BUSINESS/FINANCE
S tis' that Wllike irn-
migran who come to
tmes king en1erprising op-
portunitfes, mo t of Blac
America . king a job. 1m
African-American Dream 0 �
1900; to try ml emula �
. "American StaJ¥Iard 0 LiCe."
If more of realized that in
order to aeate j aOO ad�
taOOards 0 living, we must
tablished p for saving, in-
vesting aOO making and distribut­
Inggoodsandservices, �nmore •
of our boyz aoo girls would be
making bigger bue .
DIAe vision of
what is possible in tbe land of
opportunity. We need personal
commitments toward making
ourselves, and not � govern­
ment, accountable for commer­
cial uccess, or the lack of it,
among our neighborhoods aoo
people.
We must acquire clear con­
cepts and understandings of the
free-enterprise ystem and realize
how to tap into it at the
entrepreneur 8IX1 inYestor leve .
To visualize the benefits mi 00-
stance of the American Dream,
we reed discussions, contacts and
communications channels
regarding captialistic processes to
give us the insight to make the
ystem work for us,
We can mine more gold
through the hands of Blacks, if
more Blacks start bending their
minds toward the fundamentals
of capitalism and 'tbe free­
enterprise process. Some mind­
bending and mining resources [or
us are:
"The Color of Money" PBS
'television show, with Kelvin
Boston, is a personal finance in­
formation program that "addres­
se those who are seeking
information along the upward
mobility path." It presents finan-
-cial information, examines
: economic issues, provides how­
: to information and interesting
: profiles featuring succe fuI
, people of color. Tbe »rninwc
, format can provide Blacks aspir­
: ing to iI!_1prove their ecooomic
: situations much in the way of
relevant information on how to
_ make, and keep, more money.
.
• TIle Black Resource Guide,
• publis� annually-Is a national
Black directory designed to in­
form the public about sources of
assistance and information in
Black America.
IT FFA TURFS over 60
categories of key indivi�uals and
organizations that impact Black
American's opinions aoo issues.
It is published by R. Benjamin
Johnsonmi is available from 501
Oncdia Place, NW, W�n,
DC. 20011, (21)2) 291-4373.
The Black Congrea ionaI
Monl�r Is a eight-page m:mthly
report of legislative initiatives
from the U.S. Congress. It sells
for $16 Per year and outlines bills,
i ucs comments and govern­
ment puolicatiors that can help
people gain more from govern­
ment resources.
Len Mor Publications, P.O.
Box '75035, Washington. D.C.
provides the Monitor .. An a list­
ing of 100 Blacks on Broads of
Directors i available from
Who's Who in Blae o>rporatc
America 10 �lp identify African- .
Americam woo me in policy­
making positions with the
world's leading multi-national
compani . Just write to 1264
National Pre s Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20045.
(
By Chari J. Glv n.
. 111 tel phone h becom the
gr te t urc of interruption in
lmo t everyone' life. For me
rea n, yuh v com to beli ve
wh n the telephone ring everything
el ha to be put on hold. In reality,
an wering a telephon i like ome­
on who follow you around and
yell . "freeze" 20 time a day­
expecting you to top in your track
for three to 10 minute no matter
what you were doing.
Ch k the current level of control
that the telephone has over your mind
and life. For an entire Saturday, allow
the phone to ring, but don't allow
anyone to pick it up. No matter how
long and how many time it ring , let
it ound off and note what happen
in your mind. If the phone i in con­
trol of ur Ii you will &0 through
thoughts uch a , "Could thi be an
emergency? I it important? Doe
thi phone call mean money to me?"
Succe Re ponse: For maximum
• effectivene let n an wering
machine creen and record your
calls. Review the mes ges and
determine which calls you will re -
pond to.
our filin
BIG REFUNDS
If you're getting big r fund
trat gi
Succe Re pon : begin your
me ge with, UNo one i available
to an wer the phone." "No on i t
home:' which i how mo t me ge
begin, may not be the truth and
hould not be p rt of the me ge.
Do no includ a part of the roes ge
that. "Someone will call you back."
Since you decide which call require
are ponse, you are maintaining con­
trol of your integrity.
There are time when you will ab­
solutely want to an wer certain type
of phone call . Maybe the plumber
i going to call you to hedule tim
to fix the pipe that are flooding your
hou e. That' a call you don't want
to mi .
