxury that you might not be able to afford.

And of course, there is no guarantee that your house will increase in value. If the current recession has taught us nothing else, it’s that property values can certainly crash. On the upside just now is the fact that the housing market is still depressed. And you need only take a peek on sites like RateSupermarket Inc. to see that interest rates are incredible. So now is probably a great time to buy without undue worry that your house will be worth less in 20 years than it is now. But you need to consider every angle of the equation before you buy a second home in order to make sure that your finances can handle the additional burden, not only now, but over the next 15-30 years of payments.

The post Determining Whether You’re Financially Ready to Purchase a Second Home appeared first on Millionaire Money Habits.

In truth, there are certain situations whereby you may end up being able to keep all of the money that is awarded to you in a lawsuit, but the laws regarding these occurrences are very specific. The only time you will not have to pay taxes on money received from a settlement is if the damages awarded are compensation for physical injury or illness. The idea here is that you are granted the settlement in order to pay medical bills, current and future, for the injury or illness you’ve suffered. So in a sense, you are not getting any kind of personal gain from the money since it is, in essence, slated to pay bills related to the physical harm you suffered, bills that you wouldn’t have if not for the damage caused by the responsible party. But pretty much everything else is considered taxable, except for special circumstances.

Emotional distress, for example, is not generally considered to be physical, but insomuch as it is caused by a physical injury or illness claimed in a lawsuit, any monies awarded for emotional distress in addition to the settlement for physical harm may be considered tax-free. If, however, you claim emotional distress due to sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace, cases where there was no physical injury or illness, the settlement will be subject to taxation when you file your annual income tax return. Of course, in many cases you can deduct the cost of your attorney and court fees if you end up owing the IRS for money received in a settlement, so that you don’t have to pay taxes on money that is virtually going to pay for your legal battle.

But you can’t deduct more than the amount awarded. So if you took out quick lawsuit loans in order to pay your attorneys, depending on the money from a settlement to pay them back, you will not only find yourself on the hook to repay overages yourself, but you also won’t receive any additional tax break for legal fees owed beyond what the settlement covers. The long and short of it is that unless you have suffered physical harm, chances are good you’ll end up owing the government money on any settlement you receive in the course of a lawsuit. So you might want to keep that in mind before you hire an attorney and set the legal gears in motion.

The post Do You Pay Taxes on Lawsuit Settlement Money? appeared first on Millionaire Money Habits.

As part of a couple you probably enjoyed all kinds of benefits associated with taxation thanks to the ability to file joint returns. With blended finances, including shared income, bills, property, accounts, and so on, you likely paid less in taxes overall. But you also got to file only one return for the household. So what happens now that you’re divorced? Well, so long as you were married for the larger part of a year and both parties agree, you can file jointly one last time as a way to save some money. Of course, this may not be possible or advisable depending on the state of your relationship with your ex-partner. And in any case, you’re going to have to file as a single person eventually, so you might as well learn the ropes sooner rather than later.

In terms of assets and how their division may be taxed, you should know that the rules regarding such taxation depend largely on the state you live in. Some states, for example, consider anything accumulated during the marriage to be community property, and as such it must be equitably divided amongst the parties involved. Others allow for couple to split property as they see fit or sue to determine how assets will be divided. Once this has been accomplished, it’s time to determine applicable taxation. In most cases, assets divided between divorcing parties are considered to be tax-free transfers. So if you have $10,000 in the bank and you split it, neither of you will have to pay taxes on the cash. Or if you retain a residence and your spouse is granted a stock portfolio of roughly equal value in exchange, neither of you will be on the hook for taxes on these items.

That said, you would be well served to check in with your tax prep specialist before making assumptions about what you can and cannot be taxed on following a divorce. Whether you kicked off your marriage with a contract from prenuptialagreementforms.org or you decided to wing it, you could end up owing money to the IRS related to division of assets resulting from your divorce. However, you may also come out ahead in this respect depending on the state you live in and how you split up your marital assets. In any case, a professional should be able to help you determine the most advantageous route so that you can avoid further financial hardship following a divorce.

The post The Impact of Divorce on Your Taxes appeared first on Millionaire Money Habits.

Are you looking for a few marketing tips, but you would like some that are cost-effective? If so, we’ve got five proven ones for you right here. Check these out below:

Use social media (a lot). The great thing about social media is that it has all kinds of free platforms that can help you to reach people all over the world. That’s why it’s so important that you have a Facebook fan page, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts, a YouTube subscription page (where you can upload videos) and also a website that includes a blog that you update at least once a week.

Go to local networking events. We’ve all heard the saying that it’s not just what you know but who you know and one of the best ways to get to know those in your community is to attend events that are relevant to your company. So, whether it’s a volunteer event to raise money for a local non-profit organization, a regional trade show or some kind of media event where business owners can network, make sure to show up to them with some business cards in hand.

Offer to be an “expert”. There are schools, churches and conferences that are always looking for people who are willing to be guest speakers or panelists for events that they have. By volunteering to share your expertise on various topics that you are knowledgeable of, it’s another great way to get your name out in the community. One way to find out about upcoming events is to look on the community calendars of your local radio, newspaper and television outlets. Also, you can contact your chamber of commerce for their published calendar(s) too.

Do some giveaways. Something that will never get old is giveaways. So, if you run a printing company, hold a contest where the winner can get some discount banner printing. If your business focuses on personal training, offer some free sessions to the individuals who can refer the most people to your website. So long as you have a Facebook fan page, Twitter account and a newsletter through a company like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp, you’ll be able to accomplish reaching some loyal and prospective customers and clients fairly easily.

Consider freelance writing. Another way to market your company is to get your byline in various (online and offline) magazines and blogs. Not only is it a smart way to develop your writing skills, but your bio or the links that refer to your website within the article is just one more way to get the word out about you and your business. Good luck!

The post 5 Cost Effective Marketing Methods for Small Businesses appeared first on Millionaire Money Habits.