Gift Ideas for 4-Year-Olds
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As the proud mother of a now five-year-old daughter, I thought I’d record some of my and my firstborn’s favorite things from this past year as helpful ideas for gifts from grandparents.

#TBT Five Ways to Thrift Your Empty Gearharts Chocolates Box
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Hopefully, some of these ideas inspire you to reuse various treasures you didn’t know you had.

Account Funding Priorities for 2022
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Which account you should fund depends on your circumstances. However, there are some general guidelines you can follow to make your decision.

2022 Contribution Limits
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Even though it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, contribution limits are indexed to inflation.

Can Taxable Life Insurance Benefits Contribute to an IRA?
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If you have this fringe employer or former employer benefit, I hope you are able to take advantage of making small Roth IRA contributions throughout your retirement.

Q&A: How Do I Inherit a Relative’s 401(k) plan?
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“I’m 19 years old. How do I inherit a 401(k) from my aunt?”

Q&A: Can I Leave Money to a 529 in My Estate?
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Can I leave money directly to those 529 plans in my estate plan?

How to Calculate Your Possible Health Insurance Subsidies
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If you are already shopping for health insurance for 2022, consider getting an on-exchange health insurance plan. You may be surprised at how much subsidies you can receive.

How the Wealthy Can Take Advantage of Health Insurance Subsidies in 2022
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If you are currently shopping for health insurance for 2022, consider getting an on-exchange health insurance plan. You may be surprised at how much subsidies you can receive.

How To Use a Marotta Capital Gains Tax Hurdle Report
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These complex formulas help decide when highly appreciated investments should be sold and the proceeds put in a different investment philosophy.

How to Donate Appreciated Stock to Your Donor Advised Fund (Schwab Charitable)
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Once your Donor Advised Fund has been opened, Schwab Charitable has a very straightforward process for donating appreciated stock to charity.

Freedom Investing in Review (September 2021)
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This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending September 30, 2021, Developed Freedom Investing had a +0.70% advantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a +1.64% advantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a +0.71% advantage.

The Role of a Roth IRA in Early Retirement
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There are several distribution rules that make Roth IRAs great savings tools for early retirees.

Founder’s Day: Celebrating George Marotta (Part 1)
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My grandfather turns 95 this year. He is one of my role models and favorite people. What a joy to celebrate him.

How To Spend: Avoid Impulse Purchases
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Stopping to think through questions like these will likely help you make smarter decisions with your spending.

All About Elias McQuade, CFA
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We are very pleased to announce that Elias McQuade is our newest CFA® charterholder at Marotta Wealth Management!

How Your Tax Is Calculated: Qualified Dividends and Capital Gains Worksheet
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The 25 lines of the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet are so simplified, they end up being difficult to follow what exactly they do. So, for those of you who are curious, here’s what they do.

#TBT Appreciating Donor Advised Funds
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There are five ways that both you and the government could make charitable giving more significant.

Q&A: How Does Your Investment Strategy Work?
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I recently received the following paraphrased questions from a prospective client and here were my replies.

#TBT Which Products Do You Buy and Which Do You Avoid?
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The selection of what products we purchase or avoid for clients is based solely on what we believe gives our clients the best chance to meet their goals.

Q&A: What Should I Name My Donor Advised Fund?
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For better or for worse, you simply get to pick a name.

When to Enroll in Medicare
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If your miss your initial enrollment eligibility window, then your premiums are hit with a late enrollment penalty.

How to eSign a Schwab Form
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At this time, Schwab has an extensive but limited list of forms which are eligible for electronic signature. As a part of our Paperwork Preparation bonus service, you can request that we send you paperwork using Schwab’s eSignature system when available.

How to Use Schwab’s Investment Income Feature
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Like many new features on Schwab’s website, they must be used responsibly to not create problems.

Q&A: Should I Jointly Hold My Donor Advised Fund?
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If you jointly decide and execute your charitable giving, then it makes sense to have both partners listed as account holders on the Donor Advised Fund. However, if you have separate charitable intentions and budgets, you can easily set up two different donor advised funds, one for each spouse to use and direct.

