TRIM THE HEARTH AND SET THE TABLE

“Make your house fair as ye are able, trim the hearth and set the table.”
– Christmas song

December is a great time of year to make sure your house is in order, as fair as ye are able. I’m not just talking about putting up decorations made of pine boughs and hiring a carpet cleaning guy to get the place ready for a big party. Trim the hearth also means watching your financial affairs carefully and planning for a brighter future. If, like most Americans, you have noticed your bills keep going up but your income does not, there is another way to come out with more “net positive.”

You can find tons of money in next year’s budget even if you do not get a raise in January. How?

Here is a great tip: Check your credit card statements carefully. Is BGM still billing you for their Cassette Tape of the Month Club? What other services you aren’t using or products you do not need from companies keep dinging your card on a monthly basis? A few phone calls could save you hundreds per month.

It’s a great time to make sure your interests are protected and that the government is not taking more of your money than you need to pay!

There are also a couple of things we can do to help here at Metz Legal Services, PC. First of all, if you’re managing properties, make sure you’re appealing your property taxes every time. It is not too late, to appeal your 2010, payable 2011 taxes. But time is running out. There is no reason to give Uncle Indy extra chunks of cash. This is something we do at three different times during the year and we get a kick out of helping you keep your hard-earned pennies.

This is also a great time to make sure the family is protected by reviewing your will. A great referral for us is that person in your family who does not have a will at all! Roughly 4 out of 5 people that you know do not have one at all. They may think, wrongly, that “grandma will get the kids if I die.” Unfortunately, without a will, that is a decision the state will make. Don’t let your loved ones leave it in Uncle Indy’s hands! If you overhear someone during this holiday season commenting that they do not have a will, tell them to give us a call. Instead of making it a New Year’s Resolution next month and then forgetting about it, we invite you to call our office today to set an appointment.

Thanks for letting us help you set the table for many generations to come!