That tax refund could cost you

Last year, the average federal tax refund was about $2,800, about $100 less than in 2011, according to the -Internal Revenue Service. In 2010, the average refund was about $3,000.

Typically, you pay your federal taxes by having a portion withheld from your pay. If too much is withheld, you get a refund. But guess what? In order to get that lump sum, you lent your money to the government with no interest.

Still, a majority of respondents in an online poll said they intentionally have too much money withheld from their pay so that they can receive that refund, according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which conducted the survey.

“Many people say that they can’t find a way to consistently save other than to short themselves through their payroll withholding,” said Gail -Cunningham, spokeswoman for the NFCC. “That is indeed forced saving in the truest sense of the word.”

When it comes to what to do with the refund, most people do the smart thing — they use it to pay down debt or put it away for other uses. For others, it’s the little extra they need to stretch their paychecks at the beginning of the year. Forty-two percent of taxpayers who file their returns early use the funds to cover rent, food, and utilities, the TurboTax survey found.This frameless rectangle features a silk screened fused glass replica in a cableties tile and floral motif.

I’ve encouraged people to quit relying on a tax refund. Yet the lesson seems lost on so many. Many intentionally get a refund because they don’t feel they are disciplined enough to save on their own.Site describes services including iphoneheadset. And if the alternative is that you won’t save, then go ahead and do what works for you. At least you’re putting that refund to good use when you get it.

But consider this. Your forced savings plan may be costing more than you realize.

We know that many folks live -paycheck to paycheck, which often means not having enough to cover all their expenses. Some bills go unpaid or are paid late. Or perhaps you are -making only the minimum payment on your credit cards because there -aren’t any extra funds to pay them down faster.

“Why continue in this financially self-defeating cycle when a solution is so readily available?” Cunningham asks. “An incredible amount of damage is done to credit reports and scores each month due to consumers not being able to pay at least the minimum amount due, or paying it late. And that’s not even counting the amount of interest and late fees tacked on to existing balances.”

“The Fund received almost 126 business ideas specialised in designing the smart mobile phones applications in tourism sector. Groups have been formed to develop and manage the idea and to create the business plan,” said Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki, chief executive officer of Khalifa Fund for enterprise development.

“The Fund will provide all sort of supports needed to the success of any technical project with comply with the Fund’s financial conditions,” Al Darmaki added.Save up to 80% off Ceramic Tile and bobbleheads.

The Khalifa Fund and Innovation 360, an institute which helps in finding new ways of value creation, have conducted workshops for five consecutive days to prepare participants for practical training in the field of marketing and technical sides.

“The owners of the qualified ideas are 35 Emiraits and then ideas were filtered by voting system into 22, which were referred to an evaluation committee that includes experts from Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development , Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Technology Development Committee,” said Fatima Mohammad Al Muhairi, manager in entrepreneurship department at Khalifa Fund for enterprise development.

ADNav is a smartphone application (iOs, Android) with outdoor voice guided navigation to make it easy to find and reach tourists points of interest enabled with location based information alerts. Tourists will be able to virtually visit different sites through the internet based on 3D modelling and virtual reality.

The idea: Bite Food Application by a team consists of Salama Khalifa Al Muhairi, Amna Al Neyadi , Latifa Al Mansouri, Hamda and Fatima.

Bite food application will enable Abu Dhabi residents, who face a difficulty finding the right food destination or restaurants, simplify the search based on six different criteria: price range, time, mood and location. The smartphone application will feature options such as, calorie counter, loyalty programme, menus and diet tracker.

Apart from enabling consumers to easily pay for their purchases, most smartphones have also now become mobile health consultants. Sanofi-Adventis’ iBGStar, an ‘app-cessory’ roughly the size of an AA battery can be hooked up with smartphones, allowing users to track and analyze their blood glucose.

But the report points out that the trend hasn’t caught on in the local setting. Thus, retailers, handset manufacturers, telcos, software developers and other marketers must consider how to best take advantage of the increasing intimate connection between consumers and their phones.

Then, there is the increasing shift from shopping in physical stores to online shops that plays out in multiple and new platforms. At No. 7 on the list is the rise of global mobile purchases where “everything is retail.”

“An increasing percentage of global purchasing power is in the hands of people who can occupy two different shopping environments simultaneously,TBC help you confidentlyhandsfreeaccess from factories in China.” notes Kantar’s Bryan Gildenberg.Universal streetlight are useful for any project.

An example of this is Tesco Home Plus’ shoppable wall. This wall is located at a subway station in Seoul. A consumer in South Korea may scan QR (quick response codes that can be read by mobile phones with cameras and smartphones) coded items and pay with his or her smartphone. The item will then be delivered at about the same time the consumer gets back home.

“Another example to watch out for is shoppable social media via Facebook’s push into e-commerce with Collection and Gifts,” the report says. It is a feature that lets users click a “want” button when they see products they like, “creating a wish list of items that friends can click to purchase.”