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The Starting Point for Tax Planning
“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” – Swedish Proverb The very first thing we would do with any client who wants to get ahead of their tax bill is to first figure out what their tax bill would actually be, if all things remain the same. While there are a lot of variables that come into play, we can get a good grasp of things by looking at the tax brackets. We’re still waiting for Congress to finalize many 2014 tax laws (an annual exercise this time of year), but the seven ordinary income tax rates are the...
read moreUseful Financial Guardrails for College Families!
“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” – Ivan Turgenev Financial independence training is a short-term pain, for a long term gain. But it’s terribly important because “untrained” college students are sitting ducks for unscrupulous financial service companies and their own lack of financial sense. So, with that in mind, here are some off-the-cuff guardrails to consider for your son or daughter who is entering or continuing on through college…...
read moreFinancial Independence 3: Realistic Numbers
“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” – Warren Buffett This is my third, and final, installment in a continuing series on real financial independence. Now is when I help us see when we may be inadvertently planning for failure… Too much house You can’t afford more house than your budget will allow. If you spend 50% of your lifestyle expenses on housing, you will not be able to live proportionally on the rest of your budget. Too much house...
read moreFinancial Independence 2: No More Surprises
“Wisdom is learning to let go when you want to hang on. Courage is learning to hang on when you want to let go.” – Mark Amend This is second in a continuing series on real financial independence, and I’m here to alert you to those items in a family’s financial life that can wreck the well-planned budget… Interest on debt There’s no excellent reason to buy anything on credit. If you find yourself considering an expensive purchase and then trying to find the payments in your budget, you are planning for...
read moreFinancial Independence 1: Avoiding Budget Busters
“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” – Spanish Proverb This will be the first in a series on TRUE financial independence … and, the first step, really, is getting your spending under control. In that vein, here is the first of three rules that will help you and your spouse limit impulse buying and better align your spending with your thoughtful values… First, limit the dollar amount you can spend unless you and your spouse both agree. You owe it to your partner not to undo months of frugality and...
read moreWhen College Has a Negative ROI!
“What’s right isn’t always popular. What’s popular isn’t always right.” – Howard Cosell As many have claimed (such as the US Census Bureau, for example: https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf ), a typical college degree is worth up to a million bucks over a career — but that’s not true for every degree. What’s becoming more and more apparent is that prospective college students need to do their homework beforehand, because some degrees simply aren’t worth the...
read moreIs A Trust Smart For You?
“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” – Lemony Snicket Parenting is more than reading to your children or getting them to eat their vegetables. It’s also about securing their financial future. One way to do that is by drafting a trust and naming a trustee. This is a great tool to consider, and it supersedes a will in many cases. It’s definitely something that every family should look into. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to determine if a trust is right...
read moreCaring For Two Generations!
“You cannot drive your car looking at the rear view mirror. Focus on going forward.” – Steve Harvey Depending on your perspective, this can feel like a double-whammy. Certainly, as with children, it’s always a better idea to focus on the benefits of more time with your parents, etc. … but yes, I’ve seen many times how this can put a major drain on a family. From what I’ve observed of adults thrust into the role of caring for their parents, the biggest struggle often comes from trying to keep their...
read moreWhat To Do After Your Return Is Filed!
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” – Arnold Glascow Whether you used us or not, the monkey is now off your back and your return is filed (hopefully!). At least, of course, if you didn’t file for an extension. It does feel nice, even if more money was owed than you would like … because it *is* completed, after all. But that doesn’t mean you may not still have questions. Here are some common ones we get this week … 1. “When will I get my refund?”...
read moreThe Proper Place for Social Security
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.” -Winston Churchill Imagine a man named Bill Fredericks, born in 1948, who is celebrating his 66th birthday today by filing to collect Social Security at full retirement age. Bill’s final salary was $50,000 per year, although when he started working in 1968 he was only earning $7,304 annually. For the past 46 years Bill has had Social Security...
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