Category Archives: investing

The IRS wants to friend you on Facebook.

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Now you have one more thing to worry about in regard to filing your taxes. Those taxpayers whose returns have been “red flagged”, especially those with a lot of deductions, may have a new “friend” looking at your Facebook page.

If you claim a deduction on your income tax returns, but the lifestyle you lead has manifested in social media that is inconsistent with that deduction, that would be a red flag and it would cause the IRS to dig a little deeper,” Napolitano told Stuart Varney Tuesday on Varney & Co.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/04/09/is-irs-stalking-on-social-media/#ixzz2Q6f2xlX0

Anything you post is there for the whole world to see and is there forever. Be careful and thoughtful about how much of your life you put out there for everyone to see.

 

disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

I am so outraged!

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The thought that because you worked hard, lived within your means, saved money for your retirement, and hired someone like myself to help manage your retirement savings is now something to be penalized for – outrages me. We live in a country where opportunity is there for the taking. We are free to pursue the professions we choose and help others along the way. Limiting how much you can accumulate in your retirement account just so more tax dollars can go to offset the deficit is just plain wrong.

Call your congressmen, call your Senators, find websites that are against this proposal and make your voice heard.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-05/obama-budget-calls-for-cap-on-romney-sized-iras.html

 

disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

A taxing question.

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Q: My sister passed away and I have inherited her IRA – I am not 70.5 yrs. old yet. When do I have to take money out of her IRA?

A: As a non-spouse, you have to take a withdrawal not later than the year following the year she passed away. You can either completely liquidate the IRA, or take annual payments over your lifetime. Please keep in mind that everything that is paid out from her IRA will be taxable to you as ordinary income.

 

disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

The annual party…it usually lasts 3 days.

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Yesterday, I started my annual party with TurboTax. It is not the best party but like most good parties, it does leave me exhausted. I am pretty used to the TurboTax system and, for my family, it is easy and works well. It did make me think about all of the others out there doing their own taxes and the common mistakes they make. Here are a few to easily avoid:

Choose the right filing status. There are 5 choices, that is it. The choice that hangs up most is Head of household. If you are not married at the end of the year, have cared for a closely-related dependent for more than ½ of the year and paid more than ½ the cost to maintain a home for yourself and said dependent, you are Head of household.

Be a good scribe or typist. The names and social security numbers for everyone on your return must be exactly as they appear on the social security card. Please double check your input to make sure you do not transpose (as I do).

Addition and subtraction errors cause the most adjusts to your return. Picture yourself signing the return and sticking it in the mail confident that it is all correct. Then weeks later, you get a lovely letter from the IRS, and they checked your math. Yes, someone with the IRS actually does that. In some cases, the error is in your favor, most often it is not.

So grab a drink, I suggest strong coffee, and attend your own tax party.

 

disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

What I learned on vacation.

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I spent last week at a timeshare in South Florida with my Mother. Here are some of the things I noticed that can apply to investing:

If it’s too good to be true….
There was an older Gentleman sitting next to me at the pool discussing the new timeshare he just bought. He seemed a bit confused about what he bought but knew it sounded good during the presentation. I told him to go back to the salesman, ask him to re-explain everything to him as if he was a 5 year old and if he did not feel comfortable, get his money back. Anything can sound wonderful during the sales presentation, step back, review, and then make your move.

Diversification is good….
I spent one day at the beach and did some people watching. What I noticed was a number of people sitting under umbrellas reading. That is all they did. They did not talk to anyone, didn’t move, and never smiled. This was a warm, sunny day. I noticed others that ran into the water, played football, flew kites, talked, laughed, and generally had a good time. Those that diversified their activities, much like diversifying your investments, were much better off.

Protect yourself….
Those who regularly re-applied sunscreen did not get burned. Protecting yourself from the unseen hazards in life with items like life insurance and health insurance will prevent you from getting burned.

 

disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

I love saying yes!

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Last week I met with three different clients that all want to retire. Their retirement ages are 56, 58, and 67; all have been in their careers for 30+ years. What I asked them for was a list of their current expenses and any large expenses they expect to incur over the next few years, current tax return, statements on their savings and investments, and Social Security statement. I ran a comprehensive plan that included inflation and a conservative growth rate to age 90. I am happy to say that I was able to say “Yes you can retire” to all three. But then I asked the most important question……

“What do you plan on doing now?” Knowing that the economics of retirement will work is important but if you do not know why you will be getting out of bed each morning, you have no business retiring. Each of these three clients was able to tell me of their retirement plans and how they will spend their time. All three will walk different paths but they had put thought into their own view of what to do with their time and the many, many years in front of them.

It is possibly more important to think of the mental, emotional, and actual day to day of your retirement than the economic. I love saying yes!

Disclosures:http://www.hechteffect.net/?page_id=31

This Saturday hear Myself and Joe discuss these topics on 96.5 FM @ 9am.

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How Will You Pay Yourself In Retirement?
• How We Help Build
Your Retirement Paycheck
• Social Security’s Role In Your Retirement

A Client Asks:
“Do I care about price per share
if all I want is the dividends?”
We will explain how interest rate changes
effect price and does it matter.

Call or eMail
Your Questions:
407-290-0058 OR
1-800-328-5858
Nancy@FinancialGroup.com
Joe@FinancialGroup.com