SEPs are funded solely by the employer, using tax-deductible dollars. Unlike other retirement plans, SEP plans do not offer Roth or post-tax contributions. Employers can contribute up to 25% of each employee’s annual compensation.Self-employed persons can contribute up to 20% of their net self-employment earnings toward their own account.Contributions are limited to a maximum dollar amount of $57,000 for the 2020 tax year and $58,000 for the 2021 tax year per plan participant....

When you become self-employed, you’ll have to play the roles of the employee and employer. In the absence of a bona fide human resources department, you will be responsible for your work time, your amount of work, your own taxes, benefits, and future. If you want to work for yourself as a freelancer, independent contractor, or business owner, there are four key responsibilities of self-employment to consider first. Fortunately, there are several plans available in locations throughout the country, and you are likely to find at least one that fits into your budget....

For product-based businesses, growing profits is comparatively easy; such businesses can expand by exporting and/ or opening more branches, just to give two examples. But if you have a service business, there are only so many hours per week you can work. And you can only raise your hourly or project rate so much before you price yourself right out of the market. This means your service business has a profit ceiling — a ceiling that may not allow you to make the income you need....

What Is MLM? Multi-level marketing, sometimes referred to as pyramid selling or a pyramid scheme in some cases, is a marketing strategy aimed at selling products or services where a non-salaried workforce provides the revenue. Rather than selling products to consumers, the products are presented as a business opportunity that the purchasers would then sell to another group of people on the same premise, and so on. Relationship referrals and word-of-mouth marketing are a big part of MLM....

Keep reading for examples of how to calculate solvency ratios, how to use them in your analysis, and how these formulas differ from liquidity ratios. What Are Solvency Ratios? Solvency ratios are any form of financial ratio analysis that measures the long-term health of a business. In other words, solvency ratios prove (or disprove) that business firms can honor their debt obligations. Solvency ratios also help the business owner keep an eye on downtrends that could suggest the potential for bankruptcy in the future....

Specific Limit A specific limit applies to a building or personal property at a single location. If that property is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril, the specific limit is the most the insurer will pay to repair or replace it. For example, suppose you insure a commercial building and its contents (called business personal property or BPP) under a commercial property policy. You choose specific limits of $1 million for the building and $500,000 for the BPP....

Back in December, The Balance shared news that changes were coming to the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard in early 2021. Those card changes, plus a new, previously unannounced no-annual-fee card, were rolled out alongside the Free Spirit frequent flyer program updates on Jan. 21, according to an airline press release. The two airline cards—Free Spirit Travel Mastercard and the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard—are issued by Bank of America, and offer frequent flyers extra rewards on airline purchases and nice-to-have travel perks such as early boarding and rebates on in-flight purchases....

Determine how your business will be positioned in the market and your business’ place in the field. Know your target market; who they are, where they can be found, and the best way to entice them to your business. Decide how you want your business to be perceived and experienced in the marketplace. It is your brand. While you decide what you’re brand will be, how successful you are at creating the brand depends on your client and customers experience of your business....

That may come as a surprise to anyone who’s been house hunting lately. Indeed, First American’s Real House Price Index rose 30.6% between February 2021 and February 2022, its fastest year-over-year rate in data going back more than 30 years. And mortgage rates have spiked since February, when the index was calculated using a 30-year fixed-mortgage rate of 3.8%. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.11% this week, according to Freddie Mac—the highest it’s been since 2010....

While the high number of so-called “quits” has received a lot of attention, experts say the missing piece to the puzzle is that many of them are taking other jobs. This means the job market is strong, and the unemployment rate will likely hit pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, some economists said. The unemployment rate in December fell to 3.9%, within striking distance of the 3.5% rate in February 2020....

Qualifying for a Home Business Tax Deduction Your home business can take two kinds of deductions: the normal deductions that every business can take, and other deductions that you must qualify for as a home business. The primary home business deduction is for your business space, and there’s a two-step process for deducting the use of your space. Because you are doing business in your home, you must prove that the space you are using for your business is:...

When you are a teen preparing for a job interview, it can be helpful to review typical interview questions that you will most likely be asked. Reviewing answers can also help you come up with your own responses. Take the time to personalize your answers, so that they reflect you both as a person and as a candidate for employment. Practice Interviewing in Advance It can be nerve-wracking to apply for a job as a teenager, since you don’t have much experience in the application and interview process....

As of April 2018, 21.8% of Americans had a FICO score above 800, according to data from FICO. That made a record-high percentage of people with credit scores over 800 and correlated directly to fewer blemishes on people’s credit reports, from improvements in payment history to fewer inquiries. The Benefits of an 800 Credit Score So what exactly do you gain by having an 800 credit score? Is this something you should strive for?...

This figure comes a day ahead of the release of an important measure of inflation, personal consumption expenditures (PCE). The PCE Price Index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred way to gauge inflation because it provides a more accurate picture of inflation for people in the U.S., compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which primarily looks at inflation for urban shoppers. So why is this so important right now? Central bankers are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming today, kicking off the three-day Jackson Hole Economic Symposium....

Since October 2021, the index is up 6%, but has cooled from the rate of 6.3% that we saw in September. Spending was also up in October, as was disposable income. However, in a sign that American households were starting to feel constrained, the personal savings rate fell to 2.3%, down from 2.4% the month prior. This is one of the most important pieces of economic data that policymakers at the central bank are keeping an eye on....

Tech stocks are particularly sensitive to higher interest rates because they tend to have higher price-to-earnings ratios and low or no dividend payments. Higher rates lower the present value of their expected cash flow, taking a bite out of expected future profits, and driving stock prices lower. Investors also tend to look for dividends or interest payments from fixed-income investments during times of economic uncertainty. Investors have loved tech stocks throughout the pandemic, and if you were one of those who snapped up some of these stocks, your portfolio has probably been struggling....

Although these economists believe we are not in a recession right now, they predict one could begin in the first quarter of 2023 and end in the fourth quarter of the same year. The Wells Fargo model, which is based on the latest inflation data from the Consumer Price Index and forecasts recessions a year ahead, has accurately predicted recessions since 1980. Treasury yields are also flashing a recession warning signal in the bond market, as a selloff sent yields surging to their highest levels in more than a decade and the yield curve inversion deepened....

Futures Options An option is the right, not the obligation, to buy or sell a futures contract at a designated strike price for a particular time. Buying options allows a trader to speculate on changes in the price of a futures contract. This is accomplished by purchasing call or put options. The purchase of a call option is a long position, a bet that the underlying futures price will move higher....

Learn the basics of how high-yield bonds work, the pros and cons, and how to invest in them. What Are High-Yield Bonds? A high-yield bond is a corporate bond issued by a company that’s at a higher risk of defaulting on its debt. Corporations or governments often finance debt by issuing bonds. Basically, when you buy a bond, you become a creditor. Companies may issue high-yield bonds if they’ve had financial troubles or if they’re heavily in debt....

Today, options to purchase, lease options, and lease purchase agreements are three separate financing documents. Although similar, they differ in the finer details because the variances are state-specific, and not all states have identical laws. Consult with a real estate lawyer before entering into one of these agreements with a seller to ensure that you understand its implications. Option To Purchase With the option-to-purchase route, the buyer pays the seller money for the exclusive right to purchase the property within a specified term (often six months to a year)....