Should You Offer a 401(k) in Your Small Business

Aside from fostering goodwill among your employees, should your small business consider starting a 401(k) plan for employees? Entrepreneur.com has a list of 5 good reasons every small business should offer a 401(k) plan:

1) It's more affordable than you think.

2) It strengthens your business by attracting and retaining high quality employees.

3) Minimal administrative burden.

4) Most small business plans are web-based and have eliminated much of the paperwork.

5) It can help secure your own retirement.

So readers, what do you think? Business owners, are the extra costs justified for small businesses? Employees, is it a deal killer if a small business doesn't have a 401(k) plan?

Holiday Discount Codes Aplenty

Everyday Finance has dozens of holiday discount codes for those of you who may not have purchased everything during black friday / cyber monday. Below is a list of retailers on his list. If you shop at any of the retailers online or at the brick & mortar store it is probably worth a click over to Everyday Finance

Alloy
American Eagle Outfitters
Ann Taylor
Armani Exchange
Banana Republic
Bare Essentials
Barnes & Noble
Bath and Bodyworks
Bed Bath Store
BeBe Sport
Bloomingdales
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet
Children's Place
Cloud Veil
Crazy8
Designer Linens Outlet
Disney
Eastbay
GameStop
Golf Smith
Eastern Mountain Sport
Guess
Hasbro
HP
Illuminations
J. Jill
JC Penny
Joann.com
Levis Store
Limited Too
Linen & Things
Liz Claiborne
Macy's Coupon
MetroStyle
New York & Company
Nike
Overstock
Ralph Lauren
Red Envelope
Eestaurant.com
Sharper Image
Snap Fish
Speedo Coupon
Sports Authority
Suds Gear
Timberland
Toys 'r' us
Ulta
Victoria's Secret
Warner Bros Coupon Code
WinkFlash
Yankee Candle
Zales

Best Countries For Business

Which countries are the "best" for business? Time magazine in conjunction with the World Economic Forum have released their list of the top 50 countries for business. The study was based on 113 factors ranging from quality of roads, to the independence of the country's judiciary. Below are the top 50:

1) U.S.
2) Switzerland
3) Denmark
4) Sweden
5) Germany
6) Finland
7) Singapore
8) Japan
9) U.K.
10) Netherlands
11) S. Korea
12) Hong Kong
13) Canada
14) Taiwan
15) Austria
16) Norway
17) Israel
18) France
19) Australia
20) Belgium
21) Malaysia
22) Ireland
23) Iceland
24) New Zealand
25) Luxembourg
26) Chile
27) Estonia
28) Thailand
29) Spain
30) Kuwait
31) Qatar
32) Tunisia
33) Czech Republic
34) China
35) Saudi Arabia
36) Puerto Rico
37) United Arab Emirates
38) Lithuania
39) Slovenia
40) Portugal
41) Slovak Republic
42) Oman
43) Bahrain
44) S. Africa
45) Latvia
46) Italy
47) Hungary
48) India
49) Jordan
50) Barbados

Is anyone surprised by the rankings (or the fact that the Swiss are #2)?

You can read the whole story in the Nov 26, issue of Time.

Charitable Checking Accounts

There is a trend towards people setting up charitable checking accounts in lieu of a charitable foundation to give away money.

The accounts administered by companies like Fidelity and Schwab allow investors it contribute assets and determine when and where to make distributions. Fidelity lowered the minimum investment to open an account to $5,000 - but many are in the $10,000 range, so they are now within reach for the average investor. If you contribute to a small handful of 501(c)(3) organizations the donor-advised checking accounts can offer lower fees and the money in the fund can grow tax free until distributions are made. The fees are generally in the 1% range and you can take a tax discount on contribution to the account the year they are made. Then again you could make the contribution outright and not pay Fidelity 1% to hold it in a special account.

For people looking to stroke their own egos, it's possible to name your CCA something like the "John Smith Charitable Foundation" and make it seem like you have a charitable foundation set up for yourself without the legal costs and paper work.

Read the whole article at about Charitable Checking Accounts at YahooFinance or read the better article on Starting a Charitable Checking Account at MSN.

Which Hybrid is the Most Cost-Effective?

CNN is running a story that compares the best & worst hybrids for your dollar. The rankings shake out like this

#1) Toyota Prius - Cost $22,279, annual fuel cost savings $543.

#2) Chevy Malibu Hybrid - Cost $22,140, annual fuel cost savings $116.

#3) Toyota Camry Hybrid - Cost $25,200, annual fuel cost savings $483.

#4) Ford Escape Hybrid - Cost $25,075, annual fuel cost savings $458.

#5) Saturn Vue Green Line - Cost $24,170, annual fuel cost savings $303.

Read the full story at CNN.