Your estate planning is complete. A living trust was created because it was the best vehicle to accomplish what you want to do. Now you can breathe easily. Or so you think. Over the years, I’ve had new clients come to me who had invested lots of time and money...
Good credit is one of the keys to financial success. It can assist in getting better interest rates on loans, determine whether someone rents you an apartment, if you get better insurance rates and, in some cases, whether a company hires you. The old-school conventional wisdom for good credit is,...
It’s only taken Congress 34 years, but the threshold for claiming a medical expense deduction has finally been made permanent. For 2021 and forevermore, medical expenses above 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is the law of the land if you itemize on your federal tax return and your...
Retirement. It’s a magic word and it’s supposed to be a magic time in your life. You’ve planned for it, worked for it, anticipated it, and expected a great life that comes after it. Today, people are retiring at a rate 27% higher than 10 years ago. Much of the...
First, it was 10%, then 20%, and today more than 50% of U.S. retirees pay taxes on their Social Security benefits, and the number is expected to go even higher. The cause seems to be that one government hand doesn’t know, or care, what the other government hand is...
Planning for retirement. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. You want to make sure you’ve saved enough, got things paid off if possible. You certainly want to know what your expenses will be so your retirement budget doesn’t blow up. One of the line items with the...
To modify an old journalism adage, “When a state raises taxes, that’s expected. But when a state lowers taxes, that’s news!” And, believe it or not, there are some states doing just that in 2021. Yes, across the United States taxes are still going up in lots of places. According...
Every homeowner wants the lowest possible interest rate on their mortgage. And with interest rates at historic lows the thought of paying less interest and more on principal makes a lot of sense. But as appealing as the idea of refinancing is, homeowners nearing retirement should consider several factors...