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An Equation For Success(NAPSA)—When looking for

the best way to teach childrenabout handling money, parentsand teachers may benefit from afinancial literacy program thatreally adds up.

Partnering with members ofCongress, SIFMA and the SIFMAFoundation offer a fun financial lit-eracy program for students in 4ththrough 12th grades.

The SIFMA Foundation StockMarket Game—“Capitol Hill Chal-lenge”—helps students develop themath, research and team-buildingskills that are critical in businessand a global economy.

By increasing students’ under-standing of personal finance, it canhelp them make more-informeddecisions in their own lives.

According to a recent study byLearning Point Associates, studentswho participate not only developessential financial habits, but theyalso perform better on math, eco-nomics and personal finance teststhan their nonparticipating peers.

This year’s challenge will runto May 14, with more than 3,000teams competing, and the top fiveteams will visit Washington, D.C.to meet their congressional repre-sentatives and learn about publicpolicy.

Learn more at www.sifma.org/2012chc.

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) withwinning students from NeuquaValley High School, Naperville, Ill.

(NAPSA)—According to theDepartment of Agriculture, it willcost a middle-income family, onaverage, $226,920 to raise a childborn in 2010. Fortunately, thecost per child decreases for addi-tional children. Similarly, themore kids you have, the biggeryour tax savings.

“Uncle Sam offers several fam-ily-oriented tax benefits,” saidTaxACT spokesperson Jessi Dol-mage. “Determining which onesyou qualify for can be confusingbecause of rules about filing sta-tus, itemized deductions andincome levels.”

Tax preparation software solu-tions like TaxACT eliminate theguesswork. Answer simple ques-tions to determine if you qualify,and the program will complete thetax forms and check your returnfor errors.

Here are some requirements forkey tax breaks available on nextyear’s return. Although your 2012tax return isn’t due until April2013, you’ll want to keep receiptsand detailed documentationthroughout the year to substantiatethe credits and deductions youclaim.

Popular Credits AndDeductions

•One out of four qualifyinglow- to moderate-income taxpay-ers overlook the Earned IncomeTax Credit each year. If the crediteliminates taxes owed, you canreceive the remaining amount asa refund. Married taxpayers mustfile joint returns.

•If you pay for the care of chil-dren under 13 years of age so you(and your spouse) can work, findwork or attend school, you may beeligible for the Child & DependentCare Credit. Examples of careinclude nursery school, preschool,before- and after-school care, daycamps (no overnight) and in-homenanny care. The credit is worth 20to 35 percent of your expenses, upto $3,000 for one dependent or$6,000 for two or more dependents,but phases out at higher levels.

•The Child Tax Credit may beworth up to $1,000 per child. Ifyou get less than the full amountbecause the credit eliminates yourtax bill, you may qualify for therefundable Additional Child TaxCredit.

•You can claim your family’sunreimbursed medical and dentalexpenses over 7.5 percent of youradjusted gross income as an item-ized deduction. Expenses must befor the diagnosis, cure, mitigation,treatment or prevention of diseaseor treatment. Premiums for med-ical, dental and some long-termcare insurance and transportationcosts may also qualify. Only pre-scription medications and insulinare eligible.

•The Adoption Credit will coverup to $12,650 in adoption expensespaid during 2012 depending onyour income. Expenses includecourt costs, adoption agency fees,attorney fees and travel.

•If you paid alimony in cash,you can deduct that amount even ifyou claim the standard deduction.If you received alimony, the IRSconsiders that taxable income;however, child support is not taxed.

•Some education savings plansoffer tax benefits. A portion of distri-butions and earnings from Quali-fied Tuition Programs andCoverdell Education Savings Ac-counts for education expenses aregenerally tax free. Up to $2,000 inannual contributions to CoverdellSavings Accounts are also tax freedepending on your income level.

•Have children in college? Ifyou claim them as dependents,you may qualify for the StudentLoan Interest Deduction, Ameri-can Opportunity Credit or Life-time Learning Credit. Learn moreabout all education tax breaks inIRS Publication 970.

Learn MoreDetails about these and other

child-related tax breaks can befound at www.irs.gov andwww.taxact.com.

Extra Tax Savings For Parents

Whether you do your own taxesor hire a professional, it’s good tohave a general idea of what taxbreaks are available.

(NAPSA)—Imagine not havingreal maple syrup with your pan-cakes or orange juice to enjoy withbreakfast. Or not relaxing underthe shade of an ash tree with aglass of California wine. Invasivepests and diseases threaten somany things we hold dear.

