No one likes to lose money on their investments.
However, in some cases, it is unavoidable. If you are looking at some investment losers, though, you might consider how you can use them to your advantage.
Tax harvesting your losses allows you to get a deduction when you sell for less than you bought for. As you get close to the end of the year, and you begin planning to maximize your tax deductions, consider how your investments losses can reduce your tax liability:
Most of us have a pretty good idea what mutual funds are about, so maybe the more relevant question is, what are the best ways to invest in mutual funds?
There are different ways to own them, different times and methods to invest, and even other assets we might like to hold in addition to mutual funds.
Properly used, mutual funds can increase investment returns substantially.
But view them as passive, invest-and-forget vehicles, and they may be no better than owning individual stocks.
We all know how important planning our finances is.
It’s just not enough to obtain money and put it away in the bank while it earns minimal interest.
Investing is the smart way of making your money earn more money for you, but most people just don’t have the time to learn about all the investment vehicles that are available.
To solve this problem, this is where financial planners come into play. Planners analyze your financial situation and, if you can find a good one, they can help you achieve your financial goals through the proper usage and management of your money.
The challenge now is, how can you find a reliable financial planner that will truly grow your money?
Deals sites are pretty popular these days and leading the pack is Groupon.
I’ve reviewed Groupon and written about their deals before. This is a nice one that hits just in time for last-minute holiday shopping (or post-holiday shopping where you can usually find some great deals).
Here’s the current deal:
Old Navy Continue Reading
There are few things in life as traumatizing as the death of a spouse.
Whether your spouse passes suddenly, in an accident, or suffers from a long-standing illness, it’s hard to face life without your companion and partner.
And one of the most difficult things to work through is the money.
When you lose a spouse, there are financial implications — especially if you aren’t the primary breadwinner.
While it isn’t pleasant to think about the loss of a spouse, the fact of the matter is that you need to consider the possibility, and come with a plan to ensure that your finances survive the blow.
The car dealership makes leasing sound so appealing.
You can drive a new car every three years, the majority of your car maintenance is covered under the lease, your monthly payments will be lower than if you were buying, and at the end of your lease term, turn the keys back in and start the process all over again.
As many as 25% of people driving choose to lease cars.
Leasing does sound like a can’t lose proposition, until you crunch the numbers, which leads us to ask — What is the true cost of leasing a car?Continue Reading
Having trouble tracking and managing your finances? Maybe you need a little help!
There are web based financial management tools that can help you get the job done if that’s where you need to go.
At the top of the list is Mint.com.
Should you try it and see if it can help with your money management? Millions of people are doing just that.
On December 17th, after what were characterized as more heated, intense negotiations, Republicans and Democrats in Senate came to a compromise that extends the payroll tax cuts for just two months.
The House still needs to pass the bill, then it’s up to the President to sign the bill.
The Obama Administration wanted further cuts that would save a household making $80,000 per year an additional $2,500 in tax liabilities.
If the payroll tax cuts haven’t been high on your reading list, there are a few reasons why that should change.
Within the bill there are winners and losers and much like the recent Supercommittee impasse, when this issue surfaces again in February, your paycheck could be at risk if both parties can’t come to a longer term agreement.
Here are a few reasons you might want to keep up with this issue. Continue Reading
Mutual funds can appear about as logical as jumbo shrimp to the millions of people who have 401(k)’s, IRAs, and other investments that include these funds.
If you’re like many investors, you only have a vague idea how these funds work. Although there is a lot to evaluate when you’re choosing the funds that will fill your retirement or other portfolio, let’s concentrate on the very first step – What is a Mutual Fund Prospectus?
When you first started the process of setting up your retirement fund, you may have received a series of brochures that had a whole lot of words but very few of them made any sense.
These brochures are called prospectuses and we’re going to learn the basics that you need to know to make informed choices. Continue Reading
Congress is racing against the clock to renew extended unemployment benefits.
Democrats in the House and Senate would like to renew the current program, allowing the unemployed in the hardest hit states like California and Illinois, to collect unemployment insurance for a maximum of 99 weeks.
If the GOP’s plan goes through, these states will see that maximum cut by 40 weeks, leaving millions of people in an even tougher financial crisis. If Congress doesn’t move fast, about 6 million people will lose benefits.