 Photo: L-R Elaine Murray DMFLF Educator, Derby Chukwudi DMFLF Advisor, Jacqueline Nyers DMFLF Educator
On July 26, 2021, DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation, Princeton NJ, Visions and Pathways, Bridgewater, NJ and Kevin Whelan from NJ CASA joined forces in support of our collective missions to help at-risk youth develop personal finance skills by offering a FitKit Personal Finance workshop. The workshop, underwritten by cashflownavigator.com introduced important life and personal finance skills to a group of at-risk youth age 16-21 involved in the Visions and Pathways Transitions to Adulthood Program. By offering this workshop we hope to have provided some basic skills as food for thought as young men and women transition from dependence and foster care, to independence. About Us DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation's (DMFLF) mission is to prepare today’s students for a lifetime of financial responsibility through engaging programs delivered to schools and communities. Through our FitKit student-centered multi-sensory financial literacy curriculum designed by a team of highly skilled educators, DMFLF is working to close the financial literacy gap while helping to educate, empower and help at-risk youth overcome life’s challenges About Visions and Pathways Visions and Pathway's mission is to provide abused, neglected, and homeless youth with housing, a stable environment, and supportive services that guide them in becoming self-sufficient. Visions and Pathways has helped abused, neglected, homeless, missing, and at-risk youth since 1970 by providing; food, housing, counseling, education assistance, arts and recreation activities, career and employment counseling, scholarships, and financial literacy instruction. About Cashflownavigator.com Cashflownavigator.com’s mission is to help its members understand, measure and manage their total financial situation and to set goals that move them closer to financial independence. We will be inviting a select group of potential funders who express interest in learning more about the work of DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation to observe the demo workshop. With your support, we can make our mutual objectives become a reality for all at-risk young adults, improving financial literacy, ending financial victimization, and giving our youth a fair chance.
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 DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation is proud to announce that we have joined forces with Visions and Pathways to deliver needed Personal Finance Education to at-risk youth.
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As a business owner, you have an added burden when tax season arrives. Taxpayers with a business spend significantly more time on tax preparation than those without businesses. The process can be especially stressful if you aren't sure what tax reporting and payment requirements you are subjected to. DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation, Inc., is dedicated to helping business owners like you, providing financial literacy resources to demystify the tax preparation and filing process. Read on for a starter guide to a stress-free tax filing process. Get your paperwork organized. You will need to sift through a lot of paperwork to complete your business tax filing. Start getting organized now. Depending on your circumstances, you may need Federal Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2), Employer Annual Federal Tax Return (Form 944), and Transmittal of Income and Tax Statements (Form W-3). You can find all of this paperwork on the Internal Revenue Service website. Figuring out and finding what you need now will save you stress when you're actually filing. Make sure to clearly separate business and personal finances. As you go through your paperwork, make sure to distinguish between personal and business-related documentation. This simplifies tax filing and will also make matters easier if you are audited by the IRS. If you don't already have one, consider opening a business bank account. There are various advantages, such as the ability to build business credit — improving your financing prospects, avoiding personal liability, and better revenue tracking. Clarify what rebates and credits you are entitled to. Tax credits and rebates can lower your final business tax bill. Take the time to check what you may be eligible for. Possibilities include earned income tax credit, child and dependent care credit, retirement plan startup cost tax credit, work opportunity tax credit, and more. For tailor-made advice, consult a tax professional. Ensure you've properly differentiated employees versus contractors. As a business owner, you will also have to submit tax paperwork to the IRS regarding your workers. What paperwork you submit depends on whether the worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Independent contractors require a 1099, for example, while employees need a W-2 and W-4. Legal Zoom explains how to properly differentiate between the two categories. For example, the courts may use the "right to control" test, determining how much authority you, the employer, have over whether the worker does their work or not. Invest in tech tools to simplify record-keeping. Tax preparation and filing will take time. Fortunately, there are tools available to help expedite the process. Take the 1099 forms for independent contractors, for example. An online payroll system allows you to file 1099 online, minimizing hassle and the confusion between 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC and when to use them. Online payroll systems also simplify payments, allowing you to pay contractors more quickly. Change your business structure if needed. As you prepare for tax season, you may discover that you would be better off with a different business structure. Diverse entities like limited liability companies, corporations, and sole proprietorships vary in terms of tax obligations and reporting requirements. While changing your business structure now won't make a huge difference when it comes to reporting for the last tax year, it can help you save money next tax year. Don't let tax season overwhelm you. The above tips can help you get through it easily. If you find yourself struggling, don't hesitate to turn to a professional for help. DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation, Inc. gives small business owners the knowledge they need to succeed. Visit the website to view the current course offerings.  You made a mistake with your business’s money. Maybe it was even a big one and cost you your business. Yikes! That’s a tough pill for any entrepreneur to swallow, but it doesn’t have to sidetrack all of your entrepreneurial hopes and dreams. If you still want to achieve your goals of owning a thriving business, you can start with these recovery tips.
