The cost of a dozen red roses escalates in February. The flowers are grown in Columbia (S. America) where the women field workers are exposed to toxic chemicals. The flowers are air-freighted to the U.S., leaving a considerable carbon footprint. Roses rarely last more than a few days before fading and wilting. What lasts longer…
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Boost your savings with the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit
Get paid to contribute to your retirement account with the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit. Eligible filers can claim up to 50% of retirement contributions for a maximum credit of $1,000 and married couples filing together may receive $2,000. It’s a non-refundable credit so you must owe federal income taxes to benefit. “For 2021, you may…
DIY Credit Reports
Experian, one of the largest credit reporting agencies, now allows consumers to create their own credit histories. About 28 million American adults don’t have credit reports with major firms and thus have difficulty getting credit. Often their only options are payday loans and other high-cost options. Many people of color, immigrants, college students, and people…
Mid to Late Life Divorce
Ending a marriage? Don’t get divorced from financial reality in the process Andrew Osterland covers the following points: Sound financial planning may be the last thing on your mind when divorcing but it may never be more valuable. “People make mistakes in the divorce process that leave them vulnerable,” said certified divorce financial advisor Stacy…
A condensed crash course in estate planning with implications for inherited IRAs
Wow, that’s a long title for a blog post but the link below to Inheritance and IRAs is a good refresher/reminder on tasks to complete…soon, maybe before the fast approaching end of the year. The importance of having a will The tax implications of inheritance for spouses and other beneficiaries The different scenarios that can…
On Medicare and need therapy? Good luck (sigh)
“Therapy on Medicare isn’t easy to find” is the title of Andrea Petersen’s article (11/17/21) in The Wall Street Journal. Briefly… many patients age 65 and older are out of luck when needing therapy due to the very few practitioners who accept Medicare reimbursement. “The reasons therapists decide not to participate in Medicare are similar…
Inflation adjusted US government bonds paying 7.12%
With interest rates on savings ate rock bottom low, check out U.S. Government I-bonds. NEWS: The initial interest rate on new Series I savings bonds is the second-highest ever: 7.12 percent. You can buy I bonds at that rate through April 2022. Details at: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_ibonds_glance.htm Be sure you understand how I-bonds work. You can’t access…
Law School or MBA? Consider the debt implications
“Most M.B.A. programs leave federal student-loan borrowers with manageable debt loads, a WSJ analysis found. At about 98% of universities that offer the masters of business administration programs, graduates typically made more money two years out of school than they had borrowed, according to the Journal’s analysis of federal student-loan data for nearly 600 programs…
Thinking of upgrading to a new phone?
“Buying a $1,000 iPhone can be equivalent to giving up $17,000 in retirement savings or 2,500 cups of coffee” according to Brian X. Chen, writing for The New York Times. Although buying a new iPhone of other top of the line phone might just cost the equivalent of buying a coffee a day for a…
How to deal with data breaches
A great resource is the Identify Theft Resource Center: https://notified.idtheftcenter.org Change your passwords as soon as you expect a data breach. Use a password manager that generates secure passwords. Source: Financial Planning for Women