Financial Tips for Teachers Book

	Introduction: Where Are You Now, and Where Do You Want to Be?	xi
	Where Are You Now?	xi
	Where Do You Want to Be?	xii
	This Book in a Nutshell	xiii
Part 1	Planning for the Future	1
Chapter 1	Budgeting a Ten-Month Check for the Full Twelve	3
	The Teacher-Paycheck Savings Formula	4
	The Adverbs of the Savings Game: Where Is Easy, How Is Not	5
	Does Membership Really Have Its Privileges?	6
	Comparison Shopping on Larger Items Can Make a Difference	7
	Hope for the Best, but Prepare for the Worst--Find Out About Service and Warranties	8
	Automobiles: To Lease or Not to Lease?	10
	Never Lose Sight of Your Objective	13
Chapter 2	Savings--Your Greatest Investment	15
	Retirement Plans: The Early Bird Gets the Best Return	15
	Realizing a Comfortable--and Maybe an Early--Retirement Through a Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA)	16
	The Fixed Annuity	21
	The Variable Annuity	21
	Which TSA Is for You?	23
	The TSA Loan Provision	24
	Tips for TSA Shopping	25
	Additional Retirement Plans	26
	Don't Make Your Choice Alone	30
Chapter 3	The Second-Biggest Investment--a House	33
	The First-Home Blues	33
	The Condo/Co-op Alternative	34
	Are You Cut Out for a Fixer-Upper?	34
	Are You Cut Out to Be a Landlord?	35
	Creative Funding	36
	Nobody Ever Said It Was Easy to Be a First-Time Buyer--or a Second-Time Buyer, or a Third-Time Buyer	36
	TSA Can Stand for "Temporary Stretching Apparatus"	38
	All Home Mortgages Were Not Created Equal	38
	Don't Shop for a Home Unarmed--Make Sure You're Preapproved	40
	Don't Shop for a Home Unaccompanied--Use a Real-Estate Broker	41
	Beware of the Interest-Rate Crystal Ball	41
	If You Can Pay Cash, Should You?	42
Chapter 4	Your Total Financial Picture	45
	If Growth Is Your Priority	46
	Saving Toward Your Children's Education	48
	If Investment Income Is Your Priority	49
	Your Money Is Worth Only What It Will Buy	50
	If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Almost Always Is	51
	Investing In Yourself	51
Chapter 5	A Smart Investment--Paying Off Those Credit Cards	53
	An Equity Line of Credit May Be Your Answer	54
	If You Don't Own Property	54
	Bankruptcy Is Not the Free Ride It's Cracked Up to Be	55
	Alternatives to Credit Cards	55
Chapter 6	Protecting What You've Worked So Hard to Accumulate	57
	The Cafeteria of Health-Care Benefit Plans	58
	You're Worth a Million	59
	You're Also Worth Thirty or Forty Thousand Per Year	60
	Insure Your Retirement in Case of Illness	60
	A Trio of Life Insurance Options	62
	Insuring Your Assets Without Hocking Them	64
	Do You Need an Umbrella?	65
	Jumping Ship Can Be Costly in the Long Run	66
Part 2	Increasing the Pie: Tips for Supplementing Your Income	69
Chapter 7	Moonlighting--Making Extra Money During the School Year	71
	One Skill All Teachers Have: Teaching	71
	Teachers Have a Way with Kids	73
	Teachers Work Well with People	74
	Virtually Anything Requiring a License or Certification Is a Potential Opportunity for a Teacher	75
	A Teacher's Specific Skills Can Translate into Extra Money	76
	Teachers Can Make Hobbies Pay for Themselves--and for a Lot of Other Things	78
Chapter 8	Teachers with Summer Jobs	81
	If You Already Moonlight During the School Year	81
	Teachers Can Make Summer Money Out in the Sun	82
	Working Abroad	82
	Teachers Can Also Make Summer Bucks Without the Adventure	83
Part 3	Taxes and Legal Concerns	85
	A Little Knowledge Can Save a Lot of Money	87
Chapter 9	Do You Need an Accountant or an Attorney?	89
	The Three Basic Varieties of Tax Assistance	90
	What About Legal Advice?	92
Chapter 10	Tax Tips Every Teacher Should Know	93
	The Nuts and Bolts of Income Tax	94
	The Many Faces of Income	94
	The Untouchables: Income That Is Nontaxable	95
	Trimming the Pie	97
	Itemization Does Not Always Add Up	102
	Trimming the Self-Employment Pie	103
	Don't Leave Withholding to the Whims of Your Payroll Department	108
	Projecting Your Tax Liability for the Coming Year	109
	Project Your Self-Employment Income	110
	IRA and TSA Withdrawals: Know Your Options	110
	Another Reason to Estimate the Coming Year's Income: Planning Deductions	111
	Tips to Help You Avoid an Audit	112
	Epilogue: Financial Planning Is Not Deprivation	115
	The Future Looks Bright-- Save and Spend with Confidence	115
	Spend to Enjoy--You Deserve It	116
Appendix	How to Shop for a TSA	117
	Let's Go Shopping	118
	How Much Should I Be Contributing to My TSA?	119
	What Kind of TSA Should I Buy?	120
	The TSA Honor Roll	123
	Other Products' Honor Roll	125
	In Conclusion	126