You likely aren’t interested in raising your tax bill, but if you use bad judgment or make a serious error on your tax return, that’s exactly what will happen when the IRS hits you with a penalty. But hey, at least you won’t be alone: The federal agency imposed almost 32 million civil penalties amounting [...]
When the Federal Reserve gives interest rates a nudge, you feel it. "The Federal Reserve has its fingers in your pocketbook to a greater degree than the IRS," says Michael Reese, a CFP professional in Traverse City, Michigan. The interest rates you pay and earn, the availability of credit and even your prospects in the [...]
Whenever anyone sets forth on a credit-building journey, they are undoubtedly given the same piece of advice: open a credit card account. This lesson is repeated over and over again because it’s one of the simplest steps an individual can take to begin establishing their credit history. However, there are plenty of people who may [...]
From On Wall Street Social Security spousal benefits and survivor benefits appear very similar on the surface. Both programs provide benefits to an individual based solely on their spouse’s work history. But scratch a little deeper and one finds a tangle of regulations and features that are just different enough to cause headaches for planners. The [...]
From Nerdwallet Getting out of debt is much harder than getting into it. But you can do it — and along the way, you'll rid yourself of a lot of stress. Countless people find themselves drowning in debt simply because they can't control their spending. If this sounds familiar, try tracking everything you buy for [...]
From ValuePenguin The average household's cost of food is climbing, but there are myriad ways to find a plateau or, better yet, a cliff. One option is to consider the best grocery credit cards: The cards analyzed by ValuePenguin have varying benefits as to how valuable the rewards are for using your plastic in the [...]
Long-term care insurance (photo from Shutterstock) Long-term care planning is really hard to talk about. It can be frightening to imagine ourselves with diminished capacity and needing help from others. And since we find it challenging to discuss it, we often don’t plan for it. Very wealthy people can pay cash for upscale [...]
Five years before they retire, older workers start focusing seriously on the big changes ahead, says Emily Guy Birkin, in her book, The 5 Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most. In those last few years, you can get a lot done. Here is a countdown of some of the tasks [...]
Estate-planning can be confusing...and boring. Yet, it is a critical part of your financial plan. This article is from Nerd Wallet. Dying intestate (will-less) leaves your heirs with a potential mess. And yet, 61% of Americans die without one, says a recent Harris Interactive poll for RocketLawyer, a legal website. In fact, 28% of us would rather do anything than [...]
“Americans—women especially—aren’t getting the message that they need to start saving for retirement with their very first job,” says personal finance columnist Liz Weston, author of Deal With Your Debt. As a working mom, whole weeks may go by without the chance to sit down or even think. You’re managing a career, making decisions for your family, [...]
