Having a Homer Simpson “Doh!” like moment when it comes to filing your tax return is not the most comforting feeling. But mistakes do happen; even to the best of us. Realizing that a mistake was made on a tax return can cause one to get nervous about audits or delayed refunds- sweaty palms anyone? However it happens all the time, and the IRS even has a specific form just for filing amendments. When one files an amended tax return it voids the previously filed return and becomes the new tax return. [.....]
I want to take a quick minute to address an occurrence that has actually happened more often over the past few weeks. I have some clients that are approaching retirement. They are getting ready to flip that switch where they no longer have that paycheck they have been so accustomed to their entire life, to now they’re paycheck is going to become their retirement account. Their IRAs will now be depositing directly into their bank accounts and that’s going to be their paycheck, so that is what they have to live off of. The mistake that I am seeing a lot of them want to do is they want to pay off all their debt. They think they still need the exact same amount they were getting as they were working, so they want to keep drawing the same amount of paycheck. [.....]
As the new year gets underway in earnest, tax season is heating up. Many people are considering how they might end up with a tax rebate. A tax rebate is the refund of money that you overpaid to the IRS. If you had too much withheld from your paycheck, or paid more in quarterly taxes than you owe to the government, then you are due a rebate. But how do you get this rebate? [.....]
It’s time. The bathroom with wallpaper that pays tribute to Ausitn Powers has overstayed it’s welcome. Your long overdue to make some much needed improvements and upgrades. But where does the money come from? You could charge it on the credit card, but the 14.99% interest rate isn’t all that attractive. Realizing you have some equity in your home, you explore your options.
If you are looking to borrow funds from your home’s value, you have two options. You can either choose a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. Here is a comparison of the two. [.....]
The importance of having an emergency fund can’t be overstressed. Living without an emergency fund is like walking across a high wire without a safety net. One little slip and you can fall into a financial black hole. Unfortunately, setting up an adequate emergency fund is neither fast nor easy, as most Certified Financial Planners suggest having at least a three to six month fund, while others suggest eight months to a year for certain individuals with riskier jobs.
Stockpiling funds to cover a half year’s worth of expenses can take quite a bit of time, particularly for those who have gotten stuck in a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. And when credit card debt is added to the picture, building an emergency fund can get expensive. That’s where the smart use of low interest balance transfers can help ease the costs of building an emergency fund.
Credit Cards Are Not an Emergency Fund
Before the credit crisis erupted, many people looked to their credit cards as their emergency fund. This idea of the credit card safety net quickly evaporated during the recession, as credit card companies embarked on a spree of rate increases and credit limit cuts that left many people stuck with expensive debt and barely enough credit to buy a tank of gas, let alone cover a real emergency like a costly car repair. [.....]
If you are always on the go for business or personal reasons, or just are addicted to using your iPhone or Android for anything you do, Snap-Tax is what you have been waiting for. Snap Tax allows you to fill out your taxes completely on your mobile phone. The only draw back to Snap Tax is that you are only able to fill out a 1040ez so far, but with Turbo Tax being the main source behind the production, further application is on the near horizon. Snap Tax could be the fastest way possible to file your taxes, using Snap Tax people have filed there 1040ez in under ten minutes. How does this work, by giving you the ability to actually take a picture of your W-2 with your smart phone, and using the new software that Snap-Tax uses, it will automatically fill out the rest of the information on your 1040ez for you. [.....]
A lot of folks that come to be either have old 401Ks, old pensions, and now this is their primary income source, and they are trying to balance that out with social security or any other retirement income sources they may have. The question I often get from these people is, “How do I get a paycheck? How do I actually draw money from my retirement accounts?” I want to address those questions and demonstrate real quickly how that works. [.....]
This is one of the most common questions asked around the idea of wills. I’ve heard numbers all over the board. Some saying that 1 in 4 people currently don’t have a will. I’ve also heard 1 in 3, and recently heard a statistic that 300,000 people die without a will every year in Britain.
Now, I can’t vouch for the truth of these stats, there is one stat that I did find: according to Harris Interactive® for Martindale-Hubbell® conducted a research study finding that for the last three years, 55% of all adult Americans do not have a will. And you know what is also true about that? That’s way more people that die without a will each year than really should. [.....]
After being stuck in a tight range around 3.5% since mid-December, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped higher to 3.65% last week. This rise was in response to the generally stronger economic data and the inflation signal coming from higher commodity prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has risen by about 1.25% percentage points to 3.65% from 2.39% four months ago. [.....]
The other day I had a chance to sit in on a social security benefits seminar. Part of the seminar was geared toward social security benefits and trying to help our clients decide when is the right time to take their benefits or if they should maybe wait at a later date to take them and also address whether the spouse should potentially draw that social security benefit as well.
One of the take-aways I actually got from the seminar was regarding your social security statement, which they refer to as “The Statement”. How often do you receive your statement? More importantly, what I want to talk about today is what happens if you want to request a new statement, how you actually do so. This is actually one of the little flyers they gave us showing how you can request your social security statement on line. Miss Patty Duke here (on the SSA.gov site) claims how easy it is, how you can do it in less than 10 minutes. I want to put that to the test almost, but also to show you how you would request your social security statement if you are wanting to get a new, updated one. [.....]
Many years ago I had met with a gentleman who was losing his job. Instead of giving up and adopting the “woe is me” mentality, he had bigger plans. He wanted to start his own business. You go with your bad self! Note: I didn’t actually say this, but I was definitely thinking it. I love it when people are willing to take risks and try new things.
One of those risks is something that makes most financial planner cringe. This inspiring entrepreneur wanted to use his retirement account as funding to start his business. Stuff like this makes most advisors uncomfortable in their seats. I have to admit that I shifted a bit, too. [.....]
If you are like 40% of the population, according to you will file your tax return as soon as you possibly can in order to A) get it over with and / or B) receive your refund more quickly. More than thirty-eight million taxpayers in the United States file by the end of February. However, if you are one of those lifelong procrastinators who always waits until the last minute… This is your year! Instead of Tax Day falling on the usual 15th day of April, this year your 2010 tax return will not be due until Monday, April 18th.
Due to a combination of interesting circumstances, we all get a three day extension to file our federal income tax returns. In the United States, the tax deadline can never fall on a Saturday or Sunday. If April 15th lands on a weekend, taxes will not be due until the following Monday. Tax Day can also not be on a federal holiday. [.....]
