1. Guessing Monthly Costs. When you develop your budget, you will need to estimate some expenses if you are uncertain about actual costs; however, over the next few months, you should refine your estimates so that you know what you…
I bet you thought that this column was going to be about taxes—fooled you! Just when you thought that the government could not get any more intrusive and over-reaching, we now learn that Pennsylvania is the first state to make…
Could you be on the hook for your parents’ long-term care expenses? The answer is YES! In about 30 states, including Pennsylvania, there are laws called filial reasonability or filial support laws, which may obligate children to help defray their…
Age 59½ is a key age for both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, because at age 59½, you may withdraw from either a traditional or a Roth IRA without incurring a 10% penalty. With a Roth IRA, however,…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers to file for a 6-month extension if they need more time to prepare their tax returns. You can obtain a tax extension for any reason—the IRS grants them automatically and without penalty as…
You may have purchased a life insurance policy 5, 10, 20, even 30 years ago under the impression that you purchased a “whole life” insurance policy. The life insurance industry unfortunately has become so complex that it is highly unlikely…
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) come in two varieties—the traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. The traditional IRA allows you the opportunity to claim a tax deduction on your income tax return for contributions made to the IRA, and you must…
An article that I read in Investment News attributed happiness among seniors to their generosity and indicated that relationships serve as a powerful source of fulfillment and happiness. In our lives money can serve as a useful tool, but money…
To me personal budgeting is a lot like dieting. If I diet and blow the diet, I eat even more. If I set a budget and then blow the budget, I spend even more. [Psychologically I already feel badly so…
Every year a hot topic surfaces in the world of personal finance. In 2015, “How do I protect my identity?” has been at the top of the list. The answer normally involves paying for a monthly service to monitor credit…