Earlier this week, our CEO Allen Harris, pointed out we all have “woulda-coulda-shoulda” investment opportunities, but how can we minimize that? Ideas. Plans. Goals. We are almost halfway through the first quarter of 2021. Now is the time to think about your “financial fitness”. Where is it now? And where do you want it to be? These questions can seem a little overwhelming if you do not know where to begin. To help identify what your specific goals are, here’s a checklist to get the conversation going. Master-List-Of-Goals-2021
Insights & Advice
Retirement
Tax Tips for Charitable Donations
Charitable giving is a great way to support the causes you care about while also getting a tax break. In 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which incentivized charitable giving by offering new rules for charitable deductions. As we move into the new year, now is the time to make sure you’re making your 2020 deductions properly and planning for your 2021 charitable giving. Here’s what you need to know: 2020 Tax Moves The CARES Act temporarily changed some of the rules around tax deductions for charitable giving in 2020 to encourage people…
Mind Your Business: Sell-and-stay
Do you want to get paid a bunch of money to sell your company but don’t want to stop working yet? A sell-and-stay strategy can help you monetize your lifelong work while allowing you to focus on the part of your job that you enjoy. A sell-and-stay strategy is a transaction that looks like a merger crossed with an outright transaction. It involves the seller getting paid upfront, instead of exercising a more conventional “earn-out,” which forces the seller to take on some payment risk. Instead of the owner walking away, she sticks around and gets paid as an employee…
Only the rich are saving
Last quarter, the percentage of Americans’ personal savings rate stood at 5.9% of their disposable income, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s. Given that number had fallen to as low as 1.9% in 2005, that’s a large improvement. But who is saving and who is not is the real question to ask. Our savings rate is clearly higher than it used to be relative to other countries. It is nowhere near the Chinese savings rate of 38% of 2014, for example, but it has improved to the point that we are now somewhere in the middle of the pack…
Only the rich are saving
Last quarter, the percentage of Americans’ personal savings rate stood at 5.9% of their disposable income, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s. Given that number had fallen to as low as 1.9% in 2005, that’s a large improvement. But who is saving and who is not is the real question to ask.
The Cost of Clutter
For well over 20 years I have been guilty of the sin of cluttering. It is only now, after I was finally forced to address the consequences of my actions, that I can write this column. This is my confession.
Should You Convert your Traditional to a Roth IRA?
Next year investors will be given a once-in-a-life-time chance to convert their traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs regardless of how much you earn. Most savers’ knee-jerk reaction is to convert, pay the taxman now and forevermore be free of giving the government a cut of their tax-deferred retirement money. When I dig beneath the surface of this transaction, however, I’ve discovered a few things you should consider.
Generation X and the Roth IRA—A Perfect Match
It’s not often that earning less is an advantage in the working world but one of the savviest things a young person can do right now is invest in a Roth IRA. You can contribute up to $5,000 a year in after- tax earned income, twice that if you’re married. If you’re 25 now and sock away the maximum at 8% a year, you end up with $1.1 million at retirement and it’s all tax-free. Double that number if your spouse does the same thing. So where’s the catch?
Resist the “Buts,” Contribute to Your IRA in 2008
Although the deadline, April 15, is still a good three months away, it might be time to think about contributing to your traditional IRA. That’s the individual savings plan that allows each of us to contribute up to $5,000 this year tax free ($6,000 if you’re over fifty) toward our retirement. We’re urged to contribute the maximum each year.