Fee-Only Financial Planning Advice

Why your taxes went up

Oct 16 2019

Many of us are still pondering why we didn’t benefit from the alleged tax cut and worrying about what will happen this year, again. After all, tax brackets went down 3-4% for the first 4 tax brackets. But (and this continues this year) your taxable income most likely went up. Don’t expect that to improve for 2019. At a recent conference I attended, this was much discussed. Why?

You live in a blue state. Clever how that worked, huh? Because in many blue states and urban areas, your property taxes on a middle-class home probably exceeded the $10K cap. Add …

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Oct 15 2019

If you do not leave a specific, legally executed estate plan with the appropriate documents, then you are leaving it up to your state to decide how your resources are distributed. This could make things quite difficult for your heirs (at least for the people whom the law determines are your heirs if you didn’t name any.)

And when you are becoming a stepparent or blending your family with another person’s family, it is especially important to consider estate planning. While it isn’t romantic, it can make things smoother down the road. As you can imagine there are a number …

Should You Leave a Balance on a Credit Card?

Oct 14 2019

Washington Post finance columnist Michelle Singletary took on the “counterintuitive” advice a reader wrote in about: The reader, who was trying to refinance a mortgage, was told to leave a small balance on her credit card (rather than paying the card off). That didn’t seem quite right and the reader wanted another opinion.

While there may have been a time when many Americans didn’t even know they were being judged using a credit score, that has changed. However, even though more people are aware of the credit scoring system, it still remains a mystery to some.

The overall advice …

Get Set Up for Less Stress at Tax Time Next Year

Oct 01 2019

While you perhaps breathed a sigh of relief that it was over, experts began tax planning for 2020 right after the 2019 tax season ended (if they hadn’t started before). It’s okay if you didn’t start thinking about next year’s taxes that early, however, are still things you can do during the last quarter of the year to set yourself up for a less stressful tax season next year and the “5 Ways to Boost Next Year’s Tax Refund Now” offers tips.

Look at your tax deductions: If you find yourself in a tizzy each year trying to get …

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