Succe Re ponse: Make all call
backs at th am time. One of the
secrets to the effective u e of the
telephon i to t a ide �
15 to 30 minute and place II your
call at the me time.
Keep phone use to ju t a couple
of pecific period in tead of al­
tered throughout the day. You will
find that you will free up an amaz­
ing amount of time and mental
energy.
Tax-saving ttps
as April 15 nears
DETROIT - With only 23
"procrastination days" left until
April 15, many people are still
searching for ways to reduce
their tax burden.
Bernie Kent, tax partner from
Cooper & Lybrand, offers the
following tips if you must bum
the midnight oil come tax day, or
are looking ahead to next year's
filing.
- Job Hunting Expenses can
be deductible. Telephone calls,
travel expenses, employment
agency fees, and resume costs
are some of the itemized expen­
ses that are deductible. Only the
amount of mi cellaneous
itemized dieticians that exceeds
2 percent of adjusted gro in­
come is deductible. "To claim
any of these deductions, the ex­
penes must be for seeking a job
in your present line of work,"
Kent said. "This does not in­
clude career changes." .
- Employees who did not
make adjustments for the
decrease in federal withholdings
enacted by President Bush, auto­
matically began having around
$5 le s federal taxes withheld
each week beginning March 1.
This will amount to ap­
proximately $200 to $300 less
taxes withheld at the end of the
year. Notify your employee if
you want the taxe withheld,
Kent aid.
- "For couples, filing
eparately often can be ad­
vantageou to joint returns,
when both spouse have incom­
e and one has everal medical or
miscellaneous deductions, "
Kent aid.
- "If you purch sed a
home," Kent id, "mortgage
points are deductible in most
cases." See IRS publication 936
for more information.
- Some of the more common
miscellaneous . itemized deduc­
tions include: alimony, job­
relocation moving co ts,
casualty losses not covered by
insurance, charitable contribu­
tions, state and local taxes, and
home office equipment and ex­
penses for the self-employed and
moonlighters.
- Individual Retirement Ac- .
counts (IRA's) are still an effec­
tive means of reducing taxe ,
Kent said. Individuals not
covered by a pension plan are
entitled to deduct contributions
of up to $2,000 depending on
their income. Retirement ac­
counts are important ways to
reduce taxes now and ave for
the future. "If you set up an IRA
before April 15, you still may be
able to deduct the contributions
from 1991 returns," Kent said.
"Even if you are not eligible
to deduct the contributions,
IRA's may attractive because
the interest is tax-free until its
withdrawn from the account."
- For singles with more than
$100,000 in adjusted gross in­
come or $50,000 for married
person filing separately,
itemized deductions are reduced
by 3 percent of the amount of
income over tho e levels.
"To get ready for next year,
m ke sure you are taking all of
the available deductions by·
keeping a detailed record of your
expen e throughout th year,
and tart it now if you haven't
already," Kent said. "Without
this information, you may over-
100 ignificant deductions.
This records is es ential if th
IRS should question your
return."
REFI A CE
YOUR ORTGAGE
With mortg ge rat t bout 9
percent, no m y be ood time to
re mance your home mortg ge if
your current intere t rat i 11 per­
cent or high r. It may lobe i e
move to refin nee nd p y off
econd mortg ge or home equity
10 n.
As a gen ral rule of thumb, you
will w nt to refinance only i you
PAY OFF YOUR
ORTGAGE I 15
YEARS
According to b nk offici I , the
number of people refi ncing tb ir
mortgage h jumped dramatically
in the la t ever 1 months. But ome
homeown rs are doing omething
quit uniqu . Inste d of r financing
to another 0 year mortg e, many
Chari Ro s is ho t of the na­
tionally yndicat d radio program •
"Your Per onal Finance" and the ...
author of "T� Best of Your Per- - ,:
onal Finance. "
SUPPORT PROGRAMS FOR BLACK SKI CLUB - Wayman F. Smith (right), vice president of coporale
affaris at Anheuser-Busch presents a cotribution to Samuel E. Lawler, president of the National
Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS) , during the ski club's annual conference recently in copper Mountain,
Colorado.
Need Information about Businesses?
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The Business INFOLINE is indispensable for home or officel And
the cost is only $3.00 for the first minute and $1.50 for each
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A SeMoe of Amerto.n
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Dial 1-900-896-0000
Ask for En # 214