Latest Online College Courses

Every entrepreneur can benefit from continued education. Whether you are just starting out and handling multiple roles within your company or an experienced business owner -- enrolling in an online course is always a good way to improve your knowledge and has never been easier or more affordable.

Must See : What Is the Maximum Student Loan Limit

Long gone are the days of taking evening classes at local colleges and paying tuition. You can now take excellent courses in the comfort of your own home for free.

Here are ten free online courses that every entrepreneur can benefit from.

1. 21 Critical Lessons for Entrepreneurs

This two-hour video course by Docstoc CEO Jason Nazar takes his real-world experience and breaks it into several video lessons that discuss all the important steps of running a successful business, from vetting an idea and raising money from investors to scaling and growth strategies.

There are a lot of coaching and training programs online that are put together by individuals that don’t have real business experience. They make their money by teaching and not by doing. Nazar’s insight is truly valuable because he has been there. He has used the information he is sharing to grow Docstoc into a successful business.

More information about this course can be found here.

2. New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs

Some entrepreneurs prefer not to seek outside funding, opting to bootstrap -- but the majority of startups would welcome funding with open arms if they knew how to secure it. This is what this online course from the University of Maryland covers, as professor Michael R. Pratt explains what you need to do in the early stages of your business to prepare for funding, where to source funding, how to pitch investors and venture capitalists, as well as how to close funding.

There is a lot more to the process than putting together a business plan and a pitch deck and firing it off to any investors or VC that you can find. Part of being successful is being prepared -- and this course helps entrepreneurs be prepared before going after funding.

More information about this course can be found here.

3. Introduction to Web Development: HTML

Every business has an online presence these days, meaning every business has a website. Some tech startup founders are very computer savvy and can write code in their sleep. Other business owners, such as a restaurateurs or retailers, might not have the same knowledge and experience. So what do entrepreneurs do that don’t have a coding or programming expert on their team? They pay ridiculously high rates to companies to make simple website changes.

A lot of the small changes and tasks can be completed in-house with just a little HTML knowledge -- exactly what this course delivers. You aren’t going to become a world-class developer after taking this, but you will have a thorough understanding of how to create HTML web pages and make changes and edits to existing pages.

More information about this course can be found here. 

4. Scaling Operations: Linking Strategy and Execution

This course from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is a five-week lesson that shows you how to correctly build an operation that is both stable and scalable. There isn’t a single entrepreneur that starts a business hoping to stay small.

The two professors, Gad Allon and Jan Van Mieghem, cover everything from the correct framework, marketing, outsourcing and strategy required to scale efficiently and successfully.

More information about this course can be found here. 

5. How to Make Money Online: The Passive Income Business Plan

My company brokers the sale of online businesses, so I understand firsthand how lucrative online-based businesses can be. This course lays out a simple, yet effective, way to make money online. The goal of the 12-hour video course is to explain how to execute a plan to make $5,000 in monthly passive income by creating 10 websites that each produce $500 in monthly revenue.

While this is a basic introduction to online business, it does provide helpful information for entrepreneurs that have contemplated starting an online business but weren’t sure how to start. It’s a good first step for those interested in making money online -- as are these online business models.

More information about this course can be found here. 

What Is the Maximum Student Loan Limit

Loan Limits

lamp-papersHow Much You Can Borrow
Alberta and Canada student aid is calculated to help you meet the basic costs of learning and living. Because loans are investments you repay after you finish or leave your post-secondary studies, it is in your best interest to borrow only the money you need.

Annual Loan Limits

The Student Aid Alberta 2015-16 Annual Loan Limit is $7,500 per semester. This includes the amount you may receive in Canada student loans. Students taking graduate or specific programs of study with additional costs may be eligible for higher loan limits.

Lifetime Loan Limits for Full-time Students

The following table shows the maximum amount of Student Aid Alberta funding you can receive over your lifetime. If you repay some or all of the loans, you may be eligible to receive additional loans up to the maximum for your specific credential or program of study.

