Unclaimed paychecks are a special kind of unclaimed property. If you are sitting on unclaimed paychecks, you (the employer) are legally bound by state law to return any un-cashed paychecks to the state where the person last worked. You can be fined or penalized if you don’t return the check, even if the person can’t be found. Why Must Unclaimed Paychecks Be Turned Over to the State? The principle behind this law is called “escheat” (it’s pronounced like it looks, in two syllables: es-cheat....

Choosing an Occupation for Your Career Action Plan The first step in developing a career action plan is choosing an occupation. You can follow the career planning process in order to identify which occupation you want to have as a career. There are a few steps to follow. Self Assessment Try several different self-assessment tools to learn about your values, interests, aptitudes, and personality type. Your goal is to identify a list of suitable careers that match these traits....

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report saying that “credit invisibles,” those who have no credit report on file with the three major credit bureaus, make up about 13.6% of the U.S. population or about 45 million people. If you are a credit-invisible, should you pursue your dream of a no-credit home loan? It’s worth a try, but it may take some effort. What Lenders Are Looking For Lenders will typically turn to your credit score to assess what kind of borrower you are....

The first two options apply to annuities that are not yet paying out a monthly income. The third applies if the annuity is paying out income. Here’s how each of these options works. Getting Out of an Annuity When It’s an IRA or Retirement Account If you have a variable annuity that is owned inside an IRA account, you can roll your funds out of the variable annuity and into a regular IRA at a bank, mutual fund company, or brokerage firm....

You don’t have to be worried that just any creditor can levy your bank account at will. A creditor can’t levy your bank account without first winning a lawsuit judgment against you and then obtaining a court order to levy your bank account. Or, in the case of a tax levy, the IRS will have sent a bill for payment, allowed you to neglect or refuse to pay, then sent a final notice of intent to levy....

The key to interview success is to keep anxiety under control, so the level of stress is manageable. Here are some tips for managing pre-interview and during the job interview jitters, so you can more easily handle and avoid stress, and ace your interviews. Prepare in Advance Thorough preparation can go a long way toward easing interview stress. Identify your most relevant skills, and be ready to share examples or anecdotes showing how you applied those strengths to work, volunteer, academic or co-curricular roles, and how you have generated some positive results....

Having a property insurance inventory list not only helps the insurance company give you a more accurate replacement value for your personal property. But you will be assured that you remembered everything you own. This can be hard to do when it is all gone. How to Make a Property Insurance Inventory List The first step is to take a few minutes to list everything you own. It may be easier to start the list in categories such as furniture, clothing, personal items, jewelry, etc....

Does the idea of making money with little or no effort sound appealing? Here are the basics of passive income, including common sources, tax benefits, and strategies for achieving substantial passive income. Why Seek Passive Income? Passive income is attractive because it frees up your time so you can focus on the things you actually enjoy. Workers in most professions must continue to work the same number of hours year after year in order to earn the same amount of money and enjoy the same lifestyle....

This is certainly not the case for everyone, and it can often seem like the only path to a higher salary requires taking on a management-level role. What’s a person who doesn’t want to manage a team supposed to do to reach that higher pay bracket? Learn about some of the characteristics of management-level jobs (and why some people prefer to avoid them), along with ways to build a flourishing career based on a non-managerial track....

Where To Open an HSA You can open an HSA at almost any bank or credit union. Some insurance providers also offer HSAs. If you’re happy with the financial institution you bank with and convenience is number one on your priority list, you can add an HSA to your existing relationship. Some companies have begun to offer HSAs designed to offer consumers a way to maximize their health care savings with low, transparent fees and easy online management....

However, handling your financial obligations can be difficult if a client doesn’t pay on time, and even worse, ignores your invoices and follow-up correspondence. To combat this issue and potentially avoid having to contact collection agencies or schedule a date in small claims court, you should consider proactively implementing certain systems and processes to protect your business and its cash flow. How To Prepare for Unpaid Invoices Preparation is pivotal to effectively managing your business finances....

One of these financial reports is the balance sheet. Investors can use it to determine how a business is funded and structured. Learn how to read a balance sheet and some typical investor uses. What Is a Balance Sheet? A balance sheet lists the value of all of a company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ (or owners’) equity. The format of the sheet is based upon the following accounting equation: The balance sheet has three sections, each labeled for the account type it represents....

Many people think only of how to buy an ETF, which is also known as “going long.” However, ​there are two sides to every trade: a buyer and a seller. In some cases, the person selling (or “shorting”) an ETF may be on the profitable side of the trade position. The key is in knowing when to go long on an ETF and when (and how) to short it....

We explore the best ways to send your college student money, the costs, and the pros and cons of each. Student Bank Accounts In this case, you’ll need to have access to your student’s bank account and have linked accounts at the same bank so you can transfer money seamlessly from your account into theirs. When setting up a bank account for your college student, be sure to choose a no-fee, no minimum account, like Capital One 360’s MONEY account, which is intended for teens and allows for parental access....

You’ll want to define a professional work area that separates your business from your personal life whether you’re self-employed or telecommuting. Its location, lighting, and confinement of clutter are all important. Create a detailed list of your needs for a home office and set up a space that meets those requirements before you arbitrarily claim a corner in one of your rooms and decide that it’s “good enough.” You might find that a spare room with a door can reduce noise from the rest of the house if you’ll be on the phone frequently....

Remember Why You’re Saving Understanding why you’re saving money is pivotal to staying motivated. You may be saving for a house or car downpayment, your children’s college tuition, or your dream vacation. Either way, having the end goal in mind can ease the pain of forgoing short-term pleasures to save up. For example, if you’re saving for a downpayment on a house, it can take quite a while, depending on how much you can set aside each month....

When you receive your refund depends on how you submitted your tax return and the payment method you selected for receiving your refund. Learn how to use the different resources available to trace your refund and find out what to do if you don’t receive your refund within the estimated time frame. Using the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ Tool The IRS offers a quick way to check the status of your tax refund on its website at IRS....

Learn more about what’s included in a bill of sale, whether you need one to sell your car, and how to write one. What Is a Bill of Sale? A bill of sale is a document that provides proof of a sale and the transfer of property from one party to another. It can be used when selling a variety of items but is most commonly used for vehicle sale transactions....

The going concern principle allows the company to defer some of its prepaid expenses until future accounting periods What Is a Going Concern Opinion? Also significant is the fact that if a business is determined to be a going concern that means that it can pay its liabilities and realize its assets. The company’s auditor is the employee who must determine whether or not the company is still a going concern and they report their findings to the Board of Directors....

PeopleImages / Getty Images Gita Gopinath, economic counselor and director of the research department at the IMF, an organization representing 190 countries working to foster economic cooperation, said pent-up demand and supply chain bottlenecks caused by the pandemic have led to higher-than-expected inflation readings recently. Those price spikes are primarily due to increases in areas that were hardest hit, like travel and hospitality, and the low levels of inflation that were occurring when many businesses closed for lockdowns, Gopinath wrote in a blog post....