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Tax Time IRA Answers
It is tax time once again and no matter how much you hate taxes you should know about the tax advantages of IRA’s. Contributions to IRA’s can help you in many different ways at tax time. They can lower your taxable income dollar for dollar to reduce your tax burden, or even increase your refund.…
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2014 Returns: The Market is Up and I am Not
Statements are out and there is a lot of confusion about why account values are flat for the year when it seems the market was up. Matson Money sends out a market update with each quarterly statement and there is some great explanation of this in it. Matson Quarterly Report “In 2014 investors have been…
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Investing in a Roth as Part of College Education Planning
A Roth IRA can be a smart way to save for a child’s education or fund continuing education classes. However, the key is to maintain the right amount of risk depending on when the money will be used for college expenses. Education Planning doesn’t have to be complicated, especially with the guidance of a respected…
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What are the Hidden Fees associated with Annuities?
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with an investor paying fees for certain investments in their portfolio, but when it comes to annuities the key is ‘transparency,’ notes the WSJ’s article on getting to the bottom of hidden annuity fees. What are some of the fees carried by a popular annuity choice among investors, namely…
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Are Investment Fees Tax Deductible?
I was looking for a specific answer to this question and I found this great article from David Marotta on Forbes Magazine so I thought I would share on the blog. “I often get asked, “Are investment management fees tax deductible?” The answer is not a simple “yes” or “no.” Like many tax questions, the answer is…
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Estate Planning and Investing for Retiring Baby Boomers
Some baby boomers are skeptical about the stock market after being burned during the downturn 2008/2009. Now that the stock market has been booming for several years, it may be time to consider a financial planner who understands estate planning and investing as you close in on retirement. Having a will set up and assigning a…
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Do You Qualify for this Investing Tax Credit?
The Saver’s Credit: almost a well-kept secret? It’s becoming increasingly difficult for low to middle-income families to save; however, the IRS allows a Saver’s Credit that could mean a $1,000 tax credit. Of course, it depends on the tax filer’s status as well as their adjusted gross income, or AGI. The tax benefit is to…
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How Can E-Money Save you Time?
Budgeting can be very time consuming and tedious which is why most people don’t do it. Today we are going to discuss online budgeting/financial software and how it can help to make your financial picture much more clear and save you oodles of time. You might have heard of Mint.com, which is one of…
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Saving for College: 529 Plans vs. Education Savings Accounts
If you are looking into opening up an account for your child to help save some money for their college expenses you have come to the right place. There are 2 main accounts you can use to reach your goal. I will go over both of them at a basic level and explain some pros…
