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…

TomoCredit, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that claims it boosts consumers’ credit scores, is facing a growing number of problems, with the latest being a new lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. New York-based analytics company Prism Data sued TomoCredit on Tuesday, accusing it of infringing on Prism’s trademark for its CashScore service. Prism’s CashScore product uses consumers’ cash flow (including bank account transactions) to assess their creditworthiness. In response to questions Forbes sent to Tomo about the suit, the company’s general counsel Fred Ghodoosi wrote to us in an email, “We are aware of the lawsuit and are…

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.If you have a family, you likely have multiple savings goals — saving for your kid’s college education, putting money away for retirement and budgeting for your next family vacation.There isn’t one cookie cutter way to approach family savings, but there are some fundamentals that can help guide your process. Finance professionals and moms share some tips that can help you get started.…