Category Archives: money tips

How to get scannable 1099 forms from the IRS

Do you need a scannable 1099-MISC or similar* tax form from the IRS? *NOTE:Ā  while most tax forms are downloadable, forĀ certainĀ formsĀ the IRS requires a scannableĀ formĀ that must be ordered. Thankfully, the IRS offers a simple service where you can order the forms for free and receive them within ten business days. You can find the order form here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/order-products It just takes a minute to fill out the order info; then you will get a confirmation like this: After ten business

How to get Audible credits/books cheap

Audible offers an amazing assortment of audio books. However, with one credit a month it can be hard to get your full audio book fix. While you can always purchase audio books at “full price”, the cost is often quite expensive (i.e. $20-$40). Thankfully,Ā Amazon added a new featureĀ where you can find audio book versions of your favorite ebooks at a significant discount.Ā Any existing purchase you have made on Amazon may be eligible for the sale price. I was surprised that

+Cancel FreedomPop Premier service [SOLVED!]

Question:Ā Hello J.D., I have read your FreedomPop articles in the past and I really like their free internet services. I made sure to downgrade to the free plan and I love it. However, now I am getting a $9.99 bill for “Premier service” and I can not for the life of me figure out how to cancel it šŸ™ Can you please help me cancel? Thank you, Tony K. Answer:Ā Dear Tony, thank you for your message. Yes, I think I

Cancel OnStar Service [HOWTO]

If you need to cancel your OnStar service, you will need to do it by phone or via the dedicated OnStar button in your vehicle. Sadly, OnStar does not allow you to cancel online šŸ™ Their specific cancellation policy is as follows: If at any time you wish to cancel your OnStar service, press your blue button to speak with an Advisor or call 1.888.4.ONSTAR (1.888.466.7827). Cancelling your service cannot be done online.     Source: OnStar Help & Support

How long to file for & receive an EIN online? [SOLVED]

Q. How long does it take to file for and receive an EIN??? A.Ā Generally, it takes less than 15 minutes to receive an EIN. Here are the details: If you visit the IRS website during normal hours of operation and your principal business is located in the United States: You can complete the process online at the offical IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online ItĀ takes about 5-10 minutes, after which the IRS will assign you an EIN You will immediately receive your EIN

Cancel FreedomPop recurring $8.47 services

Recently I noticed that my trusty Nexus 5 on FreedomPop had started being billed $8.49 a month for services šŸ™ The particular services were: FreedomPop Usage Alerts, FreedomPop Wifi Hotspot, and Visual Voicemail. Apparently my one year free trial had completed and those services started billing at that point. Normally that would be fine as I would just login and cancel them. However, in this instance the “deactivate” portion of the FreedomPop website would not function for those services. Eventually

Smartphone low-light image quality factors

Camera questions from my good friend Jesse: Hola Mr. Hodges! I have a newish Android phone, Moto X Pure (following my trend of getting 6 month olf technology for half price), which has a decent camera (Sony IMX 230 1/2.4-inch 21MP BSI CMOS sensor and a dual-LED flash. F2.0 aperture and 4K video). It works well, but it pales in comparison to some phone’s ability in low-light situations. Is that on the camera hardware, or the app? Same with image

Business, Pleasure, Commute for Car Insurance [which is cheapest?]

At the bottom of this page you will find some of the different vehicle use scenarios that Progressive.com lists. If you are wondering which is cheapest between Business, Commute, and Pleasure vehicle use… Pleasure will normally be cheapest. The reason being that pleasure entails the least amount of miles driven (i.e. weekend use) under generally less accident prone circumstances (short trips, open roads, etc.). Conversely, a commute to work or school can entail repeated daily driving in heavy traffic and