Create More Time to Focus on Finances Recovering from a big setback can take patience, self-compassion (we’ll talk about this in more detail later), and of course, time. If you’re a motivated entrepreneur though, extra time may not be something you have right now. This is why you need to make more time in your schedule. Virtual assistants are a perfect addition for entrepreneurs who may not have time for tedious tasks, like filing and data entry. If you’re not quite sure what the average virtual assistant salary is, online job boards are a goldmine. To help you with budgeting, most freelancing virtual assistants will charge clients anywhere from $10 to $20 per hour, although some simply charge a flat rate for each completed project. You can also use online job boards to find virtual assistants with niche skills, like social media marketing, networking, and even bookkeeping, to suit your business needs. Ask for Help or Advice Before You Proceed Getting administrative help from a virtual assistant can give you the time to bounce back from a mistake, that’s for sure. But you may also need some sage advice to figure out what your next move should be. If you’re looking for some basic lessons in financial literacy, the courses and articles from DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation can be incredibly helpful. Because even if you have a great business idea, you may not have the financial savvy to bring it to life, and that’s okay. DoughMain was founded with folks like you in mind and a recognition that many adults find their finances confusing or overwhelming. In terms of your big mistake, it may also be beneficial to sit down with a financial expert and figure out what went wrong. A financial advisor can help you straighten out common mistakes, like not planning for taxes, and set you up for success in the future. Since this is an added expense for your budget, be thorough when asking about fees and rates. If you have specific questions about setting up your new business, you can also seek out a mentor who can offer you support and guidance. Practice Some Self-Care and Self-Compassion People make mistakes, so don’t waste time beating yourself up over yours. If you start to feel down or like giving up, just remember that failure isn’t a lack of success. In fact, some of the most accomplished people in business got where they are because they realized that failure is just part of success. To achieve big dreams, you have to be willing to fail big time! Financial mistakes are also pretty common and this may have something to do with the lack of financial literacy classes available in schools. Learning about money is so important and if you didn’t have these lessons early on, it makes sense that you would make mistakes. Since you can’t go back in time, the next best thing you can do is educate yourself and get back up. Both of these pointers can help you exercise more self-compassion towards yourself, but what you really may need to recover is some extra self-care. Instead of jumping right back into trying to establish a new business, maybe take a few breaths and take some time to rest and recharge. Even if you don’t take time off, be sure to take time for basic self-care! Failure is a part of success, but you still shouldn’t make the same mistake twice. So make time to work on your recovery plan, learn about your mistake, business and money in general, and most importantly, be gentle with yourself and you get back up and get back out there. Photo Credit: Pexels  Image courtesy of Unsplash
If you have dreams of purchasing a home, you probably already know there's a lot of work involved before you can get started. Unfortunately, the home buying process is not an easy one to understand, especially if you are the first in your family to purchase a home or you are purchasing a home for the first time. There’s a lot to learn, but DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation’s FitKit personal finance curriculum helps students (and their teachers) understand the pillars of the process, everything from taxes and budgeting to credit and banking. If you already have debt, such as from student loans or credit cards, you might feel even more intimidated and unsure of how to proceed. Even with previous debt, it’s still possible to pay it off and realize your dream of buying a house. Your best bet may be to take a financial literacy course to ensure you know your personal finances first. Here’s a quick primer on how to begin the process. Know Your Current Debt Level Before you start dreaming of purchasing a home, take the time to go through your current debt. This can include credit card debt, other types of obligations you might have such as student loans or a car loan and any outstanding monies owed. Rather than fear what the end total might be, face it head-on, knowing you are working toward paying off your debt. It's likely that once you find the total cost of what you owe, you can focus on getting everything paid off and figure out when it might be possible to buy a home. Prioritize Paying Debts Once you have a list of all your debts, decide how you'll begin paying them off. Many individuals utilize the snowball method, where, as CNBC explains, the focus is on eliminating the smallest debt first. Once that liability is gone, they are free to move on to the next smallest debt until all commitments are paid off one by one. This method is helpful when dealing with credit cards or a car loan prior to buying a house. It isn't suggested for larger debts, such as a student loan, because it is unlikely you'll have that all paid off by the time you buy your house. This offers a helpful method for reducing overall debt. Create a Budget To See You Through Putting together a financial plan gives you the chance to