Today’s News:

This week was a big one for FBI alerts regarding new scams and new twists on old scams. We talked about the Haitian Scam Alert, the Counterfeit Check Scam Alert (a new twist for divorcees and attorneys to beware of), and how Mystery Shopper Scams are growing in popularity.

Read More About These Scams

FBI Scam Alert: Haitian Scam Alert

FBI Scam Alert: Counterfeit Check Scam Alert

FBI Scam Alert: Mystery Shopper Scam update

How to Invest Your Money Right Now – March 27, 2010 – Save The Date

Ilyce Glink and Real World Seminar’s Latest Event

The worst economy in decades has been followed by an incredible 70 percent bounce in the stock market. Some economists are predicting we’ll have a double-dip recession while others think the worst is behind us. Most investors are scratching their heads, wondering “What’s next?”

Will the economy move forward or will it fall back into recession?

Should you invest in bonds if interest rates are moving higher?

Will the stock market move forward or retest market lows?

Should you play it safer or take on more risk?

For our next event, How To Invest In 2010, we’ll bring together the best local investment advisors, financial planners, tax experts and successful investors.

Together, we’ll explore this new world of investing. We’ll look at short-term and long-term investments, retirement savings and your child’s college education fund. We’ll look at stocks, bonds, ETFs, real estate investing and the biggest mistakes investors make.

So plan to join me on March 27, 2010 for my How To Invest In 2010.

The ticket window is open.

We’re offering a 2-for-1 deal, or 50 percent off the ticket price.

Use Discount Code: money

You can also purchase a VIP ticket, or a special package of financial ebooks we’re creating especially for this event.

You’ll have face-to-face time with our experts who are there to share information, not sell you on a solution. And you’ll be able to get answers to your own investing questions.

So, SAVE THE DATE and join us March 27, 2010 for How To Invest In 2010.

New ThinkGlink Ebooks About Investing in Real Estate Are Now Available

We created five new ebooks that together provide you with more than 100 pages of important, money-saving information about investing successful in real estate. here are the five topics:

  1. 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanges. Everything you need to know about 1031 Exchanges (also known as Starker Trusts) and how to use them to defer capital gains and recapture taxes.

  2. LLCs, Corporations, And Other Ways Of Holding Title To Real Estate. The time to start thinking about you’re going to hold title is BEFORE you buy an investment property. This ebook walks you through the different ownership options and what you need to know.

  3. How to Profit From Foreclosures: 9 Top Tips From Investors. Avoid the most common and most devastating mistakes real estate investors make by reading this ebook.

  4. Finding Great Tenants And Profitably Managing Real Estate Investments. If you don’t have good tenants, you’ll wind up with losing money with your real estate investment – or perhaps destroying your credit. This ebook tells you how to find great tenants, how to price your unit to rent, and how to manage your property effectively and efficiently.

  5. The Successful Real Estate Investors Guide: Top Tax Tips. Investing successfully means you’ve got to keep your expenses low. That means, watch what you pay in taxes. This book walks you through the major tax areas you’ll encounter with real estate investing.

We also have FREE BOOKS and other ebooks in the ThinkGlink.com store.

You can get a FREE copy of my book 50 Simple Steps You Can Take to Disaster Proof Your Finances” or “The REALLY Useful Guide to Working Smarter Not Harder” at the ThinkGlink.com store. You pay the shipping and we’ll send you any number of books for free!

Order Your ThinkGlink Ebook or Free Book Today!

Buy 3 Ebooks and Get 1 Free Ebook DEAL!

If you select 3 ebooks from our store and enter the discount code “freeebook” (no quotes), you’ll get one of those ebooks for free. It works with all of our ebooks. Just use the code to get the discount. It will show up when you check out of the ThinkGlink store.

Today’s Ilyce Glink Show Callers – selected questions

Jean wanted to know what kind of taxes she faces with a foreclosure she and her husband bought, fixed up and are now flipping. They bought the house in January 2009 and are closing on it before the end of January 2010. After we chatted, she realized that she will own the house for one year and one week – that’s enough to call it a long-term capital gain versus a short-term capital gain. I suggested she chat with her tax preparer to be sure.

Gary wanted to know if he had to put down his $6,000 Roth IRA contribution on his income tax form, and would that affect his taxes.

One of today’s callers wanted to employ his 12-year old son. His son currently runs the cash register at the store but instead of an allowance, he wanted to get a paycheck like everyone else. I said it would be worth the payroll taxes just to have the door open on that conversation – plus, if he gives his son a paycheck, he can contribute to a Roth IRA, which would be worthwhile. Can you imagine allowing that to grow for 60+ years tax free? A CPA called in later to say that if the business wasn’t incorporated (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp), a parent can hire a child and not worry about payroll taxes.

Richard wanted to know if he could turn back the clock on his Social Security payments and wondered if there would be a tax implication.

Bob has been day trading – and making a living. But he’s tired of day trading and is wondering if he’s better off draining the taxable trading account or taking money out of his IRA to live.

Tim wanted to know whether I thought CharityNavigator.org is a good place to check out possible charities (see scam links above for ways to check out a charity). I think its a good site, but I also like Give.org. You can’t check out a charity too closely if you want to avoid a scam these days.

To find out more, be sure to look for the podcast of today’s show, which will be up in a few days.

Thanks for listening.