Avoid Tax Time Fraud

It's tax time, and that means financial documents are being taken out of locked filing cabinets, copied and dropped into mailboxes across America. In other words, this is prime "dumpster diving season" for identity thieves.

Here are some tips to protect individuals and business owners from fraud,provided by myID.com:

*E-file. When you file your taxes electronically, there will be no paper tax return sitting in your mailbox waiting to be stolen. There are a lot of other benefits to filing your taxes electronically as well. You will get your refund sooner. The IRS can check your returns for accuracy and skipped fields. Use a secure computer when filing electronically; update your anti-virus software

*If you choose not to file electronically, take your envelope straight to the post office rather than dropping it in your mailbox. Personal information privacy means knowing where your documents are at all times.

*If you vacation during tax season, have the post office hold your mail. An overflowing mailbox full of W-2s, 1099s, and end-of-year statements is a gold mine for identity thieves.

*Use your shredder. Consult a tax professional to know what documents to keep and what documents should be shredded. It's extremely important to avoid throwing away anything containing any personally identifying information. Put everything through a shredder before throwing it into the garbage.

*It's okay to store copies of tax returns on a hard drive - this is more secure than e-mail and can be a good way to back up your previous returns. Just be sure to properly dispose of the hard drive when you throw out the computer.

*Be aware of phishing scams. Identity thieves will call or e-mail during tax season and claim they are from the IRS. If you receive a supposed IRS e-mail, it is a fraud. The IRS does not e-mail any correspondence regarding your taxes. If you receive a call from the IRS, take down an extension number and employee name and call the IRS office at 800-829-1040. If the call is genuine, they will be happy to redirect your call back to the right department.

Make Mine a Million

I have been following the Make Mine a Million program for women business owners for several years now.

So I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that its next event comes up next week:

Count Me In is bringing its Make Mine a Million event to Denver on April 4. The mission is to encourage, inspire and help women businesses reach $1 million in revenue. The program has helped thousands so far. Women compete on stage to a panel of acclaimed judges - the winners get financing from American Express, mentoring & coaching, business and marketing tools and more.

Deadline for sign up is this Wednesday, so hurry up and get in on this now!

Know a Teacher?

I'm not one and now that my kids are out of high school I don't know many. But if you do, please encourage them to participate in the 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge:

Just how much do high school students know about managing money? Government and financial education leaders hope to find out by encouraging teachers to sign up for the 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge, which is open now through April 8, 2011. The Challenge is a free online exam that tests young adults’ knowledge about earning, spending, saving, borrowing, risk protection and more. Top scorers are eligible for scholarships and other awards.

Between now and April 8, 2011, any high school teacher or educator who instructs students ages 13-19 can register for the free program, download the toolkit for educators, and prepare their students to take the brief exam. And taking the Challenge can pay off. The Charles Schwab Foundation has announced that it will award select students who excel at the Challenge with $1,000 scholarships and matching grants for the schools. Additionally, the top two scorers at each participating school, plus all students who score in the top 20 percent, will receive award certificates from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Boosting Profits

Small business owners need to stop chasing payroll and boost profits.

That's the opinion of Patricia Sigmon, a New Jersey computer consultant who spent so much time counseling her small business clients on profitability that she decided to write a book about it.

Cut fixed costs, bundle services and institute contracts, Sigmon says. She's got a lot of good advice in fact: Check it out.

Reality Check

We all like to think that we'll keep living - and working - forever. But the reality is that at some point most of us will need, or want, to retire.

I hope to keep writing - for fun or profit - as long as my faculties and my fingers are in working order. But someday it's likely that I'll give up my formal contracts in favor of full or at least partial retirement.

Because I've been self-employed for more than two decades now, I've had to set up and fund my own retirement nest egg. More and more Americans are in the same boat, with little or no employer-sponsored pension money to count on.

But a new survey finds that a record number of them have lost confidence in their ability to retire comfortably. The 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey done by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that 27% of workers - the most ever in the two decades of the survey — now say they are “not at all confident” about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement.

The percentage of workers saying they are “very confident” is at 13%, the lowest rate ever measured by the survey.

Part of this sad state of affairs is, of course, our recent recession and its dampening effect on stock portfolios; high unemployment rates; government fiscal crises; rising health costs and on and on. But the EBRI has also warned for years that Americans are not saving enough:

Well over a third say they determined their retirement savings need by guessing. Seventy percent say they are a little or a lot behind schedule in planning and saving for retirement.

More than half of workers say they have less than $25,000 in total savings and investments, excluding their homes.

A significant number of workers (20 percent) say they now intend to retire later (at an older age) than they had planned. But almost half of current retirees (45 percent) say they retired earlier than they planned, mainly because of a health problem or disability.

We all got discouraged about retirement when our nest eggs evaporated in the recession. But the good news is that stocks are back, at least for the time being. If you're not up-to-date on your savings or haven't revisited your retirement plans lately, this is a good time to do so.

Brother, Where Art Thou?

Remember Brother?

No, I'm not talking about Big Brother. I'm talking about the typewriter and fax machine company that started in the '50s and sold a lot of the business machines I learned on as a kid and worked on as a young adult.

Well, it turns out that they are one of the smart, legacy brands. They kept up with the times and they are still alive and kicking. Not only that, but they are still supporting businesses, large and small.

In fact, they are awarding one lucky small business owner a $10,000 business grant (and a chance to win other prizes) in a new contest.

Small business owners can enter the contest, which reminds me of the old essay and jingle contests back in the day, now through March 29.

Give it a try!

Luck O'The Neighborhood

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your neighborhood restaurant or pub and you'll be a part of reinvesting $2.33 billion in your local community, according to Independent We Stand.

Turns out that 2010 St. Patrick's Day spending was approximately $3.44 billion.

If you plan on celebrating at a national chain restaurant, your local reinvestment drops to only $1.4 billion. So have a green beer and a slice of corned beef and cabbage at a small business, and then get home safely.

Your community will be glad you did.