It’s that time of year – time to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid used by more than 99% of public universities. Many parents take the “why bother” approach. “We have too much money. We’ll never get any aid.” The first thought is usually “why did I have kids” while the second, [...]
Both the House and Senate passed Bills to reform the Internal Revenue Code. Here's how they stack up as they had into the reconciliation process:
Yesterday members of the House of Representatives announced their version of income tax reform. The Senate is expected to offer its own version as early as next week. Assuming each passes without changes (and that’s a big assumption) there will still likely be changes as the legislation moves through the reconciliation process before being presented [...]
The IRS has announced it will no longer accept electronically filed returns where the taxpayer does not address the reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). In addition returns filed on paper that don’t address the reporting requirements may be suspended pending receipt of additional information and any refunds may be delayed. This marks [...]
Should a financial relationship be about doing what’s right or feeling good? The former, right? Not so fast. A survey by index zealots DFA found the #1 thing valued in receiving financial guidance is a “sense of security / peace of mind.” Not that that’s a bad thing of course but at 35% of respondents [...]
The outlay for long-term care services increased an average of 4.5% from 2016 to 2017. That’s more than double the 1.7% U.S. inflation rate. The primary culprit was increased labor costs due to a shortage of caregivers. For example home health aids charged an average of $21.50/hr – an increase of 6.17% year-over-year. The 2017 [...]
In response to regulatory pressure and settlement of lawsuits with 32 states the Big Three of credit reporting – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – have decided to omit certain negative items from the credit reports of consumers. Examples include: Tax-lien and civil-judgment data that don’t include a complete list of at least three data points [...]
According to a recent study by caring.com just 40% of U.S. adults have a will (including only 36% of U.S. adults who have children under the age of 18). What’s more only 53% of U.S. adults have a healthcare power of attorney (“POA”). What’s the big deal? Without a will or similar trust agreement decisions [...]
The Annual Enrollment Period (“AEP”) for Medicare beneficiaries to change their Part C (“Medicare Advantage”) and/or Part D (prescription drug) plans begins Oct 15th running through and including Dec 7th. During the AEP a person may: join a Part D plan drop a Part D plan switch to a new Part D plan drop a [...]
“You do understand the function of the magician’s assistant, don’t you?” “Yeah. She’s there to distract them as he sets up the trick.” That exchange occurs between characters played by Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo in the 2013 film Now You See Me. If you prefer a musical reference here’s a favorite Pearl Jam lyric [...]