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Liz Weston

5 ways to save this holiday shopping season

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This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be longer, pricier and in some ways more chaotic than in previous years, which makes it easy to overspend. But there are also opportunities for significant savings if you know where and how to search for them.

“There are supply chain issues, inflation, major retailers reducing inventory — when you put all of that together, it looks like a recipe for disaster,” says Jill Cataldo, a consumer coupon expert based in Chicago. Her solution? “I started shopping now. If you see something and it looks like a good deal, it’s time to pick it up.”

In Kimberly Palmer’s latest for the Associated Press, find out the best ways to save money this Black Friday season.

This week’s money news

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This week’s top story: Smart Money podcast on when your bank stiffs you, and co-signing risks. In other news: Job growth despite slight rise in unemployment, a high cost to stop inflation, and when the Fed hikes interest rates, who gets hurt.

Smart Money Podcast: When Your Bank Stiffs You, and Co-Signing Risks
This week’s episode starts with a discussion about what to do when your bank stiffs you with a low annual percentage yield.

Job Market Still Strong Despite Slight Rise in Unemployment
Job growth continues and wages remain strong despite forecasts predicting job losses in 2023.

A High Cost to Stop Inflation: Sink the Economy and Spark Unemployment
Money News & Moves: Fed interest rate hikes so far this year have been slow to move the needle on inflation.

When the Fed Hikes Interest Rates, Who Gets Hurt?
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in September that he wishes “there were a painless way” to lower inflation. “There isn’t,” he said.

Q&A: Mom has dementia and credit cards. How does her family cancel the accounts?

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Dear Liz: My mother has two credit cards that have had no activity for a year and a half due to being in an assisted living facility. She is living with dementia and no longer able to make any decisions (personal or financial) on her own. Should I or am I even able to cancel these cards or do I have to wait until she passes and send in a death certificate to the bank?

Answer: Theoretically you could close the accounts for her if you have a legal document known as a financial power of attorney. These documents are designed to help you take over the finances of someone who is incapacitated. Unfortunately, banks and credit card issuers sometimes refuse to honor powers of attorney despite legal requirements that they do so. You might need to hire an attorney to force them to accept your authority. You can get referrals to experienced attorneys from the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the American Bar Assn.

If you don’t have this document and your mother is no longer of sound mind, you probably would have to go to court to become her conservator to make financial decisions for her. That can be an expensive process.

But there might be a simple solution. Some credit cards have an “off” switch that prevents anyone from making charges on the account. If the card has this feature and you can access the account online, you may be able to effectively disable the account even if you can’t formally close it.

Q&A: Offsetting home sale taxes

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Dear Liz: We recently sold a house and have taxes to pay on the proceeds. I’m wondering if we can take some of the proceeds and put them into 401(k) accounts, and pay taxes on them later?

Answer: You can’t do this directly, since 401(k) contributions are made through payroll deductions. If you haven’t already maxed out your retirement contributions, however, you could increase your contribution rate to offset some of the taxable income you created when you sold the house. Some employers allow you to contribute 100% of your pay, up to the IRS contribution limits. In 2022, the limit is $20,500 for people under 50 and $27,000 for people 50 and older.

You also could contribute $6,000 to an IRA (or $7,000 if you’re 50 and older), but your ability to deduct the contribution depends on your income if you’re covered by a workplace plan such as a 401(k). If you’re married filing jointly and have a workplace plan, your ability to deduct an IRA contribution phases out with modified adjusted gross income of $109,000 to $129,000.

Remember that you can exempt up to $250,000 of home sale profits (or $500,000 for a couple) if you owned and lived in the property as your primary residence for at least two of the last five years. You also may be able to reduce the taxable gain if you kept good records of qualifying home improvements. For more information, see IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home.

Q&A: Don’t forget ‘Where’s My Refund?’

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Dear Liz: My CPA left off some income when electronically filing my return at the end of March. The CPA filed a corrected return a few days later. I’m owed $10,895 and still haven’t received my refund. What happened to the 21-day refund period for e-filing? I can’t get through to the IRS on the phone. The state refunded my money in only eight days.

Answer: The IRS tries to process refunds within three weeks when taxpayers file electronically and use direct deposit. But that timeframe goes out the window if there are any problems, especially in recent years.

The IRS is still dealing with a massive backlog triggered by the pandemic. The agency was already struggling with antiquated computer systems and a dwindling workforce because of years of underfunding. Then its processing centers were shuttered by lockdowns, followed by congressional orders to distribute hundreds of millions of payments (the three economic relief payments, followed by six months of advanced child tax credit payments).

You can use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the IRS site to track the status of your refund, but unfortunately there’s not much you can do to hurry things along.

What are your employee benefits really worth?

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Benefits make up more than 30% of the typical job’s compensation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . But figuring out what your benefits are worth isn’t always easy.

You may need to do a little digging to find how much your employer contributes toward health insurance, retirement plans and other perks. Some benefits also have nonmonetary value, and people can value the same benefits in different ways. In my latest for the Associated Press, learn what your employee benefits are really worth.