Ten years ago, the Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations that would define how to value (and prove the actual value) of non-cash donations to charity. The regs involved things like artwork, jewelry and other possessions whose value is often in the eye of the beholder.
Continue reading “Charitable Contribution Rules: 10 Years in the Making”
Quick: What’s America’s national savings rate? A generation ago, you might have guessed 10% and been pretty close to the market. More recently, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about a precipitous decline in how much of their income Americans are saving—down, according to the U.S. government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, to just over Continue reading “Correction: We’re Saving More Than We Realized”
One of the biggest misnomers coming out of Washington is the idea of “tax simplification,” where Congress purportedly makes it easier for all of us to fill out our tax returns by adding several thousand pages of new rules, rates and lists of things we can and cannot deduct under new lists of circumstances. Continue reading “Tax Simplification That Really Is”
If you’re the parent of a high school student who’s looking ahead to college, it’s important to have a grown-up conversation with your child about college costs. A frank discussion can help both of you get on the same page, optimize the college search process, and avoid getting blindsided by large college bills.
Continue reading “A Parent-Child Conversation about College Costs”
Organizing your finances and creating a long-term financial game plan for yourself can seem like a daunting task. Here are some simple, helpful tips you can take to set yourself up for financial success.
Going through years of accumulated possessions and memories is probably not how you envisioned spending part of your retirement. It may sound like a daunting and emotionally draining task, but downsizing could be a savvy financial move, especially if you haven’t reached your retirement savings goals.
For long-term investment goals such as retirement, time can be one of your biggest advantages. That’s because time allows your investment dollars to do some of the hard work for you through a mathematical principle known as compounding.
Continue reading “Don’t Delay: The Potential Benefits of Starting to Save Now”
Does your company use electronic data? Does it store or communicate potentially sensitive information about customers, employees, or competitors? If so, then a breach of that data could cost your company plenty. Some well-known organizations have experienced data breaches, including WalMart, JP Morgan Chase, Yahoo, eBay, Target, the IRS, and, more recently, Equifax. Unfortunately, just about any size company or organization that retains personal information can be hit with a cyber attack. One way to transfer some of the risk and costs associated with a data breach or network security failure is through cyber insurance.
Continue reading “What Is Cyber Insurance and Should Your Business Have It?”
If you’re the parent of a young adult who is still living at home, you might be wondering whether this situation is commonplace. According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau study, it is: One in three young people (ages 18 to 34) lived in their parents’ home in 2015.
Every so often, a well-intentioned investor will ask the question, “why is my portfolio not up as much as the market?” When referring to “the market,” most investors are referring to the S&P 500 Index or a similar index that represents the stock market’s performance. Continue reading “Why is My Portfolio Not Up as Much as the Market?”