Up to $60,000 may be for either Commercial Aviation Training (maximum of $15,000 for each of four approved fixed wing training components) or for Commercial Helicopter Training.
If you reach these Lifetime Loan Limits, you may still be eligible for Canada student loans.

Maximum Loan Limit for Part-Time Students

Part-time students may receive up to $10,000 in Canada student loans.

California Legislature approves $15 minimum wage increase, will be highest in the US

California lawmakers approved a sweeping plan on Thursday raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years. This will be the nation’s highest statewide minimum wage and it will take effect by 2022.

The Assembly passed SB3 with a 48-26 vote. The the Senate voted 26-12, people cheered the move and "Si se puede" can be heard from the gallery above. The legislation now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to sign it into law after previously working out the plan with labor unions. Brown will sign the wage hike into law in Los Angeles on Monday.

Democrats who control both legislative chambers in California praised the move as a boon to more than 2 million of state’s poorest workers. Opponents complained it was rushed and did not include a wide group at the negotiating table. Business owners and economists fears that the yearly increases will be tied to inflation and will make California hostile to business.

The state of New York was considering a similar move.

Under the plan, California's hourly minimum wage would increase from the current $10 to $10.50 on January 1. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees would be given an extra year to comply. Increases of $1 an hour would come every January until 2022. The governor could delay increases in times of budgetary or economic downturns.

California’s current $10 an hour minimum is tied with Massachusetts for the highest among states. Los Angeles, Seattle and other cities have recently approved $15 minimum wages, while Oregon officials plan to increase the minimum to $14.75 an hour in cities and $12.50 in rural areas by 2022.

In New York, Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers continued to negotiate Thursday over Cuomo’s proposal to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage from $9 to $15 by the end of 2018 in New York City and by mid-2021 elsewhere in the state.

Sell Annuity Payment

Five million individuals will have the capacity to transform their annuity pots into an a money single amount from April 2017, the legislature declared today.

Rather than getting regularly scheduled installments from an investment funds pot, existing beneficiaries will have the capacity to offer their annuity to get their hands on all the cash without a moment's delay.

Pastors said individuals who had put something aside for their retirement ought to be 'trusted to settle on the right choice for them'.

Rather than getting month to month benefits installments, beneficiaries will have the capacity to offer their annuity to get their hands on all the cash without a moment's delay, under changes by George Osborne

Chancellor George Osborne has guaranteed to make it less demanding for individuals to utilize their retirement supports how they like, rather than being compelled to purchase benefits arranges.

Annuities have been the center of developing discussion as of late in the midst of diving rates, and apprehensions that numerous individuals are ignorant that they could show signs of improvement arrangement by looking instead of staying with their current benefits supplier.

Uprooting the limitations on purchasing and offering existing annuities will permit retired people to offer the pay they get from their strategy without loosening up the first contract.

They will be allowed to either take the money as a single amount or place it into drawdown to utilize the returns all the more bit by bit.

New retirees have as of now been given the privilege to get to their benefits pots as opposed to being compelled to purchase an annuity.

Today the Treasury affirmed points of interest of permitting existing beneficiaries to additionally get to their reserve funds.

Financial Secretary Harriett Baldwin said there would be an exhaustive shopper security bundle to guarantee individuals settle on educated choices about their retirement investment funds.

It will incorporate a necessity for individuals to look for autonomous budgetary guidance before offering annuities worth over a set quality.

Financial Secretary Harriett Baldwin said there would be an exhaustive shopper security bundle to guarantee individuals settle on educated choices about their retirement investment funds

'For a great many people, staying with an annuity is the proper thing to do. Yet, there will be some who might welcome having the capacity to draw on that cash as they pick - the same flexibility we gave individuals drawing closer retirement in April this year,' Ms Baldwin said.

'Individuals who've buckled down and spared every one of their lives ought to be trusted to settle on the right choice for them and with the assistance of the controller we will guarantee these individuals have the right data.'

The arrangements won't loosen up the agreements made between annuity holders and their suppliers.

