Instead of waiting, remember that the greatest buying opportunity of your life is always right now.
If you want to be really minimalist about your budgeting, here’s what we suggest: the 65-25-10 rule.
This article gives you the formula to decide how much to offer or if the property is a good deal.
About 4% of elders falling victim to fraud with estimates that over $2.9 billion is lost to elder abuse every year. Being aware of the scams helps to protect yourself.
This 2014 article offers a practical, timeless list of steps to consider after you join your lives together.
A wishlist is a force of thrift both for you to defer your consumption and for your family and friends to ensure that all the value of their gift makes it to your heart.
There is an illusion that the executive branch will handle the collection of all our data with respect and care. I hope that current times can shatter that illusion for you.
If you made a Roth contribution this year, here is a reminder to update your contribution basis records.
This is only a good idea if your financial advisor is covered under the fiduciary duty and is fee-only.
This throwback to Libby’s first article at Marotta teaches us how to be prepared for life’s expenses and plan ahead for all future goals.
This article from 2011 reminds us that if the debt ceiling is reached, the consequences will be large but not entirely harmful.
While it is always true that a recession will come eventually, shifting to bonds whenever one is predicted has serious consequences.
Form ADJ of the 760 lines 8a – 8c are where you report miscellaneous deductions.
This 2007 post teaches how to use both investment losses and investment gains to good tax advantage.
This series on each Bear Market helps remind us that there is nothing to fear.
This is a summary of the six steps required to create a well-crafted investment plan.
Charles Schwab offers both SIPC® account protection and a FDIC insurance amount for accounts custodied with them.
This 2008 article reminds us that anyone who spends more than 4% of their rebate will actually lose ground saving toward their retirement.
This 2014 article reminds us: don’t wait until you “have more” or “make extra money” – start saving now! It is worth more.
Following this guide, you should be able to easily download any account documents you want.
Financial planning can be romantic. As this 2011 article reminds us, “nothing is more romantic than planning how to realize your shared hopes and dreams for the future.”
Saving for long-term care, if done early enough, is not too expensive and helps to protect yourself from this potential financial shock.
This 2014 post reminds us that perhaps we should be more afraid of cash and inflation than stocks and investing.
While you may think that the account owner needs to stay the same, you can easily change the account owner.
Doubling your retirement is not a fast process. It is the slow and steady practices of daily financial diligence.
If you receive Social Security benefits, the portion of those benefits which will be taxable depends on your income. The taxable portion can be anywhere from 0% to a maximum of 85% of your benefits.
This 2016 post has been our most popular search result recently for good reason. After the 2020 COVID bear market, this article is a comforting bit of math.
There are different tables and formulas used to calculate your RMD divisor based on your particular circumstances. This is a calculator for the three most common.
This 2004 post has ten timeless rules for small businesses to maintain their financial balance.
Want to do the new year well? Here is a month-by-month guide for setting financially healthy habits.
Schwab has recently required that everyone with older checkbooks reorder new ones. This recent guide should help you with this process.
Inflation has at least four grievous effects on our economy. This 2014 article explains them.
Staying fully invested is an important part of your financial plan. Yet still, there are at least five reasons to hold cash.
Old financial news read with 20-20 hindsight helps remind us that this is what markets do.
A recovery after a significant downturn in the markets is often marked by steep growth. If you sell and flatline, you will likely miss the market’s natural recovery and thus your own personal future recovery becomes very difficult.
You learn a lot by the discipline of reading old news.
Some states do not tax their residents on income from a mutual fund that was earned on U.S. government obligations.
Roth conversions pay off. Repeat it to yourself now. Repeat it to yourself at tax time. Roth conversions pay off.
Luckily, reporting and using your tax credits on your state tax return is very straightforward.
Don’t let stress about tax filing requirements keep you or your child from a powerful opportunity to provide for their future.
The strangest fluke of the tax return is that the actual calculation of how much base tax you owe does not have a form; it has this worksheet.
The 25 lines 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.
The given numbers on a 1099-R are insufficient to be able to fill out your tax return correctly. Knowledge of what was actually done is required in order to file your taxes accurately.
The class will be held virtually on Zoom each Thursday from noon to 1:00 PM EST between March 10 and March 31, 2022.
This 2020 article is for tax preparers of the world. If you did a backdoor Roth this year, send it to yours.
Why do people do Roth conversions? Should I? This timeless article and video answers all your questions.
This 2020 article reminds us that if you ever sad about the size of your IRA balance, it might be a good time to convert to Roth.
Many people think that Roth IRA contributions can only be from earned income. Those people are only half right.
Many financial writers get the answer to this question wrong.
The tax code is confusing. Are inherited IRAs taxed at estate rates? As income? At all? This article answers.