list all your expenses and see where your money is going. You can then review your budget and decide where to make cuts to help keep your spending down. By paying upfront for items rather than using credit, you can reduce debt, save money in certain areas and pave the way to buying a home. Your budget can help you decide how large a mortgage you can take on and if you need to increase your overall income, perhaps by picking up an additional part-time job. Understand Home Loan Options When seeking a mortgage, find out what different alternatives are available to you to lower the overall monthly costs. You can do this in a number of ways, such as paying points on your mortgage. This means you'll pay a fee to the lender when you close, according to Bankrate, giving you the opportunity to get a better interest rate in return. Overall, your monthly mortgage payment may be lowered. The best way to determine if this will work for you is to evaluate the home you want to buy, review your current finances and project the number of years you think you'll live at the property. Using a mortgage points calculator can help with this decision. If you are ready to get a home loan, make sure you know your current debt level and figure out a definite plan to reduce it. Create a budget and find out what home loan possibilities are open to you so you can select the one that best meets your needs.  Photo Credit: Pexels.com
As a business owner, you have an added burden when tax season arrives. Taxpayers with a business spend significantly more time on tax preparation than those without businesses. The process can be especially stressful if you aren't sure what tax reporting and payment requirements you are subjected to. DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation, Inc., is dedicated to helping aspiring business owners, providing financial literacy resources to to schools that help to demystify the tax preparation and filing process. Read on for a starter guide to a stress-free tax filing process. Get your paperwork organized. You will need to sift through a lot of paperwork to complete your business tax filing. Start getting organized now. Depending on your circumstances, you may need Federal Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2), Employer Annual Federal Tax Return (Form 944), and Transmittal of Income and Tax Statements (Form W-3). You can find all of this paperwork on the Internal Revenue Service website. Figuring out and finding what you need now will save you stress when you're actually filing. Make sure to clearly separate business and personal finances. As you go through your paperwork, make sure to distinguish between personal and business-related documentation. This simplifies tax filing and will also make matters easier if you are audited by the IRS. If you don't already have one, consider opening a business bank account. There are various advantages, such as the ability to build business credit — improving your financing prospects, avoiding personal liability, and better revenue tracking. Clarify what rebates and credits you are entitled to. Tax credits and rebates can lower your final business tax bill. Take the time to check what you may be eligible for. Possibilities include earned income tax credit, child and dependent care credit, retirement plan startup cost tax credit, work opportunity tax credit, and more. For tailor-made advice, consult a tax professional. Ensure you've properly differentiated employees versus contractors. As a business owner, you will also have to submit tax paperwork to the IRS regarding your workers. What paperwork you submit depends on whether the worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Independent contractors require a 1099, for example, while employees need a W-2 and W-4. Legal Zoom explains how to properly differentiate between the two categories. For example, the courts may use the "right to control" test, determining how much authority you, the employer, have over whether the worker does their work or not. Invest in tech tools to simplify record-keeping. Tax preparation and filing will take time. Fortunately, there are tools available to help expedite the process. Take the 1099 forms for independent contractors, for example. An online payroll system allows you to file 1099 online, minimizing hassle and the confusion between 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC and when to use them. Online payroll systems also simplify payments, allowing you to pay contractors more quickly. Change your business structure if needed. As you prepare for tax season, you may discover that you would be better off with a different business structure. Diverse entities like limited liability companies, corporations, and sole proprietorships vary in terms of tax obligations and reporting requirements. While changing your business structure now won't make a huge difference when it comes to reporting for the last tax year, it can help you save money next tax year. Don't let tax season overwhelm you. The above tips can help you get through it easily. If you find yourself struggling, don't hesitate to turn to a professional for help. DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation, Inc. through FitKit programs for school gives youth the skills needed in to become successful small business owners. Visit the website to view the current course offerings. DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation is worried that students will take on more loans, only to re-enter a compromised labor market as a result of the economic damage caused by COVID19 and emerging possibilities of higher taxes and less employment opportunities. Among our concerns is how the 2020 recession might exacerbate the wealth gap since 2008, which diminished homeownership rates for African Americans and led to significant income decline in low-income communities. We are concerned that the next generation of young adults – especially those without family wealth – will struggle to reach financial independence and materialist milestones, compared to their parents and grandparents. But this delay in independent adulthood could motivate them to re-envision not just their careers, but social and personal priorities differently. The need for quality Personal Finance Education for every kid in every school across America is now more important the ever! FitKit explores Income and Career goals important to young adults.  Photo by Avery Evans on Unsplash
