When will the stock market stabilize? As the last trading week of August began, worried investors wondered just that. Gains for the major indices were hard to imagine at Monday’s opening bell, but few imagined the Dow Jones Industrial Average would drop 1,089 points as trading began – a new record, as the blue chips…
Read MoreAre you worried about being audited? The fear may be overblown as only 0.86% of taxpayers had their federal returns examined in 2014. Last year, 7.5% of millionaires had their returns scrutinized. Much of this is down to low staffing at the IRS. In 2011, during more prosperous times for the agency, the IRS audited…
Read MoreSome millionaires are reluctant to talk to their kids about family wealth. Perhaps they are afraid what their heirs may do with it. In a 2015 CNBC Millionaire Survey, 44% of families having at least $1 million in investable assets said that they had not yet told their children about their future inheritance. Another 27%…
Read MoreAmericans do many things with their money and invested assets, most of them on the up and up. There are exceptions, however – cases in which people unintentionally break the law, flirt with illegal behavior, or pay federal tax penalties for their indiscretions. Here are a few examples, from the cavalier to the ridiculous. Rounding…
Read MoreAmerica once experienced something called “moderate inflation.” It may seem like a distant memory, but it could very well return in the second half of this decade. A remote possibility? Most economists think the Fed will start raising interest rates in late 2015 and take them higher in 2016 through a series of incremental hikes…
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Life insurance is hard. It’s hard to know if you have the right kind. It’s hard to know if you have enough. And it’s hard to know if you need any at all. The insurance companies have made it even harder by coming up with bewildering names: whole life, term life, universal life. Some life…
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If life has not allowed you to build substantial retirement savings, what can you do to improve your retirement prospects? Here are some suggestions. Play catch-up. If at all possible, take advantage of the catch-up contributions the IRS allows you to make to IRAs and other retirement accounts starting in the year in which you…
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Between the ages of 40 and 60, many people increase their commitment to investing and retirement saving. At the same time, many fall prey to some common money blunders and harbor financial assumptions that may be inaccurate. These errors and suppositions are worth examining, as you do not want to succumb to them. See if…
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Thinking about borrowing money from your 401(k), 403(b), or 457 account? Think twice about that, because these loans are not only risky but injurious to your retirement planning. A loan of this kind damages your retirement savings prospects. A 401(k), 403(b), or 457 should never be viewed like a savings or checking account. When…
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You learn lessons as you invest in pursuit of long-run goals. Some of these lessons are conveyed and reinforced when you begin saving for retirement, and others you glean along the way. First & foremost, you learn to shut out much of the “noise.” News outlets take the temperature of global markets five days…
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