http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/ en Copyright 2012 Fri, 25 May 2012 08:50:29 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss If you are a taxpayer who itemizes your deductions, you probably know that medical expenses are deductible but only if they exceed a certain threshold. For years, that threshold has been 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). However, starting... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/deducting_medic.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/deducting_medic.html Fri, 25 May 2012 08:50:29 -0500 I’ve heard on more than one occasion that having a will is important. However, I’m confused about what a will can and cannot do. Can you explain? Having a will is important. A will generally provides a person with an... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/the_importance_2.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/the_importance_2.html Wed, 16 May 2012 09:00:00 -0500 That's a question that I hear very frequently as an advisor. My answer is usually "it depends" which I know is not the answer most people are looking for. Generally speaking, my advice is that college students take out no... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/how_much_colleg.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/how_much_colleg.html Tue, 15 May 2012 09:47:12 -0500 Personal Excess Liability Policies (PELPs), more commonly known as Umbrella Policies, are very important to your financial well-being and are relatively inexpensive but many people do not have them and that is unfortunate. Umbrella policies pick up where your homeowner... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/the_importance_1.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/05/the_importance_1.html Thu, 03 May 2012 08:51:58 -0500 As you probably know, interest rates for mortgages are at historic lows. These days, if you look around, you can likely find a no-points, no-closing cost, 30 year fixed rate mortgage for 4 percent or less. There is no question... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/selecting_a_ter.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/selecting_a_ter.html Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:52:31 -0500 What should I do if I missed the April 17th deadline to file my income tax return? Will I be subject to any penalties? If you failed to file your federal income tax return on time and you did not... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/missed_tax_fili.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/missed_tax_fili.html Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:30:00 -0500 We are still in the heat of tax season so many people are looking very closely at their investments and the tax consequences associated with those investments. In "normal" years, investors sometimes try to sell investments that are down in... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/is_2012_the_yea.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/is_2012_the_yea.html Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:38:32 -0500 Last year, taxpayers could have distributions from their IRAs paid directly to charities. These distributions "counted" as part of the taxpayer's required minimum distribution (RMD) but they were not taxable distributions so the taxpayer received a benefit and the charities... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/ira_distributio.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/ira_distributio.html Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:25:37 -0500 It is estimated that individual taxpayers made over $210 billion of charitable contributions in 2010. That amount was expected to increase for 2011. A significant amount of these contributions were made by individual taxpayers who will claim them as deductions... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/ensuring_that_y.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/ensuring_that_y.html Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0500 Did you do a roth conversion in 2010? If yes, the default tax election on that conversion involved paying half of the taxes due on the conversion with your 2011 return and the other half with your 2012 return. That... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/roth_conversion_1.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/04/roth_conversion_1.html Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:10:42 -0500 If you inherit an IRA today, you can stretch the withdrawals from that IRA across your life expectancy. Doing so often results in a very large account balance because the assets continue to grow tax deferred and the beneficiary only... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/the_end_of_the.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/the_end_of_the.html Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:47:21 -0500 What are munis? And, what are their tax advantages? “Munis” is a term used to refer to municipal bonds. Municipal bonds are tax-exempt bonds issued by states and local governments when they borrow money to finance projects such as new... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/tax_advantages_1.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/tax_advantages_1.html Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:00:00 -0500 This time of year, everyone is thinking about their taxes and making contributions to their IRAs. This year, taxpayers can make contributions to their IRAs for 2011 up to their tax filing deadline of April 17, 2012. Once you have... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/can_i_contribut.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/can_i_contribut.html Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:19:32 -0500 There is an infinite number of tax savings techniques that one can implement. However, most of these techniques fall into one of four basic categories, as follows: Timing – This is probably the most commonly used and understood of the... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/four_basic_tax.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/four_basic_tax.html Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:31:39 -0500 If you've saved for your child's education using 529 plans but you don't end up spending all the money in the account, what are the available options? First, you can leave the money in the account. Unlike Coverdell accounts, there... http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/how_long_can_mo.html http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2012/03/how_long_can_mo.html Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:43:50 -0500