Important info

At Charity Navigator, our primary purpose is helping America's donors make informed giving decisions when they part with their hard-earned dollars by writing a check to charity. In the past few years, however, more and more donors are attempting to help themselves, and help others, by donating their used automobiles to charity. This has become a massive business. In the year 2000, nearly ¾'s of a million people took a car donation deduction on their federal tax returns, thusly lowering their taxes by over $650 million.
As America's car donation system is currently construed, it is easy for donors to benefit greatly by donating their cars, albeit with a little risk. By following these 10 Charity Navigator Tips For Charitable Auto Donations, you can minimize that risk, and maximize the amount that actually gets to charity.

1. Find a Charity That Directly Accepts Car Donations

If at all possible, avoid the for-profit intermediary organizations that advertise so pervasively to handle your car donations. When you work with one of these organizations, they keep the vast majority of the dollars created from your donation. Even the most reputable of the agencies that handle these transactions keep nearly 50% of the car's value for their troubles (other, less scrupulous entities keep 90%, or even more). If you can find a charity that handles the transaction themselves, they can keep 100% of their profits. It's possible that the charities you already support have a car-donation program that you don't know about. Check with them first.

2. If Your Charity Doesn't Accept Cars, Take the Time to Find a Charity That Does, and Still Does Work You Respect

Remember that you're still making a charitable donation, and don't simply give your automobile away to any charity, just because they're a charity. Do a little research, and find a high-performing charity that does the kind of work you like, in the region you wish to target, and does that work well.

3. If It Runs, Drive the Car to the Charity

Worthy charities are going to have to pay someone else to handle a pick-up or a tow. This is yet another cost that cuts into the amount that gets to that organization's programs. If you can get the car to them yourself, do it.

4. If You Have to Use a Intermediary Agency, Research the Percentage that Gets to Charity

The IRS does not require the car donation agencies to contribute a set amount of the auto's proceeds to the intended charities; that amount is negotiated between the charities and the handlers. Try to find an agency that maximizes that amount, and call the charity to confirm that number before you give. The charities are reluctant to criticize the middlemen, because they don't want to lose the dollars they do receive, but state attorney generals are beginning to investigate and even prosecute these for-profit middlemen, for holding themselves out as charities and misleading the public on the amount that is actually reaching charitable causes.

5. Make Sure Your Intended Organization is a 501 (c) (3)

While many organizations can claim non-profit status, donations to 501 (c) (4) organizations are generally not tax-deductible. These are political organizations with permission to lobby our government; like Disabled American Veterans or the National Rifle Association. Make sure your intended recipient has 501 (c) (3) public charity status.

6. Transfer the Car Correctly to the Charity

Some charities will ask you to leave the assignment of ownership space on the charity donation papers blank, so they don't have to re-title the auto. If your charity asks this of you, find another charity. If you don't formally sign your car over to the designated nonprofit, you will be held responsible for any parking tickets that are subsequently incurred, or liable if it's used in a crime. Remember, the charity you give the car to will probably not use your car to deliver meals to the needy, but will simply sell it as quickly as possible. When someone buys it from them at auction and doesn't bother to register that car, it's still yours in the eyes of the law.

7. Value Your Car Correctly

Due to the proliferation of car donations, the IRS became increasingly concerned about how taxpayers valued the vehicles they donated to charity. Over the last few years, the agency stepped up their audits in this area and began to advocate for changes to the laws that govern such deductions. With the passage of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, those changes have come. Starting with your 2005 tax return, you will no longer be able to deduct the published fair market value of vehicles worth more than $500. Under the new rules, your deduction will be determined once your car is sold and the charity sends you a receipt indicating the exact amount your car garnered at auction.
 8. Complete Your Paperwork

If your car is worth more than $500, you must complete IRS Form 8283 and attach it to your yearly taxes.

9. Use Fair Market Value (FMV) for the Car

There are several exceptions which allow you to use the Kelley Blue Book or a NADA guide, but you must use the FMV, not simply the highest value listed for the year and make of your car. Use the FMV when:

• instead of selling the vehicle, the charity keeps and uses it,
• the charity makes improvements to the car before selling it,
• your car is sold at a discounted price to a person with a low income,
• or if the car is worth less than $500.

I've noticed that a lot of you are struggling to juggle the surge in new business while still putting in place lasting marketing initiatives and strategy that will ensure your pipeline gets and stays full in 2010. The challenge occurs when you sacrifice your long term profit for short term gains by shelving business development, new equipment, a new hire, and continuing to tackle all of it yourself. So here are my Do's and Don'ts for business growth and success in 2010. I learned the hard way so you don't have to!
Do stay focused on profit activities every day. Don't get stuck in the details.
Do delegate tasks that are repetitive and not profit centered. Don't say you can't afford it, you will get far more done when someone else does the things you aren't good at and don't enjoy.
Do make time to further your business education. Don't make the mistake of remaining stuck in old school ways, when new school is here to stay.
Do learn to leverage the power of social networking. Don't just throw up a profile and expect results; it requires consistent and persistent interaction.
Do include live networking in your marketing mix. Don't think you can retreat to life in your bunny slippers and fail to get out face to face.
Do invest in new technology and equipment (hardware and software) to grow you business. Don't forget you'll have a learning curve, be prepared or you will tear your hair out.
Do create a plan, day by day, week by week, month by month and work it. Don't give up when you hit a hurdle, go around it, through it, over it, under it or redirect.
Do make time for yourself, your family, and your friends. Don't become a workaholic; it is an unhealthy addiction that can ruin your life.
Do take time for your health. Don't ignore those 5-10 lbs (or more) you packed on last year.
Do embrace life, all of it. Don't wait for tomorrow because the present is the gift in today.
Want to use this article? You can, just include the text here: Ready to take your business higher? Tired of all the hype and pitch? Pick up your free ebook, 7 Surefire Steps to Marketing that Makes YOU Money. And get on the fast track to business success!

