Are you ready to tackle a home improvement project this year? If so, you have plenty of company. According to the latest LightStream Home Improvement Survey, 58% of Americans are ready to pour money into home improvement projects in 2018. The percentage of homeowners planning projects is close to 2017’s 59% value, but homeowners are
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America’s economy is improving by most standards – but is it improving on the backs of excessive debt?
According to the New York Federal Reserve, total household debt reached a new high of $13.15 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017. While the majority of household debt is mortgage debt, consumer credit rose by the
Have we bridged the gender gap when it comes to household roles, domestic duties, and career choices? Not entirely – but a new survey suggests that women are leading the way in closing the gap and preparing the next generation of men and women to continue the fight.
According to the YouGov survey Women’s Voices:
By Kelly Hartog
It’s been more than seven months since the credit reporting agency Equifax revealed in September 2017 that 143 million Americans’ personal data – including Social Security numbers, addresses and birthdates – had been accessed. Several weeks later, they announced that number was actually 145.5 million.
Even though the data breach occurred between
Most individuals in the U.S. know to keep their tax returns for three years in case the IRS decides to audit them, but few know that there are exceptions to that time limit. Some people throw away their oldest return when they file their new one annually, which is normally okay. However, in the following
April is National Social Security Month! Your Social Security Number (SSN) may be your most important piece of identification – yet it’s likely that you never carry your Social Security card with you. You probably committed your number to memory long ago because it’s required in so many places.
Generally, you won’t need to produce
Your credit score may not be good enough to allow you to qualify for a home at a reasonable interest rate, but can a less-than-stellar credit score also keep you from finding a good place to rent?
“Credit scores aren’t just about mortgages,” says Rod Griffin, Director of Public Education at the credit bureau Experian.
Big Gains, Big Tax Headaches Were you tempted in 2017 by cryptocurrencies promising huge financial gains? If you did make a Bitcoin purchase, you may have done very well. The value of Bitcoin gained more than 1,200% over the year.
Your gains pose a vexing question. How are you supposed to pay taxes on your
Are you financially literate? How about your kids? MoneyTips can help, but there may be something special soon going on in your neighborhood to help you learn more about personal finance.
Money Smart Week®, a public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances, will take place April 21-28, 2018. The effort,
When your identity is stolen, you have so many potential issues to deal with — changing passwords, closing accounts, dealing with fraudulent charges, and placing fraud alerts with the credit bureaus — that you may forget about potential tax fraud. Armed with your personal information, identity thieves can file a fraudulent tax return in your
It is hard to beat the convenience of a credit card for purchases, but does that same convenience make it worth paying your taxes by credit card? It might, but that depends on several factors involving money and time. “Your credit card is usually a high-interest option, but it is an option,” opines Betterment Head
Waiting until the last minute to pay your taxes can cost you if you are expecting a refund, since the government hangs on to your money and receives more interest on it. However, if you owe money to the government, that same principle applies to you. Why not wait until the last minute?
There is
By Eric Olsen Executive Director, HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm
According to the Kaiser Foundation, almost half (21 million) of American seniors have incomes below 200% of the poverty line. Many have debt they can’t afford to pay. When debt is not paid, collectors call, send demand letters, and sometimes file a lawsuit. Being served legal
Have you ever cheated on your taxes? If so, you are in the minority – but you aren’t alone, either.
A new Credit Karma survey finds that 6% of American taxpayers have knowingly cheated on their taxes. The real total may be higher, since the survey only captures those who are willing to admit it.
America’s collective readiness for retirement is improving, according to Fidelity’s latest Retirement Savings Assessment study. The study distills America’s retirement readiness into a single score representing the percentage of estimated retirement income that the average saver will require.
According to the current study, America’s combined retirement score is 80 – meaning that the average American
A Closer Look at the New Tax Law’s Effects The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) promised an income tax cut for most Americans. Is that promise less likely to be fulfilled if you live in certain states?
The Tax Policy Center (TPC) released a recent report addressing the TCJA’s effect on individual states and
Why do you even bother signing your credit card receipts? Nobody ever looks at it. You could write your name, Donald J. Trump, Samuel L. Jackson, or Bullwinkle J. Moose and nobody would care – would they?
Theoretically, your signature does matter. That signature indicates a binding contract for the purchase. A seller could choose
How many times in life do you have to worry about removing too little money from a financial account? Before retirement, there are few such concerns – but, for most retirement plans, once you reach age 70½, you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) every year from your plan. (Roth IRAs are excluded –
If you are nowhere near ready to file your taxes as the deadline approaches, you may file an extension with the IRS that gives you up to six more months to file your taxes. Filing an extension will spare you from late filing penalties — 5% of the amount of tax you owe for each
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That’s sound advice for almost all aspects of life, including the search for mortgage relief services.
Distressed homeowners don’t have to resort to third-party mortgage services. Free counseling is available at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD programs such as the
What’s in your savings account? If you’re a millennial, there’s a decent chance that there’s nothing in your account but IOUs and promises.
A 2017 survey by GoBankingRates found that 46% of millennials aged 18-24 have $0 in their savings account – a sharp increase over the 2016 survey where 31% of millennials reported empty
In general, deducting pet expenses on your tax return can get you into hot water with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Usually pet expenses will not hold up should the IRS audit you. However, specific cases exist that allow you to take legitimate tax deductions for spending on your pet.
Regardless of how you justify
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget has been cut by $900 million
since 2010 and it now has 21,000 less employees than it did then, making IRS customer service challenging to say the least. The latest figures show that the IRS subjected 8.8 million taxpayers to “courtesy disconnects” through the 2015 tax-filing season that ended
Should you invest in a Roth IRA instead of a traditional IRA? If you have earned income for the year, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $135,000 as a single filer and $199,000 for married filing jointly, a Roth IRA is a valid option for you.
If your MAGI is less than
Contributing to a retirement account can be difficult for lower income households, but one can argue that it is even more important for those families to take advantage of all the retirement savings options that are possible. One of the lesser-known options applies directly to lower-income families – the credit for qualified retirement savings contributions,
Life Insurance isn’t for you – it’s for those you leave behind. Without sufficient insurance, your family may endure financial hardships on top of the shock and grief caused by your passing.
According to a recent survey from the online life insurance start-up Bestow, many people aren’t convinced enough of the benefits of life insurance
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you should receive 1095 forms along with the W-2, 1099, and other tax forms that you receive from employers and financial institutions. The 1095 forms verify your health care insurance status for tax purposes. 1095-A forms debuted in 2015, while taxpayers received 1095-B or 1095-C forms for the
By Roshni Chowdhry, innovation & product development lead at SafetyNet
The idea of being rich appeals to most of us. What’s not to like about a world where your only money trouble is how to spend it? Plus, in a world where money is plentiful, you’re free to do all kinds of exciting things most
If you are a lending institution that loses money on the loans that you make, it’s an understatement to say that changes are required. Unfortunately, that’s the upcoming position of the federal government with respect to student loans.
While student loan debt has spiraled upward to top $1.4 trillion, the government’s return on that investment
The recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) gave most Americans a break on their upcoming taxes – but you don’t need legislation to cut your taxes even further with sound investment strategies that focus on tax optimization.
Here are a few ways to help yourself at Uncle Sam’s expense.
1. Shift Toward Capital
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