Rather, the progressions will permit annuity holders to get to the estimation of their annuity where they can locate an eager outsider purchaser.

The annuity supplier would keep on paying the annuity installments for the lifetime of the annuity holder, however the installments would be exchanged over to the new purchaser.

Gareth Shaw, head of buyer issues at Saga Investment Services, said: 'A huge number of individuals who get negligible salary from annuities they were compelled to purchase will profit by these new standards.

'Examination completed by Saga found that 58% of individuals who needed to offer their annuity were accepting such a little pay they could do nothing significant with it.'

Tom McPhail, head of retirement arrangement at Hargreaves Lansdown, said:

'This is welcome affirmation of a generally expected declaration, which will now give millions more annuity financial specialists more noteworthy adaptability over their retirement salary.

'Offering an ensured wage won't be ideal for some individuals. Access to market rivalry to secure the best cost and suitable data, direction and exhortation ought to guarantee that normal financial specialists are ensured and can make the most ideal utilization of their cash.'

Yvonne Braun, executive of long haul reserve funds arrangement at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), additionally said that offering an annuity is not something that ought not be done thoughtlessly.

She said: 'It's thusly key we see Pension Wise direction made accessible to cover this future business sector, and we bolster the augmentation of the prerequisite that clients get money related counsel when the estimation of their annuity is over a sure level.

'Getting the structure totally right to give insurance to shoppers will be essential on the off chance that we are not to save huge issues for what's to come.'

Donate Cars in MA

1.Massachusetts ­ Donate Car to Charity

2.Donate Car MA ­ Car Donation Massachusetts | Kars4kids

3.Donating a Car to Charity ­ Mass.Gov

4.Make­A­Wish Car Donation Help Massachusetts and Rhod

5.Massachusetts ­ Car Donation Wizard

6.Donate a car in Massachusetts | Car Donation Center

7.Recycle for Gold ­ Special Olympics Massachusetts

8.Massachusetts ­ Donating a Car is Easy!

9.Donate Your Car | WBUR

10.Catholic Charities Boston ­ Car Donations

Donate Car for Tax Credit

GUIDE TO CAR DONATION TAX DEDUCTION

The donation of a car or other vehicle to charity is a significant charitable contribution, perhaps the largest many people will give in their lifetimes. Whether the primary motivation to donate is convenience or altruism, donors want to ensure that they receive the maximum tax deduction allowable.

Step 1: Choose an eligible organization 

The most important consideration when choosing a charity is determining its “exempt” status. To be eligible for a tax deduction, the car must be donated to a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, most commonly a 501(c) (3) organization created for religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary purposes or for prevention of cruelty to children or animals. Religious organizations such as churches, synagogues and mosques automatically qualify
even without filing for 501(c) (3) status. To verify if an organization is tax-exempt, use the IRS
Exempt Organizations Select Check, call the IRS at (877) 829-5500, or ask to see the organization’s IRS letter recognizing it as tax-exempt

Step 2: Itemize deductions

For a car donation to be eligible for a tax deduction, the donation must be made solely for charitable or public purposes and the donor must itemize deductions (such as medical expenses and charitable donations) on Schedule A of IRS Form 1040. Those taking the standard deduction rather than itemizing will not receive a deduction for their donation. Generally, it is worth the effort to itemize
if the total of the itemized deductions for that tax year is more than the standard deduction one is entitled to. Quick tip: Whether itemizing deductions is worthwhile for you depends on the specifics of your situation. H&R Block offers a more detailed guide to itemizing versus taking the standard deduction. Always speak to your accountant or tax advisor for advice specific to your circumstance.

Step 3: Determine the amount of your deduction

The exact amount of your deduction is dependent on what the charity does with your vehicle and on the vehicle’s value. Let’s break it down. Now, for an important definition: what is the “fair market value” of the car? Fair market value is defined as “the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being compelled to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of all the necessary facts.” In other words, the price you could peasonably expect to get for the vehicle on the open market. This is not necessarily identical to the “blue book” value of thecar, as factors such as engine or body trouble or excessive wear could decrease the vehicle’s value and significant improvements might increase the value. Quick tip: You can use a vehicle pricing guide such as this one from Kelley Blue Book to determine your car’s
value based on its current condition.

