Now that 2012 is drawing to a close, you may want to review the progress you’ve made this past year in many areas of your life — including your financial situation. By going over your investment portfolio and other key areas related to your finances, you can learn what moves you may need to make in 2013 to stay on track toward your important objectives, such as college for your children, a comfortable retirement and the ability to leave the type of legacy you desire.
To get a clear picture of where you are, consider asking yourself these questions:
Am I taking on too much risk? Although 2012 has generally been a pretty good year for investors, we’ve certainly seen periods of considerable volatility. read more »
The Bremerton office of the Washington State Department of Revenue is hosting a free workshop for new and small business owners on Dec. 6 from 9-11 a.m. at the Sheridan Park Community Center, 680 Lebo Blvd. in Bremerton.
Participants will learn about Washington excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, tax incentives, sales tax collection, and record-keeping requirements. All receive a workbook and helpful reference guide to Department of Revenue rules and regulations.
To register, visit the Department of Revenue Web site at www.dor.wa.gov or call (800) 647-7706. Space is limited. read more »
With a call to action by our nation’s military, the federal government and nearly all the states for businesses and innovators to bring truly disruptive innovations to the forefront — where is the capital to support this call?
Our banks won’t even consider a business loan that in the past was simply a matter of standard banking procedure. Today, banks can’t get out of the shadows of their own fear — cash-flow lending has taken on a whole new level of excuse for saying no to traditional type loan requests.
Bankers blame the Feds for the lack of lending saying they now have such strict compliance requirements that most loans will not the meet the technical audit demands of the FDIC or other banking regulators. Yet, we hear and read in the media that the Feds are telling the banks they need to loan more money to businesses. read more »
Since the early 1930s dividends have accounted for more than 40 percent of the total return of large-cap stocks in the United States.
As baby boomers begin to transition into and through retirement, they’re going to be looking for ways to generate income from their investments while at the same time trying to keep pace with inflation. The fact that 10 thousand boomers are retiring every day is reason to give pause and pay attention to income-producing investments. The baby boomer generation has several options to try to pursue their income and lifestyle goals. Below are a few of the most common read more »
By Karen E. Klein, Bloomberg Businessweek
As the end of the year approaches, small business owners need to meet with accountants or tax preparers to review tax-planning strategies.
“Every accountant is going to be sitting with their entrepreneur clients in the next few weeks to see what they can do, both on the business — and the personal-tax side — before the end of the calendar year,” says Michael Custer, a CPA and principal at Kaufman Rossin & Co. in Miami. read more »
As you know, the holiday season can be joyous, hectic, celebratory — and expensive. And while you certainly enjoy hosting family gatherings and giving presents to your loved ones, you’ll find these things even more pleasurable if they don’t add a lot more weight to your debt load. And that’s why you’ll want to follow some smart money-management techniques over the next few weeks.
To begin with, try to establish realistic budgets for both your entertaining and your gift giving. When you host family and friends, don’t go overboard on your expenditures. read more »
Some people buy investments here and there, now and then. Others open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), put some money in it, and then forget about it. But this type of haphazard investment behavior can lead to haphazard results. On the other hand, you’ve got five good reasons for creating and following a comprehensive, long-term investment strategy.
Reason No. 1: You want to enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle. For most people, building resources for retirement is the most powerful reason to invest. As a key part of your investment strategy, you’ll want to consider investments that have growth potential. read more »
So, you’d like to make some major charitable contributions, but you don’t want to create a family foundation — with its paperwork and management commitment and the possibility of squabbles. Is there an alternative?
Yes, there is. You could consider a donor-advised fund (DAF).
How does a DAF work? A donor-advised fund is a private fund established to manage charitable donations of individuals, couples, families and institutions. It is sponsored by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The process of gifting through a donor-advised fund works like this. read more »
Don’t worry; the IRS isn’t going know about your Viagra purchases from Canada or your strange fascination with collecting Michael Jackson look-alike clothing. The IRS is concerned with any income you may be receiving as a business from a credit card sales. OK, now that we clarified that one, breathe easy and read on.
This next paragraph is more of a confession. Every time I go to the mailbox and see a piece of mail from a credit card company, only one thing comes to mind: Rip it up and feed it to the recycle bin. Perhaps it is instinct, perhaps I have been conditioned to this response, like Pavlov’s dogs, by years of disappointing unsolicited credit card offers. Who knows? Getting unsolicited offers from the credit cards happens (unfortunately for me) almost every day. read more »
