Congratulations, you have found Financially Simple’s most popular financial articles. Learn what others like you are learning in order to make their lives… Financially Simple.
February 21, 2020
We’ve all heard and seen the “buy gold” advertisements on radio and television. Usually, a paid celebrity will talk about how “bad” the markets can be and then pitch a gold product. The question is, how much attention should we give to these ads? Is gold a good investment? They tell us if the stock market crashes, this is one investment that won’t go belly up. However, gold is always compared to stocks, not fixed incomes like bonds.
July 2, 2019
As a financial planner, I don’t believe in going into debt so I always buy used cars. In fact, I’ve never had a car payment. Last year I needed to purchase a “new-to-me” vehicle. When I started doing my research, though, I found that I would pay (at this time in the economic cycle) essentially the same price (over the life of the vehicle) for a used car as I would a new car. Ultimately, I decided to buy a NEW truck and I am sharing with you the math from my research in my quest to find the cheapest way to buy a new car.
June 27, 2019
If you drive your personal vehicle for business purposes, you can claim tax deductions. I addressed that in my last article when I talked about whether you should claim the standard mileage rate or actual expenses on your taxes. Yet, leasing vs buying a car may make a difference to you as a business owner, too. Is it better to buy or lease a car for business? Let’s weigh the pros and cons.
June 25, 2019
If you drive a personal vehicle for business use, you can choose to take the standard mileage rate deduction or you can deduct your actual vehicle expenses. Yet, which one is better? As with most things related to taxes, it’s going to depend. Therefore, let’s do an analysis. Which should a business owner choose? Actual expenses vs. mileage.
June 13, 2019
There’s perhaps no expense more frustrating to business owners than income taxes – the amount of money you pay to the IRS. I receive more calls from business owners asking me how to minimize their tax bills than anything else. Therefore, I want to go over 20 different strategies, or ways, to reduce taxable income for the business owner.
June 11, 2019
Not surprisingly, people want to make sure they have the income to last throughout their lifetimes. If you plan well, you could theoretically retire at age 55, 50, 45 or sooner. Maybe you’ve sold your business for profit, you’ve maximized your retirement account contributions for years, you’ve invested in non-qualified accounts, and you own multiple rental properties. At that point, you could take a blended distribution from various accounts and investments so that your money continues to grow tax-sensitive to you. However, if you take distributions from your retirement accounts before age 59 ½, many times, you will owe the IRS a 10% early distribution penalty. Sometimes, though, the government will waive that 10% early retirement penalty if certain conditions are met.