Terry Savage’s Archives
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Year-End Tax Planning
The steps you take in the month of December could save you tax dollars next April. Now is the time to take the steps that can reduce your tax bill for 2022, and lay the groundwork for a financially smart New Year. Taxes and Deductions: For 2022, the “standard deduction” jumps to $12,950 for a..
Holiday Financial Gifts for Grandchildren & More
Every year around this time, I try to make helpful holiday gift suggestions for the younger people in your family. Toys, clothes, and digital games rate highest with young people. But the holiday season is a great time to spark new interest in money matters – or, at the very least, create a gift that..
Know Your Money Personality
Instead of focusing on the wild gyrations of the stock market, this is a perfect time to look inward and understand your personal reaction to the headlines. And the stock market certainly has been making headlines in recent weeks. Instead of the feared October bear market, there was a dramatic rally. But the real headlines..
Crypto Crash
We have now witnessed the collapse of the largest (so-far) 21st century "tulip bubble" as the FTX (crypto) Exchange collapsed -- taking down the value of the best known crypto-currencies, along with the equity of some very sophisticated players and the wealth dreams of small-time investors. When it was revealed that the FTX "exchange" was..
Housing Recession
Americans may be excused for wondering where this recession talk is coming from. Economic growth (GDP) turned nicely positive in the third quarter. The stock market has rallied, regaining some, though not all of this year’s losses, on hopes the Fed will declare victory and ease up on interest rate hikes. Consumer confidence dipped a..
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
One of the most difficult choices retirees must make is where to live in retirement. By this stage of your life the family home might be too large and burdensome. Downsizing is one option. And these days more seniors are turning to Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). But these communities offer a variety of costs..
I-Bonds: Everything You Must Know
Updated 11/2/22 As predicted, the new rate for I-bonds issued from Nov 1 through April 30,2023 is lower -- 6.89% During the last week of October, the Treasury sold as much in I-bonds (nearly $4 billion) as it did in the three previous years combined! Those who did purchase I-bonds at the previous 9.62% rate..
Medicare Open Enrollment — The Basics
Here we go again. It’s the annual Medicare Open Enrollment period. Making a mistake could impact your healthcare and its cost for the rest of your life! You must do more than listen to enticing television commercials, and instead use the Medicare.gov website to search out your alternatives. Here are some of the choices you..
The Stock Market — Dealing with the Bear
The stock market has gone through some dramatic volatility in recent weeks, huge declines followed by market rebounds. Swings of 500 points have become an everyday occurrence. And even a drop of 1300 points in one day has not led to panic. The panic will arrive in coming days when third quarter statements arrive from..
Recession Prep
It’s time to stop debating the definition of recession and start preparing. We have had economic slowdown warnings from the Fed and economists and television financial pundits. And, if that wasn’t enough, last week’s announcement by Fedex that its shipments were slowing and that it expected a global recession certainly burst the optimists’ bubble. The..
Ready for RMDs
It’s time to start thinking about RMDs – those Required Minimum Distributions that you must take from your retirement plans every year, once you reach age 72. Of course, those withdrawals can be made at any time of the year – but many people leave it to the last minute, which could be an expensive..
What Happened to the Market?
What Happened? Hopes that we had seen "peak" inflation were dashed with today's release of Consumer Prices for last month. The "street" had been hoping for a slight decline of 0.1%. Instead it got a "slight" increase of 0.1%. And in that misplaced decimal, the truth about inflation was revealed: It's "sticky"! The "core" inflation..
Social Security — Trust but Verify
As millions of Baby Boomers make Social Security decisions, it’s every more important that they have reliable information about the impact of their choices. And the sad Savage truth is that in even straightforward situations they are unlikely to get the right answers from Social Security representatives. Take the actual case of a woman we..
Student Loan Forgiveness — And the Forgotten
The student loan $10,000 forgiveness has created a social debate over fairness and an economic debate over inflation. But there’s one large group of borrowers that has a well-deserved complaint. They are the people who have paid and paid on their loans over the years – but still have huge loan balances, some even greater..
Watch Your Credit
The good news is that inflation is abating. The bad news is that prices are still 8.5% higher than a year ago. And the scary news is that many consumers are dealing with rising prices by adding to their credit card debt. The proof is in the statistics. Outstanding credit card balances grew by $46..
Long Term Care Insurance — The Latest
The cost of long-term care (LTC) insurance is the price of peace of mind. It’s that simple. The price may be too high for many to pay. But before making that decision, you need to understand some creative strategies for buying LTC insurance that may make it more affordable. First, a review of the basics...
Off to College
If you’re one of the millions who will head off to college in the next few weeks, here’s some practical financial advice to make sure you get off to the right start. Eva Dodds is an accredited and experienced college adviser. Her company www.RootCollegeAdvising.com helps families start preparing for college well in advance, with advice..
Alzheimer’s Costs: Prepare!
Confronting the possibilities that you or a loved one will one day suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s is a prospect too terrible to consider. That’s why a new book “Don’t Let Dementia Steal Everything” by famed attorneys Kerry Peck (www.PeckRitchey.com) and Rick Law (www.LawElderLaw.com) is both compelling and frightening. More than 6 million Americans are..
Matching the Markets
The markets can’t seem to make up their mind about whether the greatest threat is inflation or recession. Commodity prices of everything from oil to copper and lumber have fallen sharply on fears of an economic slowdown in the United States. The 10-year Treasury note, on which mortgage rates are based, has fallen from 3.50%..
401k Shockers
Your second quarter 40lk retirement plan statement should arrive in the mail any day now. Be prepared for some big surprises. The Balance Shock Everyone starts by looking at their account balance. Be prepared. It will be dramatically lower -- especially when compared to your 2021 year-end valuation. The second quarter was one of the..
