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Shining the Light on Elder Abuse¶
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). WEAAD is sponsored by the National Center on Elder Abuse, who has put together a comprehensive array of tools and educational materials to help increase awareness that includes an FAQ with helpful information and re…
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Budgeting¶
Starting Points Your budget is your blueprint for keeping cash flow positive, and for sticking to your saving goals. If you have a partner, it's essential to have one overall household budget. That big picture is indispensable for having a good sense, based on actual numbers, of where the two of yo…
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The Cost of Divorce¶
Consequences A divorce will have serious financial consequences. For starters, simply getting a divorce can cost a bundle if you hire a lawyer to represent you. But unfortunately, that’s often an unavoidable cost. Be aware that even after the marriage is severed, you will still be responsible for…
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Dealing with Illness¶
What to Do The cost of healthcare continues to soar, so you need to be sure you can pay the bills. At the same time, whoever is ill may not be earning as much as in the past, and whoever is providing care might lose income as well. It's smart to anticipate what your cutbacks in income might be, alo…
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Preparing for a baby¶
Plan Plan things one step at a time. Ask relevant questions, such as: Will you (or your partner) take parental leave? Though the United States does not offer universal paid parental leave, many employers offer some kind of maternity leave, and may include some portion of it as paid time off. In fac…
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Financial To-Dos for Newlyweds¶
Insurance Policies Insurance policies often have limits as to when you can make changes—typically 30 days, but sometimes as little as two weeks. Make sure you go over your options beforehand, so you know what changes to make. Some great questions to ask include: Is it less expensive for one partner…
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Checking Out Charities¶
Why People Give There are many reasons why people give. It may simply be a desire to help others or share their good fortune with them. Or it may be a desire “to give back” to a community, school, or organization that contributed to their success. Other people believe strongly in a cause, like prot…
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Paying Taxes¶
Winter/Spring As anyone who has ever filed taxes knows, tax season is in high gear from January to April. In January, you'll get a tax package from the IRS and start receiving the documents needed to complete your return. You should get a W-2 wage statement from your employer and Form 1099s from ea…
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Completing a Return¶
Gross Income The term gross income refers to all the taxable income you have in one year. That includes earned income, such as salary and wages, plus sick pay, unemployment wages, strike benefits, and certain fringe benefits. Gross income also includes investment income (or unearned income), which…
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Tax Brackets and Statuses¶
Tax Brackets You pay federal income tax at one or more tax rates, or percentages, based on the tax bracket(s) you fall into. A tax bracket is a range of income decided by the government. For example, for single filers for tax year 2020, $0-$9,875 is one bracket, $9,876-40,125 is another, and so on.…
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