Should you or a pro prepare your taxes?
For some people, tax season poses little worry, and the process occurs painlessly. For others, preparing taxes is a stressful situation. Imagine handling numerous W-2s, 1099s, navigating new rules and tracking a laundry list of write-offs related to your business, side jobs, real estate holdings or other income sources. While certainly not impossible to do it yourself (DIY) with the... READ MORE
How online stores trick you into buying
Sale ending soon! Only two left! This is a hot item! If you’ve shopped online, you’ve probably seen those messages. What you may not realize: They’re designed to make you spend more. Online stores have adopted tricks used for years by infomercials and home shopping networks. The only difference now: Online stores are trying to get you to click the buy button. After reviewing... READ MORE
Beware of potential 2020 Census scams
Unfortunately, scams have become a persistent problem when the U.S. Census Bureau does its once-a-decade count of the U.S. population. Here’s what you can expect from the 2020 Census in the coming weeks, and how you can protect yourself from potential scams. Census forms coming soon In mid-March, you and nearly every other U.S. household will receive an invitation in the mail to... READ MORE
A comprehensive guide to retirement
Those who wish to educate themselves about retirement planning have a lot of books to choose from. Most people, however, have the bandwidth to read maybe one or two books on the subject. The challenge becomes how to pick the best comprehensive guide. A good choice is Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement (Harriman House), by retirement planning experts Lawrence... READ MORE
Simple driving tips that save gas, money
When fuel prices spike, lots of tips and tricks to save on gas get trotted out. They’re not all worthy. Here are several that don’t violate the laws of physics, compromise safety or insult your intelligence: Get the junk out of the trunk Car engineers spend a lot of time engineering pounds, ounces and grams out of today’s cars. Don’t undo their efforts by leaving anything... READ MORE
Avoid these common investment biases
Many investors have biases when they structure or make changes to their portfolios. Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer of equities and multi-asset strategies at Charles Schwab, addressed some of these biases at Schwab Impact 2019, a gathering of finance industry experts in San Diego in November. They included the following: —Recency bias: This is the tendency to invest based on... READ MORE
Ways to make some money on the side
As we recovered from the recession, many people who wanted to work took any extra jobs they could. In my day, we called these gigs part-time work, second jobs or moonlighting. But today they have been dubbed “side hustles.” A side hustle is usually taken in addition to your other work, or you can string a bunch together. You are freelancing to supplement your income. Let’s face... READ MORE
How to talk inheritance with your kids
One of the most important conversations you can have with your grown children involves plans for your estate — where assets will end up when one or both parents pass away. If you feel the time has come to broach this topic, find an hour or two to pull everyone together for a conversation. Here are some tips for speaking with your adult children: Don’t feel you need to provide... READ MORE
Reasons to get your financial life in order
Scammers regularly target older adults with bogus claims of unpaid bills. Having an organized system to double-check your finances can help protect you, according to Susan Devaney, a professional who specializes in helping older adults move from their longtime homes and resettle elsewhere. It’s also useful to have documentation if you’ve forgotten whether you paid a bill and need to ... READ MORE
Bad financial advice can be very costly
Good financial advice leaves you better off. Bad advice does the opposite and may enrich someone else at your expense. Here are some areas where you need to be particularly careful to seek out good advice, since bad advice can be so costly: Investing Most financial advisers aren’t required to put your best interests first. They’re allowed to recommend investments that cost more or... READ MORE