Success is a very precious thing we seek for in every area of our lives. It is as if we are programmed to be successful in whatever we do and we do not accept failure easily. Nothing makes us happier like having success in our business and in our personal relations. Note that not everyone is destined to achieve it since some of us simply never do what it takes to reach it.
I divided the long and complicated path to success into three parts: Learn, Plan and Apply. Because, it comes as a result of the application of well planned knowledge.
Let's start with the "Learn" part. It can be said that in any field of life, either personal or professional, a certain amount of knowledge is required in order to accomplish what we want. We need to learn our lessons, we need to learn our jobs, we need to learn how things work, how this can be done, how that can benefit us and how can this knowledge be applied. This is the collection of information we learn occasionally.
After learning what is necessary, now it comes to organize our knowledge and create a plan on how to apply what we have learned. Pure knowledge itself will not do any good for us if it is not put into action following a well planned knowledge. So, the most important part to reach success is to plan, since it will be our base for our actions. If we have a good plan, no matter how much we know, it will simultaneously turn into action and results will be seen.
Once the plan is ready for action, it is time to apply it by taking the required action. The performance of this part will absolutely depend on the quality of what we have learned and how we planned what action we will take. Now that all the things are set up properly, the only thing we need to do is to take action. Often times, it seems really complicated and the most difficult element, however this is mostly due to lack of our knowledge and the weakness of the action plan.

Has this ever happened to you? You begin a program, a project, a task or even a diet with the best intentions telling yourself that this is the day you will begin to achieve your goal, then - Pow! An unforeseen setback, roadblock or obstacle hits you that you did not see coming.
We never see these "accidents or obstacles" that come into our lives as anything positive or helpful. We look at them as detours to take us off the path we have committed to be on. It happens to almost everyone at some point in our lives; setbacks, obstacles - whether career, financial, or health-related, obstacles are unavoidable and we find ourselves out of sync with our goal. How do we stay on track? How do we overcome these inconvenient and untimely obstacles that appear unannounced and attempt to keep us from achieving success in the goals we have set?
I have found that the first and most common obstacle that most people can identify with is that many times, there is no clear definition of a goal. This alone can cause you to sabotage your road to success before you even begin. Without a clear goal, a destination to direct your efforts and energy toward, you find that you have created your first obstacle to keep you from achieving success. Clarity of goal is difficult to identify in a few short sentences if you really have no idea what it is that you want to achieve.
Right now, before you continue reading, do this exercise; Think about what it is that you want to achieve. What is that burning desire, that goal you want to achieve? Set your mind to addressing and answering this question. Take the time to write it out, then edit, edit, edit so that you own it in your mind, and can say it clearly in a few short sentences. Doing this forces you to be specific and will remove a lot of external "sidebar goals" that can draw you away from your main focus or objective.
Next, recognize that you may be an obstacle to your success. Do you tend to whitewash some of your negative habits as 'that is just the way I am'? Be honest and realistic with yourself. Identify these habits so that you can watch and recognize them as you set out on your journey toward your goal.
Most people, if you were to ask them would readily agree that fear and doubt are two of the major obstacles that keep them from pursuing their dreams, desires, or their goals. But let us focus beyond that and get more specific.
To help you identify your habits, here are some common obstacles that people face;
· Lack of focus
· Unclear goals
· Not knowing where to begin
· Procrastination
· Interruptions
· Lack of self-esteem
· Inability to let go
· Hoarding (hanging on to everything)
· Negative thinking or Negative Self-Talk
Perhaps you may find your habits in the above list, or have different ones - only you know for sure. But is that really true? Sometimes, it is wise to seek outside help from people who truly care about your well-being and success. Ask them to be honest with you and help you identify negative habits, traits, characteristics that impede your ability to achieve your success. This can be difficult if you have a sense of pride, low self-esteem, or think you have all the answers. However, it is also important to make sure that you ask only those individuals that you trust implicitly to give you honest answers.
Once you have identified your list of personal habits or obstacles;

• Write them down then suggest at least three possible solutions to help you overcome them.
• Flip the negative trait to find a positive trait or characteristic and begin to train yourself to think and act to implement and reinforce that positive habit.
• Finally, accept the fact that achieving your goal properly and with successful results will take time.

They skipped the housing collapse

More Australians means more demand for housing, and supply has not kept up. Authorities estimate that Australian builders will have added 357,000 dwellings between 2008 and 2010; household growth in metropolitan areas is expected to be more than two and a half times that. The housing shortage helped keep prices buoyant: The 2008 decline in home values was mild and the average home now fetches about 6% more than in mid-2007. This is a major relief for Aussies who, like Americans, have the largest single portion of their wealth tied up in the family home.
The RBA helped, too, by keeping interest rates relatively high prior to the crisis. Cheap money helped fuel the bubble in home prices in the U.S. and elsewhere, but in Australia, homes were simply never inexpensive enough to attract an onrush of buyers. In January 2008, Australians were paying 6.3 times their household annual earnings to buy a house, compared with 3.6 times in the U.S.

The housing shortage in Australia has helped keep home prices steady.

So here’s what recovery looks like