We found an article in US News and World Report about freelance web writing. New websites are popping up every day, but many webmasters, or the businesses behind them, really don’t have the writing talent or time to keep providing essential content that keeps web surfers coming back. That’s where content providers, or web writers, come in. They charge for articles on various subjects, and I have heard a story where one content provider worked very hard, but took in $10,000 in one  month! Imagine writing for the web and making $10,000! It is unlikely that a beginner can bring in that much money, but the potential is there.

To find places to look for freelance work, and not just writing work, start here: Plenty of Freelancing Jobs.

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In our experience, a layoff can either be a financial crisis or an opportunity. When we lose our income, we still have monthly bills like the mortgage or rent, utilities, and other debt payments that need to get paid. In fact, unemployment is one of the largest causes of delinquent mortgages.

Job Loss Protection

With sufficient savings, we can weather a job loss for awhile.

But is can be hard to sock away the 4 - 6 months of income that experts tell us we should have in a cash fund that can be used in case of financial hardship. Months of careful deposits can be wiped out after one trip to the emergency room or auto mechanic. But there is another way for many employees to protect their income against unemployment. You can prepare for unemployment with a supplemental unemployment protection plan.

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Mini med policies are also called limited or specified benefit policies. They usully have a specific benefit amount they will pay, either by day, by year, or for the lifetime of the policy. This specified amount will also vary by the type of service. For instance, they may have one benefit for a hospital stay and another benefit for a doctor’s visit or outpatient care. An example might be a $2,000 daily benefit in the hospital, a $50 doctor’s benefit per visit, and a $1500 yearly maximum on outpatient services besides the doctor’s visits.

You can see that mini med policies are distinct from major medical policies. A major medical policy will have copays and deductibles, but in general, has a maximum coverage limit of millions of dollars for the life of the policy.

Are Mini Med Policies Enough?

Well, a lot of people argue that the hospital benefit will not cover a bill. A three day stay in a hospital may end up costing $30,000, and a $2,000 a day benefit will not meet that. The article Mini Med Health Insurance has one solution to this problem. They suggest buying a supplemental critial illness and accident or hospital policy in case of major expenses. Premiums for these policies are usually fairly low, and they can kick in and provide cash to cover the rest of the bill.

My major problem with mini-meds is, however, the outpatient coverage. Chemotherapy, for cancer, can cost thousands of dollars a visit, but is usually performed on an outpatient basis. A small outpatient benefit will not go very far. A critical illness policy, that covers cancer can help solve this problem.

I would choose major medical in an ideal world. However, mini med policies accept some applicants that will be declined by major medical health insurance companies. Also, in general, premiums are lower. The choice of a small business health insurance plan is yours, but just understand what you are buying first!

If you are shopping for health insurance, look at individual health insurance quotes for your family or small business.

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It is really hard to imagine a business that would not be affected by rising fuel prices to some degree. Of course, soaring oil prices are pinching us at the gas pump. But even those of us who do not need to drive much for our business feel the impact because high fuel causes almost everything else to go up.

TAX CREDITS FOR GOING GREEN

If you do depend upon vehicles to run yor business, and are in a position to purchase a new one, you may want to consider fuel conserving vehicle tax credits. Hybrid cars, and the like, usually cost more in the beginning. It takes awhile to make that up in energy savings, but a generous tax credit can help a lot!

Now that was a US DOE website, and it only included federal incentives for greener cars. But cars are not the only thing that uses energies. If you’d like a way to help keep your lights on for less, while earning state or federal tax credits, check out Energy Tax Credits For Renewable Energy. This database had state and federal incentives.

The Green Light?

You may also want to consider using efficient lighting in your own home office. Most of the time, these types of light consume less electricity, and last longer too! 20,000 Hour Natural Daylight Bulbs are a good example. If you visit the website in that link, you will find 1,000s of items to help you make your business more energy efficient, including a Solio Portable Solar Charger.

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Have a Live Website Within 15 Minutes of Joining America’s Best Companies

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Many people think these policies are just for the rich and that they are expensive. Additionally, the general consensus is the policies are too complicated to coordinate with your existing policy. According to MSN money these are all myths. Umbrella liability is relatively inexpensive compared to other types of insurance, can be easily coordinated with your existing insurance policies (it is much less complicated if you have all your insurance with one company) and is not just for the rich and famous.

So if you’re not rich and famous, why do you need an umbrella policy? Well, most of us have something called assets and we need to protect them. The division for public education for the American Bar Association says that people usually determine their need for umbrella liability coverage not so much by how may potential hazards they have on their property as by the assets they have to protect. MSN money gives three typical examples where your umbrella policy would come into play. They are as follows:

• An auto accident in which you’re sued under your auto insurance policy.
• Your neighbor slips and falls on your property, and you’re sued under your homeowners insurance.
• A natural disaster in which another person’s property is damaged by, say, a tree on your property crashing down on their vehicle or home. This usually falls into the, “I thought that was covered by my homeowner’s policy” category.

Both auto and homeowners have liability coverage but that is usually limited to about $300,000. If you get sued for a million, the injured party can go after your assets to recover the $700,000. Your premium for the umbrella policy will be determined based on the number of houses, rental units and vehicles you own. The umbrella liability policy is usually sold in increments of 1 million dollars and it costs about $150 to $300 per year. The next million will cost about $75 and $50 for every million after that. Now you see why it’s considered relatively inexpensive. Consider the value of all your assets and compare that to $300 per year to protect them.