Step 4: Gather necessary documentation

The documentation you’ll need to claim your deduction is dependent on the amount of the deduction.
≤$500
For a deduction of $500 or less, the IRS requires:
- the name of the charity
- a description of the donated vehicle
- a statement if goods and services were received, and their value.

$500-$5,000
For a deduction of more than $500 and less than $5,000,the IRS requires:
- the name of the charity
- a description of the donated vehicle
- a statement if goods and services were received, and their value
- Copy B of Form 1098-C OR a legal substitute
- If you are e-filing, Form 8453

>$5,000
For a deduction of more than $5,000, the IRS requires:
-IRS Form 8283
-Form 1098-C or legal substitute (such as the receipt from the charity)
-a written appraisal of the vehicle’s value.
The appraisal must be from a qualified appraiser and must be completed no more than 60 days before the donation. The cost of the appraisal cannot be deducted as a charitable expense, but it can be
itemized in miscellaneous expenses If you are claiming the fair market value of a vehicle that will be used by the charity for its own purposes or the charity will be making material improvements to the vehicle, the IRS also requires written acknowledgment from the charity describing how the vehicle will be used or improved and certifying that it will not be sold before said use or improvement. The IRS Guide to Vehicle Donations for Donors explains this in more detail.

Step 5: File tax return!

The tax deduction can be claimed in the year that the donation was given. Don’t forget to include all the necessary documentation, as outlined above, with your federal income tax return. Whether your car donation qualifies for a deduction on your state income tax return varies on a state-by-state basis. Check with your state tax department. Note: The tax benefit you receive for donating your car is
a deduction, not a tax credit. This means that the amount of income that the government will tax you on is reduced by the deduction amount, resulting in lower taxes for you.

How To Donate A Car In California

There are several things to bear in mind if you want to learn how to donate a car in California dmv without the risks. Few months ago, I have donated my car to charity and it went off without any major issues.  But I want to help kind people to ensure that their car donation will be as easy as mine.

How To Donate A Car In California dmv – Easy Tips

I have donated a car that I have been using for about five years. It is still in good condition and still drivable. However, I have learned that even old cars that are impossible to drive are still accepted by several charitable organizations as long as the parts could be sold. So, if you have old cars, don’t discard them yet to junk shops. Many charitable agencies insist that the vehicles are in good working condition however. I suggest that you select an organization that you recognize. I have selected to donate my car to a charity with national operations but has a center in California. I feel safer with this. Just be careful since there are organizations with names that sound the same.
I have noticed that there are charitable agencies that hire intermediary car donation companies to serve as brokers and to take care of the car donations. However, I think this is not a good option since the charity will normally get a small portion of the final cost of the car. The intermediary agency might keep the large percentage of the funds from the sale of the car for their overhead costs. I have chosen an organization that directly handles the donation from towing to auction.

How To Donate A Car In California? When I made my choice, I checked with the charity on how they would benefit from the donation. Some charities will use the car for their operations, some will sell the car to raise funds for humanitarian projects, and some will give the car to a needy family or individuals. For example, I have donated my pick up van to a charity that provides free transportation to poor farmers.

I had a friend who donated his car to charity only to find out that the charitable organization was just a scam. But that experience did not change my decision to donate my car. To protect myself from bogus organizations, I checked with BBB in California to verify the registration and the reputation of several organizations that I am planning to give out my car. I suggest that you stay away from charities with bad records and had any dubious transactions with car donations. Also make certain that the charity has the proper registration and has the license to operate in California. However, this is not needed if you are donating to a nationally acclaimed charity. Also check if the charity carries the tax exempt status for your tax deductions.

It is important to protect yourself in making donations. I am sure that your goal in learning how todonate a car in California is to help fund certain causes, so make it easy, fast, and right.