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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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Tax Planning¶
Retirement Account Contributions By keeping an eye on the tax consequences for your every day financial decisions, you can lower your tax bill. For example, lower taxable income means you pay lower income taxes. You can lower your taxable income by contributing to a tax-deferred retirement account.…
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Attracting Employees¶
Your Role Offering the right incentives will help attract the best possible talent to your business. Most potential employees look for a company that offers a well-rounded health plan. Depending on how extensive your budget is, you may include dental and optical coverage, which could make your comp…
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Health Benefits¶
Choosing an Agent or Broker Once you have a good idea of what your options are, you can choose an insurance professional to guide you through your insurance choices. If you haven’t used an agent or broker before, these suggestions may help you make a choice you’ll feel comfortable with. Get referra…
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