Tax Refunds — Good or Bad?
Few of us can really say we enjoy filling out our tax forms each April. One bright spot in this process is if we have a refund coming rather than having to write Uncle Sam a check. This month we’ll take a look at whether tax refunds are really such a good thing after all. […]
SECURE 2.0 Tax Law Changes
In our January article, we talked about some of the tax law changes coming in 2023. Days before the end of the year, the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 passed the congress with bipartisan support and was signed by the president. The bill contains many provisions that are intended to strengthen the country’s retirement savings. […]
2023 Tax Law Changes
First of all, Happy New Year! As you make your plans for the coming year, it’s important to take note of the changes in contribution limits and other tax changes in 2023. Social Security Inflation creates a number of financial problems, but high inflation does signal a healthy increase in Social Security payments. Rates will […]
Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification is often thought of as resisting an immediate reward in exchange for a greater reward in the future. However the essence of delayed gratification is simply resisting an immediate reward in preference for a later reward. This act of self-control can be useful in many different aspects of our lives, including our financial […]
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Most of you know that what we pay for an investment is called its basis and what we sell an investment for is its realized gain or simply its gain. If we sell an investment at less than its basis, we produce a loss. Okay, simple enough, but what is tax-loss harvesting? It just means […]
Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
If you are already on Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage, you probably know that October 15 – December 7 is the Open Enrollment Period. That’s when you can make changes to your health insurance. Maybe you started out on Original Medicare and you’ve started to wonder if Medicare Advantage might be better for you. Or […]
Inflation & Higher Interest Rates
As you know, inflation has been generally on the rise. Inflation simply means an increase in what we have to pay for goods and services. We feel it at the gas pump, in the grocery store and when we try to finance a major purchase like a new home. The rate of inflation was at […]
Which Payment Method to Use?
Of course people still write checks, do electronic fund transfers, use mobile payment services (Apple Pay, etc.) and even use digital currencies (Bitcoin, etc.), but the big three when it comes to making payments are cash, credit cards and debit cards. In 2019, debit cards were used the most (30%), followed by cash (26%) and […]
The True Cost of a Loan
No doubt about it, everyone borrows money. Certainly most of us use credit cards. Probably most of us have mortgages. Some of us have student loans. Maybe we need a car loan. When we look for these loans, we want to get the best deal. It used to be somewhat tricky to compare your options, […]
Goal Setting
Each of us wants something that we can’t pay for at the moment. Maybe it’s your first home. Maybe it’s sending your kids to college. Maybe it’s a dream vacation. Maybe it’s an enjoyable retirement. Maybe it’s several of these goals or even something else. Whatever you’re after, establishing it as a concrete goal and […]