If left unchecked, these “hun-gry pests” can affect manyaspects of life—the fabric in cloth-ing, food on the table, lumberused to build homes, flowers inthe garden—and have alreadycost billions of dollars to the U.S.economy. Some can even hurtpublic health. The giant Africansnail can carry a parasite knownto cause meningitis.What Are Hungry Pests?Invasive pests are any damag-

ing insect, animal, plant or plantdisease not native to an area.They have few or no natural ene-mies and can feed on or infecttrees and plants in farms, forests,parks and backyards. Typically,people are unintentionally the No.1 cause of invasive pests beingbrought into the country orspreading to new areas throughthe things they move and pack.The good news is that they canalso be part of the solution.

What You Can Do•Buy Local, Burn Local.

Invasive pests and larvae canhide and ride long distances infirewood. Don’t give them a freeride—buy firewood where youburn it.•Plant Carefully. Buy your

plants from a reputable sourceand avoid using invasive plantspecies at all costs.•Do Not Bring or Mail fresh

fruits, vegetables or plants intoyour state or another state unlessagricultural inspectors havecleared them beforehand.

•Cooperate with any agricul-tural quarantine restrictions andallow authorized agriculturalworkers access to your propertyfor pest or disease surveys.•Keep It Clean.Wash outdoor

gear and tires between fishing,hunting or camping trips. Cleanlawn furniture and other outdooritems when moving from onehome to another.•Learn To Identify. If you see

signs of an invasive pest or disease,write down or take a picture ofwhat you see and then report it atwww.HungryPests.com/News.•Speak Up. Declare all agri-

cultural items to customs officialswhen returning from internationaltravel. Call USDA to find outwhat’s allowed: (301) 851-2046 forplants, (301) 851-3300 for animals.

Help Stop Hungry PestsFinally, tell your kids, neigh-

bors and friends. The more peoplewho know about invasive pestsand the damage they cause, thebetter chance there is to preventtheir spread. To see a growing listof these pests, the trees and cropsbeing affected in the area andwhat you can do to help, visitwww.HungryPests.com/News. Youcan help protect what you love.

Hungry Pests Threaten U.S. Agriculture

Don’t give hungry pests a freeride.

(NAPSA)—By forming a part-nership with your primary careoffice and making an annual well-ness visit, you can have the pre-ventive measures to keep yourselfon a path to lifelong health andwell-being. To learn more, visitwww. humana.com.

* * *ORENCIA® (abatacept) is the

first and only biologic for treatingadults with moderate to severerheumatoid arthritis (RA) avail-able in both self-injectable (underthe skin) and intravenous (IV)infusion (through a vein in thearm) formulations. For moreinformation, talk to your doctor orvisit www.ORENCIA.com andplease read the Patient Informa-tion in the Full US PrescribingInformation.

* * *A daily serving of the dietary

supplement Olive Leaf VascularSupport can help keep your blood

pressure at healthy levels. Formore information, visit www.LEF.org/oliveleaf.

* * *To enjoy the health benefits of

water, consider filtering it withthe most technologically ad-vanced, state-of-the-art water fil-tration products, including watersofteners, drinking water systemsand whole-house systems avail-able from Culligan. Learn more atwww.culligan.com.

(NAPSA)—If you appreciatedeep, rich colors outside yourhome—say, when you see deep,rich colors in other people’shomes—then you will probablyalso like decorating with them. Tolearn more, visit the PPG Pitts-burgh Paints website at www.voiceofcolor.com.

* * *Serena remote controlled, bat-

tery-powered shades by Lutronare easy to install and provideconvenience at the touch of a but-ton. They’re available in a varietyof opacities, pleat options, tex-tures and colors. Learn more atwww.LutronSerenaShades.com orcall (888) 445-8063.

(NAPSA)—A financial literacyinitiative aims to educate morethan 30 million underbankedhouseholds about short-term,small-dollar loans. Materials areonline at www.afsaef.org/personalloans101 and from the AmericanFinancial Services AssociationEducation Foundation, 919 Eigh-teenth Street, NW, Suite 300,Washington, DC, 20006-5517;(202) 466-8611.

* * *If your computer is sluggish

with everyday tasks, such asviewing digital photos, watchingvideos or working on a documentor presentation, then it may needa memory upgrade. To find yourmemory upgrade options, visitwww.crucial.com.

* * *A good pool care strategy

involves circulation, filtration,cleaning, testing and chemistry. ABioGuard dealer can provide com-puterized water testing and rec-ommend the best regular careschedule for your pool. For moreinformation and to locate a Bio-Guard dealer, visit www.bioguard.com or call (800) 932-5943.

* * *Warner Bros.’ “New Year ’s

Eve,” now available on Blu-raydisc and DVD, has an all-star castand an incredible story line thatyou and Mom can enjoy together.

* * *Assurex Global, the world’s

premier network of independentinsurance, risk management andbenefits brokers, provides “FiveSteps to Finding a Lasting Insur-ance Career” on its blog, http://tinyurl.com/assurexglobal.