Money
Money

• Lighten Your Lighting Costs
  

  Lighten Your Lighting Costs

  New home lighting technology can cut energy bills.

  U.S. Department of Energy

  An average household dedicates about 11 percent of its energy bill to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50 to 70 percent.

  An average household dedicates about 11 percent of its energy bill to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50 to 70 percent.

  Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

  Indoor Lighting Options

  Use tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (traditional) bulbs and last about 4 to 10 times longer.

  Today's CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent lights. Although fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. CFL fixtures are now available that feature dimmers and operate much like incandescent devices.

  Indoor Lighting Tips

  Here are suggestions to save money on indoor lighting:

  • Look for the “Energy Star” label when purchasing indoor lights.
    
  • Turn off lights in a room you are not using, or consider installing timers, photocells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time that your lights are on.
  • Use task lighting. Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops.
  • Consider three-way lamps; they make it easier to keep lighting levels low when a brighter light is not necessary.
  • Use 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for your workroom, garage, and laundry areas.
  • Consider 4-watt mini-fluorescent or electro-luminescent night-lights. Both lights are much more efficient than their incandescent counterparts. The luminescent lights are cool to the touch.
  • Use CFLs in your portable table and floor lamps.
  • Look for recessed down lights (also called recessed cans) that are rated for contact with insulation and designed specifically for pin-based CFLs.

  Outdoor Lighting Tips

  Here are suggestions to reduce energy costs in outdoor home lighting:

  • Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on only at night or when someone is present.
  • Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps. For example, the equivalent of eight lamps burning year-round uses as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.
  • Use CFLs because of their long life. If you live in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold-weather ballast since standard CFLs may not work well below 40 degrees.
  • Consider high-intensity discharge or low-pressure sodium lights.

  This article, and hundreds more, can be found on the NEA Member Benefits Web Site in the “Member Library” section at: www.neamb.com/consumer_articles.jsp

• Helping Kids Connect Safely
  

  Helping Kids Connect Safely

  Newsletter offers technology tips for parents, guardians, and teachers.

  NEA Health Information Network

  By the middle school years, many students are online or using wireless phones — and adults are wondering how to make sure those technologies help, rather than hinder, kids' safety and learning. Now there is a new electronic newsletter to provide tools and tips for adults to help kids connect safely.

  By the middle school years, many students are online or using wireless phones — and adults are wondering how to make sure those technologies help, rather than hinder, kids' safety and learning. Now there is a new electronic newsletter to provide tools and tips for adults to help kids connect safely

  The bimonthly newsletter — called bNetS@vvy: Tools for Adults to Help Kids Connect Safely — is distributed by the National Education Association Health Information Network (HIN) in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Sprint.

  Each issue features personal stories, strategies, and tools to help teachers, parents, and guardians engage with youth to keep them safer. One of the pull-down menus of the electronic newsletter is a listing of Internet sites that provide information on student health, technical resources, and youth safety.

  Articles in the October-November edition of bNetS@vvy included:

  • Ask the Experts: Internet Safety in Schools — Overcoming the Fear Factor
  • Parents' Corner: Technology for Learning — A Family's Journey

  The newsletter in December is focusing on the serious topic of cyber bullying.

  To subscribe, go to www.bnetsavvy.com.

  Adults concerned about online safety for children ages 9-14 are invited to share stories and ideas by contacting Caitlin Johnson, editor-in-chief, at internetsafety@nea.org.

  This article, and hundreds more, can be found on the NEA Member Benefits web site in the “Member Library” section: www.neamb.com/consumer_articles.jsp

• New Rules May Impact Your Charitable Contribution
  

  New Rules May Impact Your Charitable Contribution

  You will need to know how to properly file the IRS 1040 form.

  Internal Revenue Service

  Are you making a cash contribution to your favorite charity this year? Have you recently spent a weekend cleaning stuff out of your garage or basement and then donated the items to a local charity? If so, you need to know about the new rules from the Internal Revenue Service.

  Are you making a cash contribution to your favorite charity? Have you recently spent a weekend cleaning stuff out of your garage or basement and then donated the items to a local charity? If so, you need to know about new rules from the Internal Revenue Service when filing your 1040 form for the 2007 taxable year.

  Charitable contributions can be tax deductible, but you must have the proper records to support your deduction. Due to changes in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the rules on recordkeeping for charitable contributions became a little more strict beginning in January 2007.

  To deduct a charitable cash donation, regardless of the amount, you must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. Acceptable bank records would include canceled checks or bank or credit union statements containing the name of the charity, the date and the amount of the contribution.

  Under the previous rules, records such as personal bank registers, diaries, or notes made around the time of the donation could often be used as evidence of cash donations. Personal records like this are no longer sufficient.

  Here are some additional tips to help you deduct your charitable contributions on your 2007 federal tax return.

  • Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040.
  • Contributions must be made to a qualified organization.
  • Used clothing and household items such as furniture, linens and appliances must be in good condition.
  • Vehicle donations are subject to special rules.
  • To deduct charitable contributions of items valued at $250 or more, you must have a written acknowledgment from the qualified organization.
  • To deduct charitable contributions of items valued at $500 or more, you must complete a Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and attach the form to your return.

  More information is available on the IRS Web Site at IRS.gov. A good resource is IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, found on the Web Site (see link below) or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

  Links:

  • Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions
  • Publication 526, Charitable Contributions

  This article, and hundreds more, can be found on the NEA Member Benefits Web Site in the “Member Library” section at www.neamb.com/consumer_articles.jsp.

   

• Clever Ploys to Take Your Money
  

  Clever Ploys to Take Your Money

  How to recognize and avoid fake check scams.

  National Consumers League

  Fake check scams are clever tricks designed to take your money. You can avoid becoming a victim by recognizing how the scams work and understanding your responsibility for the checks that you deposit in your account.