Thirteen Frequently Overlooked Tax Deductions

My friend just became a Certified Public Accountant at a big firm and has to work 70- to 80-hour weeks until the end of April. Ah, tax season. Make the dreaded chore of doing your taxes more enjoyable (or at least more bearable) this year by reading up on 13 tax deductions that you may be eligible for but which are often overlooked. Some of the more interesting to me are student loan interest paid by Mom & Dad and reinvested dividends—who knew that the money automatically reinvested in my Roth IRA is tax-deductible? It’s also interesting to note that while you can’t deduct job search expenses, you can deduct moving expenses once you get that first job. Something for me to keep in mind for next year...

via Lifehacker

Spread the Love on Valentine's Day

It's easy to run out at the last minute for flowers and chocolate, but have you ever stopped to think about where that dozen roses or box of candy came from? The floral industry uses the most pesticides of all agricultural sectors, and most chocolate is grown in the rainforest (or what was the rainforest). This year, spread the love of Valentine's Day to Mother Nature as well by giving your special someone a gift that is environmentally friendly and fair-trade.

A few ideas: How about a rose bush from a local nursery instead of cut flowers? And fair-trade chocolate instead of just anything off the supermarket shelves. And how about a bottle of organic wine? Hand-made cards and gifts are of course the best for the environment and the most meaningful to your loved one.

You can find fair-trade chocolates and other treats locally at Clover's Natural Markets, the Peace Nook, Gerbes, HyVee or, of course, you can find them all over the Web.

Here's a helpful blog with more eco-friendly Valentine's suggestions.

Visit the Green Guide for more information about the environmental impact of the products you find on the store shelves.

Learn about A Presidential Candidate's Stance on an Issue

OK, I’ll admit that I’m not as knowledgeable about the various presidential candidates’ platforms as I should be. This isn’t entirely because I’m lazy, though; it’s at least partially because I get incredibly tired of the issues being covered again and again in the 18 months leading up to the election. Now that Super Tuesday is fast approaching, however (February 5, everybody), I guess it’s time to get up-to-speed on the candidates’ exact stances. Good thing I have CNNPolitics.com, a comprehensive site for reading up on candidate’s views. The site also has detailed information about each candidate, primaries and caucuses and debates. Other sites to help keep you on top of things include PresidentialElection.com, the Washington Post and the New York Times.

Ignore Myths About the Cold and Get Exercising

Here's a little post (via Lifehacker) that dispels common myths about exercising in the cold (anyone ever heard that cold air is bad for the lungs?). This is a great post because it takes away every excuse I had to give up exercise once the cold weather hits. Even though I have a gym membership, I’ve been running outside recently and I’ve been surprised by how great I feel—not just because I’m exercising, but also because I get to shake off a little of the cabin fever to which I’ve grown so accustomed. If you generally hibernate indoors all winter, you might want to try it, too.

Need a little push to get you out the door? Try joining the Columbia Track Club, which has group runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. If running isn’nt your thing, try the Columbia Bike Club or just walking on one of the city's many trails.

Social Networking for Biomedical Scientists

Maybe you have a Facebook or MySpace page, and maybe you don't. They can be fun distractions, but there not really good at helping you get work done. For those of you in the biomedical and life sciences fields, there is a new social networking site called biomedexperts.com . You many not be able to play Oregon Trail, but you can find other scientists with similar research interests. And while not quite as fun as MySpace or Facebook, it could most definitely help you advance your research career.

Savings in the New Year

OK, so I’m not going to lie: at least part of my decision to return to school was based on a desire for a higher salary. What I’ve since learned, however, is that another degree (or a higher salary) alone won’t guarantee future wealth. It turns out that saving is really the key to success.

In the book The Richest Man in Babylon (George Samuel Clason), one of the main mantras is “A part of everything I earn is mine to keep”—in other words, refrain from spending all of your money and you can invest it, thereby eventually providing yourself with a constant stream of wealth. By the way, this book was originally published in 1926, at least a partial testament to the truths in the book.

While saving and personal finance might strike you as incredibly dry subjects, it seems difficult to get through life without at least partially mastering them. And besides, you don’t want that higher salary you’ll be earning someday soon go to waste, do you?

Check out some of the personal finance blogs below to start learning more!

I Will Teach you to Be Rich

Wise Bread: Living Large on a Small Budget

Get Rich Slowly

Things to do when it's cold

It has been dastardly cold in Columbia over the past week. In my attempt to stay positive about the season, here are some things to do in Columbia when it's rediculously frigid:

• Warm up with a cup of coffee and lunchtime or evening music at the Cherry Street Artisan.
• Bake cookies or – better yet – bread to warm up your house and your tum.
• Rent a movie and heat up some apple cider. Order a pizza while you're at it.
• Bowl! Try AMF lanes on Providence or save a few bucks and hit T.A. Brady's if you can do without beer or accurate scoring.
• Learn to knit or crochet.
• Fill up with a good meal and a live jazz pianist at Murry's.
• Clean out your closets. Drop off some extra winter gear at the Wardrobe or the Salvation Army.
• Of course there are always the bars. Check out Vox Magazine to see what bands are playing around town.
• Settle in with a book from the New York Times Best Seller List.
• Plan a garden for the spring.