MAKING CENTS: Clever Terms to Investigate
Financial services marketers are quite clever at getting you to see their point of view. In their creative genius, they use words that sound quite appealing to most people and utilize those words to fit your situation making what they’ve got to sell sound like your only solution. The first such word is guaranteed. You…
MAKING CENTS: Gifts that keep on Giving for those you Love Most
Many folks have begun making progress with their year-end and holiday gifting. Just in case you’re typically one of those last-minute shoppers with no idea what to get for your closest family members, consider helping them get some financial things done that are frequently unattended. For young children, consider a 529 college savings plan. Most…
How Competent Is Your Advisory Team?
Most people have a cadre of professionals that surround them. These professionals typically include an accountant, attorney, investment person, insurance person, banker and whomever else is needed to service your personal financial issues. What continues to shock me is the tolerance that people have for professionals who are either incompetent or lackadaisical about serving their…
Making Cents: Household Employees May Cause Tax and Liability Problems
A household employee is someone that you pay to perform duties in or around your home. A household employee is considered an employee for tax and liability purposes if you control when, where, how or by whom the work should be performed. This list of people commonly includes nannies, medical caregivers, housekeepers, chefs, personal assistants,…
Year End Tax Moves To Consider
In a famous tax court case from 1934, Judge Learned Hand spouted what is now a famous quote amongst us tax nerds. Justice Hand said that “anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury;…
Making Cents: Year End Gifting Unwrapped
We always get a lot of questions surrounding gifts. Most of the questions are about either charitable giving or family gifts. Starting with gifts to family, the tax code permits annual gifts to be excluded from gift taxes if it’s less than $17,000 per donor and donee. That means you can give up to $17K…
Making Cents: Guidance On Last-Minute Contributions
Many have spent the last month racking their brains thinking about gifts for their loved ones, friends or service providers. Yet when it comes to charitable contributions, many simply give at the end of the year without much thought about the tax consequences. Cash works great, and is most sought after by charitable organizations with…
Lions And Tigers And Bears
When we think of things that scare people, we often think of the world of Nature. Dorothy and her friends on the Wizard of Oz feared Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! For me, the natural things that freak me out are the things that shouldn’t be here in the first place. Also known…
Making Cents: Where Entrepreneurs Go Wrong
The lives of many entrepreneurs frequently get defined by their business. Business owners are typically smart, hard driving people with their eye on one thing only – SUCCESS. Entrepreneurs take on an alter ego that makes it very difficult to separate their lives from their business lives. There are six common missteps that, if avoided,…
Making Cents: What Does Your Parents’ Estate Plan Say
Speaking to your children about money is not easy, but speaking to parents can be even tougher. No parent goes through life wondering how they can ruin their finances or make their adult children miserable while settling an estate without a plan. Yet it seems that this scenario is more common than the elder parent…