Get smart with your money
4 Ways Being Forgetful Can Raise Your Car Insurance Rates
Set reminders.
Marriage Ruling Ends Personal-Finance Confusion for Gay Couples
Taxes just became a lot less complicated.
4 Financial Resources for Active Military
Managing your money while away from home.
3 Times It’s OK to Let Your Credit Score Take a Hit
A credit score hit isn’t always a bad thing.
Today’s top story: Why applying for a credit card can hurt your credit score. Also in the news: Things on your credit report that might scare off lenders, why couples don’t talk enough about retirement planning, and when is the right time to consider annuities.
Here’s Why Applying for a Credit Card Hurts Your Credit Score
You may want to think twice before applying.
5 Things on Your Credit Report That Might Scare a Lender
Things to watch out for.
Study: Couples Don’t Talk Enough About Retirement Plans
Huge mistake.
When to Consider Annuities If You Want to Safeguard Your Retirement
Making the right decision.
Wall Street is trying to prevent new rules that would require financial advisors to put your interests ahead of their own. Big brokerage firms have said they simply won’t serve the middle class if they can’t offer conflicted advice to them. Even more telling, MetLife Inc. CEO Steven Kandarin recently used a car salesman analogy that compares financial advisors to Ford and Chevy dealerships. Car salesman aren’t required to point out the better deal across the street, Kandarin asked, so why should financial advisors?
If you think the people advising you about your life savings should only be held to the standards of car salesmen, then do nothing. If you think they should be held to a higher standard, contact your Congressional representatives now:
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/US-Congress.shtml
Today’s top story: Protecting yourself from identity theft. Also in the news: Unforeseen circumstances that could crush your retirement, what not to do when you pay off your mortgage, and the importance of an emergency fund.
Are You a Prime Target for Identity Theft?
How to protect yourself.
3 retirement-crushing unforeseen circumstancesWhen your retirement does go as planned.
Don’t Make This Mistake When You Pay Off Your Mortgage
It could end up costing you a lot of money.
1 in 3 Americans Does Not Have an Emergency Fund
Are you one of them?
Take Advantage of the “Direct Debit” Student Loan Discount
Every penny counts.
Today’s top story: How to cut the cord to your TV and save money. Also in the news: Apps to teach kids about personal finance, how to handle your credit card debt while you’re unemployed, and what happens to your debt if you get divorced.
How to watch TV for next to nothing
Cutting the cord can save you big bucks.
7 Apps to Teach Your Kids Personal Finance Skills
Trick them into learning!
How to Handle Credit Card Debt While You’re Unemployed
You cannot ignore it.
What Happens to My Debt If I Get a Divorce?
What does and doesn’t stay with you.
Calculate the Opportunity Cost of Your Spending Habit Over Time
Just how much is that daily muffin costing you?
Dear Liz: I am a freelancer. I don’t consider myself a small-business owner, just someone who gets the work done on time and gets paid. I max out my IRA every year, but would like to save more in a tax-advantaged account.
I checked out SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, but they don’t have a Roth option. Am I eligible to start an Individual 401(k)? What administrative duties would be involved? I pay self-employment tax and my clients send me 1099s, not W2s.
Answer: You may not consider yourself a small-business owner, but that’s essentially what you are. And small-business owners should have tax pros to help them answer questions like this, since you have so many options.
As a sole proprietor, you should be able to set up a solo or individual 401(k) account. That would allow you to make either pre- or after-tax “employee” contributions of up to $18,000 in 2015 — plus an additional $6,000 if you’re 50 or older.
As your own employer, you can contribute an additional 25% of your net earnings (a contribution that would be deductible as a business expense). Your total contribution, employee plus employer, can’t exceed $53,000 in 2015.
Individual 401(k)s are somewhat more complicated to set up and administer than Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLEs). But many discount brokerages are eager to help you with the paperwork and have low or no set-up costs.
You have many other ways as a self-employed person to reduce your taxes, but the rules can be complicated. A certified public accountant or an enrolled agent can help advise you of your options. You can get referrals to tax professionals from the American Assn. of CPAs at http://www.aicpa.org and the National Assn. of Enrolled Agents at http://www.naea.org.