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.
Money and Marriage
The spring wedding season is upon us, and around the country brides, grooms and their parents are making arrangements for extravagant celebrations now that the Covid era is (hopefully) far behind us. According to a survey by The Knot there will be more weddings in the United States in 2022 than any other year since..
Children Worth Tax Refunds
When tax time comes, your children can be worth a lot of money – even if you didn’t earn any income. There are two main tax credits that apply to children, and they are frequently confused. One gives a significant refundable credit simply for their existence. The second gives a refundable credit (this year) for..
Where to get FREE TAX HELP
As I was answering a post on my blog this morning, I realized that many people may be missing out on big refunds this year -- simply because they don't know how to claim them. (Please read my nearby column on both the Child Tax Credit and the Child CARE Credit for some background.) Others..
T-Bills beat CDs
U.S. Treasury Bill interest rates are soaring far higher than the comparable bank CDs. As of May 15, the yield on a 13 week (3 month) or 26 week (6-month) Treasury bill was slightly over 5%%! That's what you received if you participated in the weekly T-bill auction described below. It's easy (see links below)..
Pros Don’t Beat the Markets!
Do you think you can "beat" the market? Well, take a look at these new statistics. Even the highly-paid money managers fail dismally at the challenge of beating their benchmark indexes. This morning S&P Dow Jones Indices released the latest damning figures! The numbers speak for themselves, so here is a "cut and paste" from..
What’s in Your Retirement Portfolio?
The volatility of the stock market based on fighting in Ukraine and soaring gas prices presents a significant challenge to your future if you’re nearing retirement or already in it. Over the long run – 20 years – a diversified portfolio of large company stocks has always given a positive return, even adjusted for inflation...
Last Chance Mortgage Refi
If you waited and waited to refinance your mortgage, only to see rates rise recently, you now may have one last chance. But it’s a narrow window. The Fed has made headlines, promising to raise rates enough to control spiraling inflation. The war in Ukraine will make inflation worse – as oil prices soar along..
Terrys 5 Tips for Spring Personal Finances
This is the typically the slow season of the year for personal finances – a perfect time to get things in order. I firmly believe that if you leave financial projects undone, you are tempting fate. Here’s my starter to-do list. 1. Open an IRS account at ID.me. It will give you the latest info..
Beneficiary Bet
I can’t stress enough the importance of naming the “correct” beneficiary for your retirement accounts – IRA, 40l(k), and 403(b) plans. It’s equally critical to update the named beneficiary on your old pension plans and life insurance policies, which you may have started years ago and likely forgotten. Otherwise, after your death a huge fight..
And THIS is good news???
So the market rallied today (Friday). It rallied starting midday Thursday on the news that the sanctions on Russia would not be so severe as to disrupt the European economies or the banking system or the profits of the global oil companies or the cruise industry. Basically, the stock market rallied on the news that..
Create an IRS account for info
The IRS has admitted it still has more than 11 million returns from last year (2020) to review! Yes, they cashed your check or accepted your direct deposit, but for one reason or another those returns (mostly paper, but some electronic) are still waiting to be processed. In fact, they started sending out CP80 notices,..
1099k for Venmo, Paypal Users, NOT Zelle
The IRS is taking a closer look at your fintech transactions. Starting in 2022, any transactions exceeding $600 and made through payment cards or apps (think Venmo and PayPal) must be reported by those platforms. They will send you, the recipient of the money, IRS Form 1099K next January. And it will be your job..
A Financial Valentine
Give someone you love – or yourself – a financial Valentine this week. Americans are expected to spend $21 billion this year, expressing their love in this season of hearts and flowers. But you can do better. Roses and chocolate are fine, but the truly loving gift is to help someone move ahead in their..
Sinkhole Cities
The American Rescue Act sent $350 billion of federal tax dollars to states, cities, and tribal governments around the country to help them offset the costs and impact of Covid. That’s on top of the $150 billion that went to municipalities in 2020 under the Cares Act. To the surprise of many, these governments didn’t..
Chicken Money Update
It’s not fair that savers are losing money by trying to keep their money safe. With inflation running at 7% and the average money market deposit account paying only 0.5% savers are losing out to inflation in a big way. At only 3% inflation, the buying power of your money is cut in half in..
Terry’s Latest Podcast: Wild Markets
You may not know that I post a weekly podcast with my friends Pam Krueger, founder of Wealthramp, and Richard Eisenberg of PBS' Next Avenue. This week's podcast is a discussion of the wild markets of last week --and the lessons to be learned. You can find it at: https://friendstalkmoney.org/podcast/lessons-from-a-wild-stock-market-week/ And listen to our past..
Retiree Medical Costs Soar
If you’re a retiree dealing with Medicare, you’ve just noticed that your increased (5.9%) Social Security benefit is being reduced substantially by rising costs for Medicare Part B and Part D (your drug plan), as well as increased costs for drugs that may be only partially covered by insurance. Additionally, most Medicare supplement policies raised..
Navient Student Loan Settlement
The $1.7 billion dollar settlement with Navient that 39 state attorneys-general just announced has millions of student loan borrowers hoping they will get out from under the burden of their debt. But don't expect much. Only about 350,000 borrowers will qualify for this settlement. And the qualifications are stringent, applying mostly to people who took..
Money Magic
If you’re going to read just one financial book this year, read Money Magic by well-known economist Laurence Kotlikoff, who also co-authored the definitive book on Social Security, “Get What’s Yours.” Kotlikoff has the extraordinary ability to make complicated money matters understandable – and to debunk the lures of Wall Street and the financial planning..
Get Ready for Taxes, Again
Well, here’s a topic I hate to bring up this early in the year, but it’s time to think about filing your 2021 income taxes sometime in the next two months! Because of holidays, the official tax filing deadline this spring will be April 18th. But the IRS forms will be made available in the..
