Why do people elect to put their credit “on ice”? If you are worried about getting hacked – and, these days, who isn’t – a credit freeze is a precautionary measure that may be worth considering. Is a credit freeze an iron-clad, 100% guaranteed way to protect...
With the President’s signature, most of them will remain in place through 2012. A holiday gift for taxpayers? After a 277-148 passage in the House and an 81-19 approval in the Senate, President Obama signed the 2010 Tax Relief Act into law on December 17, extending...
Things you can do before and for the New Year. The end of the year is a good time to review your personal finances. What are your financial, business or life priorities for 2011? Try to specify the goals you want to accomplish. Think about the...
Here are some things you might want to do before saying goodbye to 2010. What has changed for you in 2010? Did you start a new job – or leave a job behind? Did you retire? Did you start a family? If some notable changes occurred...
Why some analysts are worried about the Fed’s latest monetary easing effort. Is the glass half full? The Federal Reserve has committed to buying $600 billion worth of Treasury bonds between now and June, and it wants to purchase up to $900 billion in debt by...
The current mortgage market presents homeowners with an opportunity. Mortgages haven’t been this cheap for decades. You would have to go back to the 1950s to find mortgage rates that compare with those in 2010. On October 14, Freddie Mac’s weekly survey estimated the average interest...
The strong dollar policy is long gone, but the greenback isn’t in peril just yet. A favorite doomsday scenario. Have you heard about the forthcoming collapse of the dollar? Well, if you turn on your computer, your radio and even your TV, you just may. With...
Half of Americans aren’t paying federal income taxes. Is that right? A provocative statistic. Last July, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution) estimated that 47% of Americans would not owe a penny to the IRS for...
What might happen if they went away? The debate is gaining volume. In July, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that very few taxpayers would be affected if the landmark tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 expired. “I do not believe it will affect growth,” he calmly...
A year? Seven years? It depends. You have probably heard that you should retain copies of your federal tax returns for 7 years. Is that true, or a myth? How long should you keep those quarterly and annual statements you get about your investment accounts? And...