It is not surprising that the holiday season is one of the most expensive for individuals. Gift-giving, decorating and holiday treats can tap into the budget if a few general rules are not followed. Here are five tips to avoid overspending this holiday season. Set a Strict Budget To alleviate the stress of spending over the holiday season, a strict budget should be set even before the holiday season begins. If a person is giving gifts to a few individuals, their names can be written down and a budget planned for each individual. A decision should be made on how …
What You Need to Know About IRA and 401k Contributions In 2021
The Internal Revenue Service recently reported changes to the 401k and IRA. The agency’s announcements to Congress issues new regulations. Each alteration will impact retirement accounts and 401(k) contribution limits in 2021. Here are a few things Americans need to know regarding their announcement. What Savers Can Expect Most 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans, and Thrift Savings Accounts will be within the same framing as before. The current rules would allow people age 50 and over to save money by contributing $19,500, or $26,000 to a traditional IRA. Likely, regulations will not change for SIMPLE retirement accounts. They typically maintain $13,500 …
Don’t Let Short Term Events Change Your Investment Goals
With every change in the world, there always seems to be the temptation to make an impulsive financial decision, especially when it comes to investing. This year especially was difficult for investors who made such decisions when the coronavirus hit hard and upended the stock market bringing a lot of panic selling with it. Events like the coronavirus and this year’s presidential election are always impactful when it comes to investor markets, but you need to be careful about investment decisions made solely on market movements. You can keep your long-term goals and continue building wealth if you follow certain …
Avoid Covid-19 Medicare Scams
Older Americans on Medicare have become the focus of criminals. According to government officials, they are now utilizing various fraud schemes associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The common goal of these criminals is to get an older person’s money or Medicare number. In recent months, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has received over 1,400 fraud complaints associated with Covid-19. The office also acknowledges that many frauds often go unreported. This is because the victims are too embarrassed or they may not know how or where to report what happened to them. Avoid Getting Ripped …
Planning For Retirement In The “New Normal”?
The world of COVID-19 is, at least for the foreseeable future, the new normal of society. That means that there’s no time to slow down on retirement investing, as those same deadlines are coming up as quickly as ever. Below are some of the most important things to keep in mind during this unusual era. Look at Your Estate Plan With the uncertainty of the times, it does make sense that many would start thinking about what could happen with their families if a worst-case scenario was to occur. While you may not need to panic, taking the time to …
2021: Social Security To Spend More Than It Collects
The time is finally here. It’s when the chickens come home to roost. In most of the financial blogs of late concerning Social Security, it’s been nothing but doom and gloom. Everyone is scared the trust fund will run out of money, and suddenly, Social Security will go away. We’ve been reading about this for a long time. Economists have sounded the alarm many times over the years about the imminent insolvency of Social Security if fixes aren’t put into place to shore up the deficiencies. If you allow the media to guide your thinking, you might be in this …
Medicare “Must Knows”
Except in some rare cases, we all need to have a plan for our retirement years. Each person has individual financial goals along with their personal savings situation. Hopefully, you have a personal financial advisor to help manage the savings you have accumulated. However, your healthcare is a “wildcard” during your retirement years, and you need to plan for it. Planning for retirement is one of the smartest things you can do, not only for you but your loved ones, too. Here are five helpful tips to keep your retirement plans on track. Let’s look at the upcoming important dates …
It Could Be Called “Love” Insurance
Life insurance can be called “love “insurance because we use it to protect the ones we hold dear. It’s the true definition of love for your family that can be the key to ensuring their future financial security. What is life insurance? When trying to piece together on the importance of life insurance, you will probably have numerous questions. Luckily for you, we have put together the basic information you need to figure out life insurance’s role. Life insurance is one of the common types of insurance available. It merely implies that you buy various life policies that shield your …
A Stimulus Check & Your Social Security Benefits Tax
This year has been quite an adventure for people who need to file and pay taxes. COVID-19’s impact on the economy led to the delaying of the income tax filing date as well as the passing of the CARES Act, or what’s otherwise known as the COVID-19 Stimulus. If you met the eligibility requirements set forth by Congress and the Treasury Department, you received a payment from the government for the amount you qualified for. Many people may have questions about whether receiving stimulus payments will mean a lower amount in their tax return, or a higher amount in taxes …
2020 vs 2019 Tax Brackets
With a third of the 2020 tax year behind us, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has finally released the 2020 tax brackets. While it might seem a little late in the year, you still have plenty of time to make adjustments to your tax planning strategy. Before getting to the actual changes within the tax brackets, it’s worth noting that the effective tax rates have not changed. There will still be 7 brackets with the effective tax rates set as follows: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. What did change was the wage ranges that are applicable to …