The only catch is that insurers will require you to have about $250,000 of liability insurance on your auto policy and $300, 000 of liability insurance on your homeowner’s policy before they will issue an umbrella liability policy. Since the umbrella only comes out when your other policies are exhausted, insurance companies will require you to have those policies in place.

If you aren’t sure about your own coverage, would like to obtain better insurance, or just need cheaper rates, find the best home and auto insurance quotes here.

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We found a lot of reasons on Yahoo Finance to resist the urge to pay taxes with a credit card. Of course the IRS disagress with their list of Benefits of Paying Taxes with a credit card. But of course, the IRS knows that the more financing options they offer, the more chances they will have to collect your tax bill.

For one thing, if you use a credit card, you probably do not have the cash to pay the bill. That means you will be hit with interest charges every month. So you have automatically given yourself a tax penalty even when the IRS did not! If you owe a large sum, and cannot pay it, consider the IRS financing option. Even though they do charge a setup fee of $105, their interest rate is probably lower than the rate you would get if you had to use a charge card.

Creative Use of Airline Miles or Cash Back Credit Cards

Now I did know one guy who did have the moeny to pay his bill, but used a card with airline miles. He payed of his $10k tax bill with this card, and then got himself airline miles, and turned around and paid the bill promptly so he did not run up interest charges. I guess that is some creative use of credit, but I think that is a more unusual case. I guess some cash back cards could offer a similar opportunity to benefit.

The IRS also Has Financing Options

However, most people do not benefit from charging their taxes, and the companies that offer credit make a lot of money from this. If you can scrape up the cash to pay off the tax debt, it is probably better unless you have some fantastic investment that is paying off better then the credit charges. If you can benefit by some credit card scheme, and can get your bill paid off promptly, you may be doing alright to use credit too. But for most people, coughing up the dough, or negotiating an IRS financing option is a better deal.

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Industry experts estimate that 80 percent of small businesses have less than adequate insurance. There are many different policies out there and you need to understand which are necessary to protect your business. There no point in putting in 60 to 80 hours a week only to have it all go down the tubes because you neglected to purchase adequate insurance.

Insurance is not only going to be important to you, but it will affect your other business relationships. For example, if you lease your office space, the landlord will typically require that you furnish a certificate of insurance or be listed as an additional insured on your policy. This policy functions as assurance to your landlord that your business will not disappear overnight in the event a loss occurs.

Your insurance needs will of course be partly dependent on the type of business you operate. However, insurance advisors recommend at a minimum you purchase the following two types. If you have employees you may also have to participate in a worker compensation plan.

Protect Yourself Against Disasters or Lawsuits

First you should consider business property insurance to cover your assets against potential losses that result from natural and man-made causes. Check your policy carefully to determine what assets and events it covers. You may want to purchase a rider (additional coverage not standard for the policy) for any other coverage you feel is necessary. If you own your building you want to cover it and its contents (e.g., furniture, office equipment, inventory, and supplies). If you lease space, you may still want to purchase property insurance. Your landlord’s building insurance will not cover the cost of your office contents if something should happen.

Second, you may also need liability coverage to protect against lawsuits. Your customers may claim that your services or products have caused injury to them or their property. You will need liability insurance to pay the cost of these damages, and the associated attorney fees and costs. A similar type of liability protection for professionals whose product is a service is called Errors & Omissions insurance. 

Third, if you have employees, your state may require you to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp (this is how most people refer to it) covers medical expenses and at least a portion of lost wages for employees injured or taken ill as a result of their employment. Your state’s laws determine whether you must provide this insurance. Generally it depends on how many employees you have. Plus there are certain sorts of employees (e.g., independent contractors) that you may exclude from worker’s comp coverage. Also, if you have employees you will be required to pay unemployment insurance.

Get A Quick Primer on Business Insurance Your Small Business May Need!

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I just found a great article on the Freelance Job Market, and was really suprised at what a great simple business idea this is! According to one source, over 10 million Americans work as independent contractors or freelancers. I was also interested to find that the term, freelancer, actually started as a military term. i.e. free - lancer or mercenary.

Freelance work, like any other work, has pros and cons. A contract worker will give up group benefits like health insurance, and of course, only gets paid when they have work that can be completed. Find Freelance Jobs with a multitude of freelance job sites, and the dozens of common freelance work that is available these days.

On the other hand, within the confines of needing to earn a living, freelancers can enjoy very flexible schedules. Though many freelancers I know tend to work more hours then they did when they were employees. This is probably because of deadlines, personally being responsible for quality work, and also needing to finish a project to get paid! Of course, many freelancers are very passionate about their work, and again, within the confines of the need to have income, can select the type of work they really enjoy doing!

Common online freelance work allows the worker to live almost anywhere with a computer and an internet connection. Computer programmers, website designers, and graphic artists are examples of popular pros who work by the job. Offline freelancers may include truck drivers, health professionals, and trainers.

If you would like the flexibility of setting your own schedule but can be disciplined about getting work completed on schedule, then you should explore the types of freelance work available.

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Step Into The Service Business as a Freelancer!

The service providing sector is booming. As the economy wavers, many small companies or families will hire outsource work instead of bringing on permanent employees. This is where you small business can find a niche. The small business service sector is a large forcus of the Simple Work Organization Website.

It looks at freelance internet work, and even hosts a forum for home business. Get on board with your own small business today. And if you need some service providers for your own small business, you can find some Work Wanted freelance listings too!

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