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Liz Weston

How to tackle holiday debt in January

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After years of being in debt, Rachel Kramer Bussel came to a realization: “If I don’t become proactive about it, I will be in debt for the rest of my life.” For Bussel, a freelance writer near Atlantic City, New Jersey, that meant scaling back spending and putting any available money toward the debt principal.

“Starting to see it go in the right direction helped me amp it up,” she says. “I felt like, maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.” Bussel, whose debt came from credit cards, student loans and back taxes, finally paid off all of her debt, which at one point exceeded $100,000, in 2020.

Paying off debt is a common goal as the new year kicks off. Bills for holiday shopping and other end-of-year spending often come due in January, and this year, rising interest rates make debt increasingly expensive. According to the Federal Reserve, revolving debt, which includes credit card balances, continued to rise throughout 2022, increasing at an annual rate of 10.4% as of October, the most recent numbers available.

In Kimberly Palmer’s latest for the Associated Press, learn strategies to attack your debt in January.

Q&A: Why you need to pay attention to your credit utilization

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Dear Liz: Our credit scores are in the low 800s. We always pay all credit card balances off before the next billing period. We are presently charging a cruise for us and our daughter and her husband. We’re worried about using too much of our available credit and thus reducing our credit scores. We’re using one credit card and paying half the balance this billing period and the rest on the next billing period. I’ve never been able to calculate the “credit utilization,” but I’m sure we will exceed it for the next two months even though we will pay the amount charged in full. With this large charge, can you suggest anything else we can do?

Answer: Your credit utilization is simply the amount of available credit that you’re using. If your card has a $10,000 limit and you make $5,000 in charges, your credit utilization ratio is 50%. (If you’re not sure what your credit limit is, you can check your account online or call the number on the back of your card and ask.)

In general, the less of your available credit you use the better.

The balance that matters for credit scoring purposes is the balance that’s reported to the credit bureaus — and that’s typically what you owe as of your statement closing date.

Making a payment right before the statement closes can help reduce your credit utilization. Some people make payments every week, or even more often, to keep their utilization in the single digits.

If you don’t plan to apply for a new credit card or loan, however, you probably don’t need to worry about a temporary ding to your credit scores because they’re already so high. Your scores will probably still be quite good and will rebound once you pay off the balance.

This week’s money news

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This week’s top story: Smart Money podcast on investing in 2023. In other news: Small-business trends 2023, privacy hacks that may hurt your credit, and how to avoid hotel resort fees.

Smart Money Podcast: Your Money in 2023: Investing in the Stock Market
This week’s episode is all about investing in 2023.

Small-Business Trends: 6 Predictions for 2023
It’s difficult to predict what 2023 holds, but business owners can use innovative strategies to combat emerging challenges.

Privacy Hacks May Hurt Your Credit + You Won! Can You Hide?
Money News & Moves: Security fails routinely expose your personal financial info. And you can’t even buy privacy.

How to Avoid Hotel Resort Fees (and Which Brands Are the Worst)
NerdWallet analyzed the major hotel brands to find out which ones have the worst resort fees.

Q&A: Estate taxes on house bequests

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Dear Liz: You recently wrote about the capital gains tax implications when someone sells a house they’ve been given, versus one they’ve inherited. Would you elaborate on the estate ramifications for the donor if that person has a large estate? Would their estate pay tax on the gift?

Answer: Few people have to worry about either gift or estate taxes, for reasons that will become obvious in a moment. But large gifts can potentially reduce the amount a wealthy donor can pass on to heirs tax free after death.

That’s because the gift and estate tax systems are combined. Gifts over the annual exclusion amount — which in 2023 is $17,000 per recipient — reduce the donor’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which in 2023 is $12,920,000.

Let’s say a donor gives a $1-million house to a friend. The amount in excess of the $17,000 annual limit, or $983,000, is deducted from the donor’s lifetime limit. If the donor died in 2023, the amount of their estate in excess of $11,937,00 would be subject to estate taxes. (Donors only owe gift taxes after they give away so much that they exhaust that lifetime limit.)

Receiving assets as a gift also means the recipient may face more taxes than if they had inherited the property.

The previous column mentioned that when someone inherits a home, the house’s tax basis is “stepped up” to the current market value. That means the appreciation that occurred during the previous owner’s lifetime isn’t subject to tax.

If someone is given a house by a still-living donor, different rules apply. There’s no step up in value. The recipient gets the donor’s tax basis, which is typically what the donor paid for the home, plus any qualifying improvements.

When the house is sold, that basis is deducted from the proceeds to determine potentially taxable profit. The recipient could face capital gains taxes on the appreciation that happened since the original owner bought the house.

On the other hand, giving away assets during life is one way to control the size of a potentially taxable estate, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. Once the house is given away, for example, its future appreciation won’t increase the donor’s estate.

Anyone with an estate large enough to worry about these taxes should, of course, consult an estate planning attorney about the best strategies for their situation.

This week’s money news

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This week’s top story: How to get paid for surviving the Southwest meltdown. In other news: Smart Money podcast on January money moves, and paying off your mortgage early, 4 ways to improve your odds of meeting new year’s money goals, and the path of mortgage rates prior to Fed meeting.

How to Get Paid for Surviving the Southwest Meltdown
In addition to covering some out-of-pocket costs, Southwest is offering at least $300 worth of points to stranded flyers.

Smart Money Podcast: January Money Moves, and Paying Off Your Mortgage Early
This week’s episode starts with a list of money tasks to do in the new year.

4 Ways to Improve Your Odds of Meeting New Year’s Money Goals
Daily life can get in the way of financial resolutions. Focus on your values and high-impact tasks.

Mortgage Rates Have Room to Rise in January, Prior to Fed Meeting
The path of mortgage rates will depend on the inflation outlook and the Fed’s aggressiveness in fighting rising prices.

Sneaky ways inflation affects your money in 2023

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By now, you’re probably familiar with the more obvious ways inflation affects your finances. Your money doesn’t go as far at the grocery store, for example. Credit card and other variable-rate debt is getting more expensive as the Federal Reserve raises short-term interest rates to combat inflation. Rates are also rising, albeit more slowly, on savings accounts.

But other ways inflation helps or hurts have gotten less attention. In my latest for the Associated Press, learn some of the major changes to watch for in 2023.