#TBT Customer Service Lessons from Toddler Parenting
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Although emotions do mature with age, many of the things that upset toddlers upset adults too, we just hide it better.

Four Simple But Effective Conversion Target Calculations
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Doing some conversion is usually much better than doing no conversion at all. We offer these four simple but effective strategies to calculate a good-enough conversion target for this year.

#TBT How to Fund Your Roth with Babysitting Money
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For domestic tasks like babysitting there are often two options: independent contractor or household employee. Taking the time to educate yourself on the difference may be worth your while.

Q&A: Minimum Contribution to Open a Donor Advised Fund at Schwab Charitable?
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Now, thanks to this change, anyone with charitable intentions can open and benefit from a Donor Advised Fund.

How Your Tax Is Calculated: Tax Table and Tax Computation Worksheet
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Whether you are on the Tax Computation Worksheet or in the Tax Table it helps to understand how your tax is calculated.

How Roth Conversions Affect Your Contribution Basis
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In the eyes of the IRS, Roth conversions are a type of rollover and their part in your Roth IRA’s contribution basis is called a rollover contribution.

Life Lesson #5: Start Your Day with a Smile
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Just as a fake smile can make real happiness, fake happiness can create real enjoyment.

Marotta Family Saying: Not Good If They Have to Advertise It
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This was part of an intentional anti-ad campaign that my mother instituted to inoculate her children against the power of Madison Avenue.

Life Lesson #4: When Your Soap Runs Out
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I think of these four lessons when I refill my soap dispenser.

Q&A: Amount Paid in Non-Cash?
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I would recommend that you strive to pay your children $0 in non-cash compensation. Let them purchase their own rewards.

Q&A: Can I Rollover Funds from My Spouse’s HSA?
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If you are married, instead of only opening and funding one HSA, you may benefit from splitting the contribution limit and funding both.

#TBT One Method To Estimate Future Inflation Expectations
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One method of crowd sourcing expectations about inflation is to look at the current differences between the maturity rates of a 5-Year Treasury Bond and a 5-Year Treasury Inflation-Indexed Bond.

Freedom Investing in Review (June 2021)
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This article is part of my series where I review how Freedom Investing performs for the quarter.

How to See Completed Trades on Schwab.com
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You can easily view the trades that have been placed in your Schwab account(s) online by following a few simple steps.

All About Libby Horbaly, CFP®
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We are very pleased to announce that Libby Horbaly is our newest CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional at Marotta Wealth Management!

How to Use a Roth IRA for a Minor Child (Megan Russell on Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs Podcast)
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On Friday, May 14, 2021, Megan Russell was interviewed by Michael Morton of Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs podcast.

Case Study: Anthony Diaz Hid Within FINRA for 15 Years
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Anthony Diaz was convicted on seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud for investing in illiquid assets.

#TBT Marotta’s Frequently Asked Questions
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When interviewing a new financial advisor, we believe there are at least ten important questions to ask. Then, just to be safe, we answered 32 frequently asked questions and welcome more.

New Parent Financial Checklist
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To help you get a good financial start as parents, here’s a financial checklist for new parents.

Unpacking Publication 590B’s Justin Example
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In Publication 590B, the IRS gives an example to demonstrate how Roth distribution ordering works.

New Child Tax Credit for 2021 Only
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The 2021 tax credit is worth $3,600 for children under age 6 and $3,000 for those under age 18. These rules apply to tax year 2021 only.

Unpacking Publication 590B’s Ishmael Example
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In Publication 590B, the IRS gives an example to demonstrate how Roth contribution basis works in a Roth IRA.

Life Lesson #3: Avoid A Lifestyle of Unconscious Spending and Conscious Saving
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Automate your savings. Take manual control of your spending. This is the path to wealth.

NAP Credit Charity Spotlight: The Soho Center
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Soho is my Amazon Smile charity recipient, I donate to them generously from my charity budget, and the NAP credits they offer are my favorite way to pay my state taxes.

Baby Registry Guide from a Financial Planner
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There are many questions that first time moms ask their veteran friends. Among the top list is, what do you really need to care for a baby?

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