Year: 2015

“What are capital gains?” you might wonder. When you hear the phrase, you probably assume it applies only to wealthy investors—you know, those folks who can sit back and let their stock market payouts fund their mansions and yacht rides. But the truth is, the minute you invest in almost anything…

Four tax-savvy strategies that can help you make the most of your giving this year. As the holidays approach, many people look for ways of combining their desire to help the causes they believe in with their desire to save on taxes. For the charitably inclined, there are strategic ways…

Contemplating retirement can either have you dreaming of days filled with island getaways—or it can put a tremor in your lip as you wonder whether you’ll have enough to live on. We know: Between staying on top of monthly bills, paying down debt and saving up for your kids’ education,…

Plan ahead and make health care costs part of overall retirement planning discussions. Your retirement plans probably focus on doing some things you’ve had to put off during your working years. But you should also take into account the financial aspects of retirement, and that means planning for health care…

You saved smartly for retirement—contributing to a traditional 401(k)s or IRA to give your savings the chance to grow tax deferred until you retired. Now the time to take that money out is here. Every year, once you are age 70½ or older, you generally need to withdraw a certain…

Housing The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 major U.S. markets is one of the most respected and closely watched barometers of the housing market.  Recent data showed average home prices rising 4.9% year-over-year in April, the 32nd consecutive month of year-over-year growth since June 2012. The April rate was…

 The cynical question of “Term or Perm” gathers much attention and opinion. Unfortu-nately, the question can only be answered in the context of need; this includes per-sonal and business. In my opinion, Whole Life Insurance is a time honored tool that has a place in the financial advisory and planning…

Q: I’m 72 and I have a very small pension. I’d like to buy an immediate annuity to supplement my income. How do I figure out how much I should invest in the annuity? A: A good way to calculate how much to invest is to add up your regular…

In June 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages for purposes of federal law. As a follow up to the decision, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it would apply a “state of…

After Easter, many of us should focus on our own Golden Egg as part of the IRS tax filing deadline. April 15th is the date for making tax-deductible contributions to your IRA account, along with other critical financial filings. This has become more important due to the 2013 tax rate…