Personal Finance
We soon will learn what Congress and the Trump Administration have in store for Medicaid. But while the state/federal program has become a high-profile target, it is widely misunderstood. And so are the consequences of major Medicaid changes for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. Yes, Medicaid provides medical insurance for low-income working age people and their children. But Medicaid spends more than half its budget on medical and long-term care for frail, low-income older adults and younger people with disabilities. And about one-quarter of all Medicaid benefits, more than $200 billion, goes to long-term care for about…
Tax savings via retirement accounts are great when you are accumulating wealth. However, the tax situation is not so fun when you are finally required to start making withdrawals based on your age. If you are charitably minded and looking to minimize taxes on your retirement account withdrawals, a strategy of qualified charitable distributions (QCD) may help you pay fewer taxes over your lifetime. New clients of mine typically donate more than $100,000 per year to various charities. One of the reasons the couple hired me was because their previous basic financial advisor didn’t offer tax-planning advice or guidance. This…
Let me begin this article by saying that I am not a naturally generous person. As a finance professor, it may not be surprising to learn that saving is what comes most natural to me. Ever since I was a child, I have always focused on conserving everything, not year end giving. This pattern has held true even until now. For example, if you give me a bottle of sunscreen, I will “annuitize it” immediately and figure out what the least amount of sunscreen I can use so that I can stretch it out over the longest period. Unnatural Year…
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode: Discover how to embrace “lazy” money management, maximize Roth IRA contributions and fix over-contribution mistakes.How can you passively grow your money? What should you do if you over-contribute to a Roth IRA? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss lazy money-management strategies and Roth IRA over-contribution fixes to help you stay on top of your finances with minimal effort. They begin with a discussion of “lazy” personal finance tips, with actionable advice on automating investments, leveraging savings buckets, and using target-date funds for hands-off…
President-Elect Donald Trump and top Congressional Republicans are calling for the closure of the U.S. Department of Education. Whether they can ultimately succeed is an open question. Even if they do, it doesn’t necessarily mean that federal student loan forgiveness and repayment programs will simply disappear. But borrowers could still see big impacts. “I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to do this: We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” said Trump in September during a a campaign rally in Wisconsin. Trump also criticized President Joe Biden’s efforts to enact broad student loan forgiveness.…
Right now, in Río Tercero, a small city in Argentina near Córdoba, Virginia More works with Pinterest as a software engineer, bridging her local experience with cutting-edge Silicon Valley projects. Similarly, Luis Ramos Paco, from Santiago de Llallagua, Bolivia—where growing potatoes and raising animals is necessary to provide for one’s family—now works with a US-based SaaS client to update its legacy system with a friendlier UI. The remote work revolution has opened doors for skilled professionals like Virginia and Luis worldwide. Companies like BairesDev– which connects Latin American talent with U.S. tech firms– are bridging global income gaps and allowing…
We have previously explored The Ultimate Tax Plan. This particular tax fraud was accomplished by the involved taxpayers donating the interests in their operating businesses to tax-exempt charities so that the tax liabilities for those entities could by absorbed by the charities. After several years of dodging taxes in this fashion, the taxpayers could then repurchase these interests for a song and thus regain ownership of their businesses. There is thus no reality to the purported donation as it is all just a paper sham to evade taxes. The promoters of The Ultimate Tax Plan and the guilty pleas of…
Recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting with Dr. Daniel Crosby, the author of several great books, including his newest, The Soul of Wealth. We met ostensibly to discuss the book, which we did, but he shared something else with me that is tangential to its themes, which was not explicitly mentioned. Whether this is the equivalent of the secret track on a 90’s CD that you didn’t learn about until you forgot to turn Nirvana’s Nevermind off after listening to “Something in the Way” or the precursor to the next great work in the Crosby canon, I’ve…
Many people are surprised and shocked when they learn what happens when retirement account owners neglect simple details about the tax code and their accounts. A review of some recent court cases brings the points home. The newest case involved the 401(k) of the late Jeffrey Rolison, who had worked at Procter & Gamble for more than 30 years and accumulated a 401(k) balance exceeding $754,000. When he enrolled in the 401(k) in 1987, Rolison named as sole beneficiary his live-in girlfriend. They broke up two years later. From 2002-2014, Rolison had a non-marital relationship with a female co-worker and…
As someone who has long been a fan of Firestone Walker’s 805 beer, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit their brewery in Paso Robles, California and talk with co-founder David Walker and CEO Nick Firestone. In this article, I share reflections and insights gained from my visit, exploring what it takes to build a multi-generational family business. Build With Legacy In Mind Just as clearly defining your goals is important in personal financial planning, so it is in starting a business. To withstand the tests of time, you should understand that it’s not just about immediate success,…
A staggering 68% of Americans lack a valid will, leaving their loved ones vulnerable to unnecessary conflict, expenses, and legal complications. In fact, InvestmentNews cites LegalShield’s Survey that 58% of adults in the U.S. report experiencing or knowing someone who has faced familial conflict due to inadequate estate planning. Creating an estate plan is not just for the ultra-wealthy—it’s a critical step for anyone who wants to protect their family and control the legacy they leave behind. Why Estate Planning Matters Estate planning goes beyond money. It empowers you to: Make healthcare decisions through a living will or advance healthcare…