I like the commercials with the guys on our money from TurboTax. I even think they have a home business edition. I actually use an accountant.

Anyway, Happy Friday!

Earlier this week, I started looking at an article from CNN Money about rescuing your retirement. The first step was to honestly evaluate where you are right now, so that you have a place to work forward from. Today, we will move on to Step 2, which is all about your portfolio.

Look at your retirement account investment portfolio

Your retirement account is really an investment portfolio. Your gains — and even your contributions — can be tax advantaged. This is a nice perk of having a retirement account. And now is not the time to pull out. Instead, you should look at your portfolio and make sure you have fundamentally sound investments — and a mix.

CNN Money offers this look at retirement account portfolio allocation:

It's still a good idea to avoid dumping all of your stocks. After all, they are inexpensive right now. However, don't count on them to completely rescue your retirement, and realize that they are a long-term strategy — something that gains over decades. But you may have to re-evaluate which stocks you keep.

image credit: Tracy O via Flickr

In all the shuffle to keep the "big guys" from failing, not enough emphasis has been put on small business. And now problems with the economy are finally causing that policy to come home to roost: Rising defaults on small business loans — including those for home business — could form the basis of further economic turmoil.

Small business is the backbone of the economy. Unfortunately, with headlines of big businesses failing, the "little guys" haven't been getting much attention. But with bank lending drying up, and consumer spending down, small business is really starting to feel the pinch.

CNN Money reports on this disturbing trend in small business funding:

Last year's failure rate is a sharp increase over past years.
In 2004, the SBA loan failure rate was 2.4%, but it has increased each
year since, rising to 8.4% in 2007, according to Coleman's
calculations. The 2008 failure rate of nearly 12% covers the fiscal
year that ended on Sept. 30. In that year, the SBA's 7(a) and 504
programs approved 78,324 loans, totaling $18.2 billion.

The new economic stimulus bill provides incentives for small business lending, but for some it's too late.

Even if you have a home business and are self-employed, you should have a retirement account. I have a Roth IRA, and am planning to open a solo Roth 401k. It's especially important to prepare for the future when you are dependent almost entirely on yourself for that future.

You might be worried about your retirement (I am a little, but I have a long time horizon), so CNN Money has a great article on rescuing your retirement. We'll look over these ideas in the coming days.

Where are you now?

The first step to rescuing your retirement is to know where you are right now. You need to know the following:

You can even work the numbers in a retirement calculator to help you plan. But getting an idea of where you are now can be helpful as you move forward with your planning process to make sure that you have what you need to retire.

One of the great things about home business is that you can do things that are possible from…home. Jean Murray at Home Biz Notes has a great list of creative work from home ideas. If you have some sort of creative talent, you can use it to start a home business. Here are some of the ideas Jean suggests:

Catering. If you cook well, you can cater. You can make the meals in others' facilities in some cases as well. Just be aware that you may need to hire wait staff for some occasions. Or you can run of those gourmet baked goods mail delivery services. Just make sure you have the proper licenses and permits.

Decorating. Jean points out that projections put the interior design industry at increasing by 19% in the coming years. That's pretty good. If you have an eye for decoration and detail, you might be able to sell your services. This goes for organizational skills (like putting closets in order) as well.

Sewing/upholstery. My mom tried in vain to get me interested in sewing while I was growing up. However, if you are talented in this area, you can make any number of items — including dresses made to order. Crochet, knitting and quilting can also be done from home. My sister in law actually creates crochet patterns that she sells online — along with the items she has made!

Writing/publishing. My home business is freelance writing services. With the current economy, many people are looking to outsource content creation. And, with the Internet, you can serve clients from around the world. Desktop publishing is also something you can do: newsletters, books, catalogs and more can all have their layouts done remotely. Graphic design is another related field that you can do from home.

What other creative endeavors make good work from home ideas?

I love the commercials they have this year for tax season. And one of my personal favorites is this one, from H&R Block, featuring death's messed up return.

Happy Friday!

Image via Wikipedia

For most people, a home business means a lot of time in front of the computer. And, if you are a freelance writer (as I am), that time is even more likely to be a lot. That means that you might feel eye strain and other problems. However, there are some things you can do to help ensure that your vision doesn't suffer as much from heavy computer use. Computer use won't permanently damage your eyes, but you can get eye strain, focus problems and experience discomfort. Family Health Guide offers these tips for reducing the load on your eyes:

Managing your computer use so that it keeps your eyes comfortable is an important part of your home business. You want to be able to work efficiently and effectively, without being slowed down by eye strain.

Yesterday, I mentioned that the economic stimulus bill included some measures designed to help small business in these times of economic turmoil. There are also some changes to the way business taxes will be figured for 2008. Here are some of the things to be aware of for your home business when figuring your 2008 taxes:

Self-employment tax

This one is actually a bit of a bummer. The amount of your income from your home business subject to Social Security tax used to be $97,500. Now it is $102,000 starting in tax year 2008.

Deferred compensation plans

It used to be that deferred income from compensation plans was made in the year of the deferral. Now, however, things have changed. Unfortunately, the rules are complex and difficult, and different situations are taken into account. You should probably check with the IRS or a tax professional to see what your situation requires.

Mileage rate

If you drive a lot for your home business, you can deduct some of your expenses. In 2008, the new mileage rate is 50.5 cents per mile for the first six months, and 58.5 cents per mile for the second half. This rather generous change was due to the spiking gas prices last summer. Look for the mileage rate to come down in 2009, I think.

Write-offs for business purchases

For 2008, the amount you can write off has increased. You can write off a total up to $800,000. Additionally, the new allowance (for tax year 2008 only) for property and/or business equipment is $250,000.

If your home business is organized as an S-corporation, you should also consult the IRS or a tax professional about the new income situation — which includes losses to the S-corp. when selling stocks or real estate in volatile 2008.

You can learn more about 2008 tax rules at IRS.gov, or buy contacting an accountant or other tax professional.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Today, Barack Obama signed the economic stimulus bill into law. The bill includes help for small business — even help for home business in some cases. Here are some of the items that should help small business owners:

There are also loan programs, including microloans from the Small Business Administration, as well as a special loan program. CNN Money describes the loans meant for small business stabilization:

Do you think these measures will help small business and stimulate the economy?

If you have a home business, chances are that you also have to pay self-employment tax. Wikipedia explains how self-employment tax is charged in the United States:

As you can see, it is still a requirement to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes as well. This can be discouraging for some, especially since home business owners are also still responsible for income tax, which is different from the self-employment tax. Here are some of the entities that have to pay self-employment tax:

If you are operating as a C-corp or an S-corp, then you do not have to pay self-employment tax. But you still have to pay income tax on your earnings.

It is a good idea to consult with a tax professional or an accountant to discuss which arrangements are most likely to help you get the best possible tax situation.