Posts Tagged ‘Average Person’
I just read some data about personal credit card debt today that simply blew my mind. There have been 3 things that stuck out big time to me. First was that the average credit debt in the US is $15,788. The second one could be that the average person in the US has 3.5 credit cards. Thirdly and most shocking point was that the average rate of interest was 14.99%. Seriously!
There are actually obvious reasons for all of this. the very first reason is that currently unemployment numbers are still very high. Apparently, the lest people work, the more of the chance that they’re going to be piling up the credit card debt. This is also true because there has been a reduction in the number of hours for those people who are employed. So they are only taking home less cash. While they may be taking home less money they most likely are still spending the same that they were when they were making more. Where’s the outlet? Credit card.
I think that the number of credit cards the average consumer has together with the amount of credit card debt that they have on these cards can be contributed to just how effortless it is for individuals to obtain credit cards. Banks spend a lot of cash on marketing the lifestyle that you could live when you buy things using credit cards. They make it look exciting to spend money. So there’s been a pretty picture painted with how spending on credit cards can be.
Once the pretty picture of credit card debt is painted. Chances are they mail bomb anyone with their credit pulled recently. Banks are in fact permitted to get credit information and that can target those who may have either recently applied for a financial loan or another credit card. They then send out credit card offers to those individuals with predicatively a much higher response rate because they already are in the game. (This data by the way is the same reason you receive a bunch of phone calls and mailers once you get a home loan. It’s called Trigger data, since it is triggered when you get your credit pulled.)
So while someone might have lots of cash on one credit card. They’ll receive an even better offer on a new credit card. This is often contributed to the average number of cards being almost 4. They come in the mail and enrolling takes little or no effort. Personally I enrolled in a Citi card the other day and was shocked at how fast I was approved. The more shocking part was how fast I got the card. That card showed up in less then 5 days.
Perhaps the biggest trouble with personal credit card debt in America though is our, “keep on top of the Jones’s” lifestyle. It’s been engrained into the fabric of our society that we need to have as nice of things as our neighbors. You see this at all times. We certainly have a culture which is based throughout the collection of material possession. This mindset plays directly into the advertising of the credit card companies. The credit card firms make it simple to spend the cash.
The final outcome to draw from this is scary. The sum of U.S. consumer debt is $2.45 trillion, as of March 2010. Americans have more debt than any other country in the world. No wonder more and more people are searching for credit card debt relief like Indiana debt relief or Virginia debt relief. People get in over their heads and realize that they are in need of Debt Settlement to help them get Debt Relief and let them know how to eliminate credit card debt. Therefore, control your urges to spend and steer clear of being like the average American with almost $16,000 credit card debt.
Although there is no way that you can guarantee that you will avoid an irs audit, there are measures that you can take in to safeguard yourself against an audit and to prepare yourself in the case that you are audited. By being proactive when it comes to filing your tax return correctly, you won’t have to worry about tax audits.
The best way that you can avoid an irs audit is by having a professional do your taxes for you. Accountants and tax attorneys will be the most skilled when it comes to preparing your taxes. Make sure that you have a professional and certified accountant or a licensed tax attorney that has years of experience in tax preparation but that also makes it a priority to familiarize themselves with all new tax laws every year.
A professional tax preparer has a much better understanding of tax laws and their intricacies than an average person or even a computer program. If you receive an irs audit you can not blame your tax software. It is your responsibility to make sure that your taxes are done properly and that every deduction that you take you are qualified for.
It is easy to make mistakes in using tax software. You may believe that you are eligible for a deduction when the truth is that you do not satisfy all of the requirements for it. A skilled tax professional will make sure that you don’t accidentally make any deductions that you are not qualified to take.
Make sure that you keep all of your past returns neatly organized with all of their paperwork. If you receive an audit the burden of proof lies with you. Even if you were positive that your claims were legitimate it will be your responsibility to furnish this proof to the IRS should you receive an audit. You can avoid an audit altogether by making sure that you include copies of all of your receipts and proof of all of your deductions.
Finally, you can avoid deductions that serve as a red flag to the IRS. Although you may qualify for them, the IRS looks out for tax returns in which the home office deduction is claimed. It is very easy for an IRS agent to prove or disprove that you are eligible for this deduction and it is very easy to believe that you are eligible when you are not. Make sure that you have your taxes completed by a professional in order to avoid an audit.