January Newsletter

Your Home - How to Monitor your Children Online

Children spend most of their time playing and learning different games as well as completing their assignments on the computer. There are many advantages provided by the Internet. The downside is that the Internet has many advantages as well as disadvantages. It can be quite harmful to children of all ages also. The Internet has many dangers such as pornographic and violent websites that are not suitable for children to watch. Also, there are all sorts of â€œbadâ€ people who browse the Internet. Cyber bullying is another major concern which children need to be careful of at all costs. You need to watch your child's online activities as he browses social media sites, message boards, chat rooms, etc. Internet filtering software such as CyberSitter and Net Nanny allows you to check your child's access while online. You can block and filter websites that are harmful and inappropriate. You can also use keywords or use as a filtering setting regularly to stop your child from viewing these dangerous websites. The software also verifies emails, texts and instant messages also.

Most Internet filtering software is highly flexible so that you can even customize the filters based on your child's age as well. You can even access the software remotely from any computer. Internet monitoring software gives you the option to view the history of all websites that have been seen. It helps you to check downloads, the emails they have sent, the contents of IM conversations, the chat rooms they visit, etc. You can successfully track the child's activities on the Internet. You can also install browsers specifically for children on your computer. These browsers are free of any inappropriate content and are very interesting to view. They have preloaded games and activities that your child would be engaged in. Internet monitoring software combines functionality with flexible control for parents. By using common sense with technology, you can create a safe online environment for your child. You can also limit the time spent online with the use of the internet monitoring software. It is extremely useful to working parents who cannot spend the majority of time with their children. Internet monitoring software helps to disable file sharing as well in case of it getting into the wrong hands. It is absolutely essential for families with small children.

Finances - Expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts

Death and taxes... According to Benjamin Franklin, these are the only two things in life that are certain. Currently though, the big question is not 'will we pay taxes', but rather, 'how much tax will we pay?'

If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire at the end of December 2012, millions of families will be faced with thousands of dollars in tax increases according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

If Washington does not act, income tax rates will rise for almost every bracket, with the bottom rate going from 10% to 15%, and the top rate going from 35% to 39.6%. This means that if you currently earn $40,000 a year, you could end up owing $400 more in additional taxes for the year.

If you have children or grandchildren, you should know the planned lowering of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $500 per child would cost 31 million families an average of $1,000 in 2013. In addition, the reinstatement of the so-called marriage penalty - a peculiarity in the tax code that forces some married couples to pay more for income tax than they would if they were single - would cost 35 million couples an average of $595 each, according to the preliminary numbers.

The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains was lowered from 20% to 15% through December 31, 2012. Tax rates will revert to 2002 rates in 2013 unless the cuts are extended or made permanent.

Update: President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill to avert the fiscal cliff, a day after the House and Senate approved the much-debated legislation.

Congress averted that self-built precipice late Tuesday when the House voted to stave off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts by accepting a brokered Senate compromise. It makes permanent the Bush administration's tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 per year and couples earning less than $450,000.

Personal Interest - What is "Luck"?

'Hey I just made it to my home before it started raining'. 'I made my payments just before the interests hiked'. 'It was my luck that the company peaked the business charts soon after I got hired'. How often have you come across phrases alike or even similar? The probable answer to this would be 'Many Times' for anyone living in any part of the world. The peculiar or interesting point in such instances is the attachment or even mere feeling of the most charming word of the world "LUCK".

Before defining Luck it is important to understand its role in our daily lives in order to really understand its significance. Mere succeeding or being able to lead a normal life cannot be considered Luck. What makes Luck true in its real sense is being able to accomplish something or simply anything desirable within due considerations. So, Luck can simply be defined as instances of accomplishments that have been made easy with or even without intentions. Also, it has to be admitted that it (Luck) is wonderful and what makes it so is conditions and strives made for achieving accomplishments.

The bigger question relating to Luck is whether people make their luck or it's simply a fortune. Here, depicting anyone side may prove controversial as there, probably, are countless evidences supporting both the ends. For better understanding, one has to demystify the patterns of accomplishments to which Luck prevails being most relevant. Here, the patterns may include decisions, approaches and moves made at specific intervals. Further, everything cannot go in a fair manner so failures and instances of opposite working conditions may also arise. And being in our very Human nature we keep striving or even simply walking the walk helps in procuring some results. The outcomes of these patterns are claimed as being Luck at different levels of work and life.

Positives are nothing without their counter negatives. Simplifying this means success is nothing without failure and there are countless true stories in support. This is so true that even the luckiest human in the world would admit being unlucky in couple of occasions. But the phrase depicted earlier that "success is nothing without failure" has greater significance than the term this article itself is dedicated to. This not at all means that success always involves failures but it rather depicts a road-map reflecting not only the goals but also different paths or options leading towards it. Now isn't this important in a world where even DNA matched people differ in their finger prints, so different people with different sets of standards can achieve similar goals in a variety of manners.

An instance or condition of luck can emerge either of its own or out of an effort. Every bit prior or post it involves paths that are matter of choices. Be it any case they are highly entitled to personal significance. And about failures - think about this - aren't sweets better if you have had hot chilies before it?