Little did I know when I posted my last blog in February that I would be weathering a financial COVID storm. As I began tax season, I did not know how life would turn upside down in the coming months. So much as has changed, including a tax season that never seemed to end.
From time to time I have had clients that I believed need to do some work on budgeting. In, both, my professional and personal life I like to walk my talk or said another way practice what I preach. So, it was time for me start or rather restart my budgeting journey. I had struggled in earlier attempts as I dislike bookkeeping type work and after a “honeymoon” period usually stop the effort.
Thanks to the tax law changes, many taxpayers must now take the Standard Deduction on their federal income tax returns. Additionally, the threshold for medical expenses jumped from 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income to 10% in 2019. There are strategies that can help save taxes in the short term or long term.
Black Friday Discount Strategy that works on other days too! I’ve looked at Fitness Trackers for awhile now and have narrowed it down to the Fitbit Charge 3. I was happy that stores marked it from $150 to $120 on Black Friday. I discovered that several stores offer additional store benefits as well. For example, …
What is Retirement The retirement years, for many, no longer exists the way they use to be for the early baby boom generation. Pensions are no more for many people. As a result, they must live on Social Security and the savings from a life time of working. Some folks continue to work into their …
Maintenance While cleaning up and doing tent maintenance after a recent Orland Park Cub Scout camping trip, I thought about how important it is to perform maintenance on many items including my investment accounts. This part of financial planning is necessary yet a very unexciting chore. I perform such cleaning tasks as making sure beneficiaries …
Funding a Trust My financial planning training and estate planning lawyer suggested I create a living trust for my estate planning situation. I went through the process of creating and signing legal documents with my wonderful attorney, Amy Delaney. After that, the real work began. I needed to fund the trust. That means I worked …
Sunday ACP Conference My most important professional organization is the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP). ACP’s tax-focused model and financial planning philosophies align with my own. I, very much, look forward to the conference each year. It has been my pleasure to be part of the conference committee for this National level conference for the …
Financial Planning Weekly Thoughts for October 20, 2018 Read More »
10/7/18 Sunday Simplifying Some days are just not good ones to be dealing with personal finances and that is OK. Though I am passionate about financial planning, there are those days when I just don’t want to deal with my own finances because other things are going on in my life or I am just …
9/23 Do you hold individual stocks? Consider the size of your portfolio you may be taking too much risk. Just consider the wide swings of stocks like Tesla or the problems of Enron and others in the past. A diversified mutual fund or Exchange Traded Fund gives you the ability for a relatively modest …
9/16 Living on less than one makes doesn’t have to feel like money diet. It is about an approach to lifestyle. The cliche of giving up the expensive latte has merit. It can be replaced by an upscale cup of coffee prepared at home for less. Ultimately, there is money saved while still having a …