Did you log into your online banking account to find that you have a negative balance on your credit card? Your heart might have dropped for a moment — how could you have accrued this much debt? What does having a negative credit card balance even mean? You can relax: having a negative credit card balance is not a bad thing. It does not mean that you owe the bank lots of money — the opposite, in fact. That said, if you searched the internet for answers thinking that having a negative credit card balance is the same thing as having a negative bank account balance, we’ll discuss both situations and provide you with five pieces of advice to get out of debt. Why is My Balance Negative? If you have a legitimate negative credit card balance, that means your credit issuer owes you money. If you had a $100 balance on your statement but received a refund for $300, then your balance would read -$200. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you don’t have to pay up. Refunds are a common reason why people’s credit card balances become negative (if they’ve paid off their previous statement balances, of course), but it may also happen due to canceled fees, removing fraudulent charges, or another reason. Your balance will return to zero if you contact your issuer and ask for your money back or choose to think of it as a kind of credit card prepayment. Remember, it’s not extra money; it was yours to begin with. Negative credit card balances don’t affect your credit score. You aren’t earning money, either, but neither will your creditworthiness take a hit. What if I Owe Money Instead? If you’ve confused “negative credit card balance” with owing money, here are a few ways to get your bank account positive again: Use a Financial AppDo you have trouble budgeting, or is your financial situation a bit of a mystery? Use a financial app like Mint, PocketGuard, or Peak to create a budget, stick to it, and achieve your financial goals. Some apps allow you to view all of your accounts from one place and keep track of your expenses and spending habits. If you are good at budgeting, but delays in payroll make you short on cash anyway, you can use Earnin to improve your overall financial health. With Earnin, you can take advantage of the “Tip Yourself” feature, so you remember to save, and you can access up to $500 per pay period before payday (you pay the app back when your paycheck comes in), so you can pay your expenses on time without over-relying on credit. Apply for a Balance Transfer Consider applying for a balance transfer card with a 0% introductory rate. This measure allows you to transition your debt from one line of credit to another card with a different issuer (though there may be transfer fees, so do the math to make sure your current interest rate isn’t actually less expensive). Negotiate with Credit IssuersIt never hurts to pick up the phone and just ask. Ask your credit issuer if they are willing to lower your interest rate, or if they are willing to let you switch cards. You might have a chance if you have a history of making your payments on time. Do this for your bills, too. Many kinds of debt are more negotiable than you think, so call your healthcare provider to reduce medical bills, your insurance company, your internet service, your landlord, and other people if you want to pay less. It never hurts to try because the worst thing they can do is say no. Pay More than the Minimum Payment Yes, the minimum payment is all you are legally obligated to pay each month — but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay more. Paying the minimum only ensures that you are stuck with your debt longer and thus owe more money over time thanks to interest. Pay whatever you have the budget for so that you can climb out of debt faster. Prioritize Debts Pay off your loans or debts with the highest interest rates first. Say you have two credit cards, one with 17% APR and another with 15%. Pay off the 17% debt first with as many funds as you have available and make the minimum payment on the other. The former credit card will cost you more money in the long-run due to accruing interest, so prioritize that one and keep up the pace with the second card once your other debt is gone. Having a negative credit card balance is not bad, but a negative bank account balance definitely is. Either way, don’t panic — you don’t owe money in the first scenario, and there are ways to pay off debt in the latter. Please note, the material collected in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as or construed as advice regarding any specific circumstances. Nor is it an endorsement of any organization or Services. This article originally appeared on Earnin.  New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group sponsored #FitKit Personal Finance course materials for New Hope Solebury High School, Pennsylvania in 2020 supporting their belief in making financial literacy a priority for students.
Thank you NJM Insurance Group for your efforts to empower youth and to be there with them along the way! |
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