Get and check free weekly credit reports
The three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — will continue to offer a free credit report to consumers each week at AnnualCreditReport.com until April 20, 2022. The extension follows the bureaus’ move in spring 2020 to provide free weekly reports as the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S., causing financial hardship for Americans who lost their job or... READ MORE
IRS ignores those filing paper tax returns
I have been filing my federal tax returns on paper for more than 50 years. It was never any trouble at all. After all, I had been an enrolled agent for several years. But that all changed after I filed my 2019 return. I filed it in April 2020. The IRS still has not processed it. When I go to the IRS website and use the “Where’s my refund?” option, the IRS doesn’t even indicate ... READ MORE
Will you run out of money in retirement?
You just left a meeting with your financial adviser, and your nest egg is looking bulletproof, with a projected worth of over $1 million at age 95. But wait a second: Are you sure about that? If your financial projections look too good to be true, they might well be, for a variety of reasons. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the stock market crumbled, and many people saw their... READ MORE
Reap cash rewards by referring friends
Do you like your credit card or bank account enough to recommend it to a friend or family member? If so, you may be able to scoop up extra cash, rewards points or frequent-flier miles by making a referral — and your friend may get a bonus, too. Several major card issuers provide referral bonuses to eligible cardholders. Chase, for example, offers $100 cash back for each friend who... READ MORE
Is your credit report wrong? What to do
Consumers filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in record numbers in 2020, according to a report released last month by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Credit reporting issues were cited in 282,000, or 63%, of the complaints. The majority noted “incorrect information” on credit reports or “information... READ MORE
Four financial ‘experts’ you shouldn’t ask
None of us knows everything we need to know about money, so we may turn to experts for help. But some money professionals who offer advice are not qualified to do so — nor are they required to put our interests ahead of theirs. Be cautious when accepting advice from the following sources: A dealership about how long your auto loan should be A dealership wants to sell you a... READ MORE
Protect against risk of outliving nest egg
Few of us would go without auto, home, life or health insurance. But the kind of insurance that protects against the risk of running out of money in old age is still greatly underutilized. It’s called a deferred income annuity or a longevity annuity. I believe most people planning for retirement should strongly consider an income annuity, and a Brookings Institution report confirms... READ MORE
How to pay no tax on your capital gains
One opportunity that investors should never pass up is the ability to convert a taxable long-term capital gain into tax-free basis — without paying taxes to do so. This is known as harvesting long-term capital gains. It’s a process of intentionally selling an investment with a taxable long-term capital gain, in a year when — due to low income — that gain will not be taxed. Then,... READ MORE
When is a Roth conversion good for you?
One day a forward-thinking couple arrived in my office with a plan. They wanted to bequeath the bulk of the money in an IRA to their two children, and they also wanted the children to receive that money free of tax. Nice idea, so together we set about crafting a strategy that would help make it happen. Here’s how: Bit by bit, we are converting money from their traditional IRA into a ... READ MORE
Living together? Sign a legal agreement
If you are one of the growing number of Americans who are in a relationship and living with someone, a cohabitation agreement might not be top of mind — but it should be. You might ask, “Why should anyone go to the expense of paying an attorney to draft a cohabitation agreement when they are just living together?” The answer is simple: Even if you aren’t wealthy, you likely... READ MORE
