New Year savings plan
If you received a tax refund last year—the average was about $3,000—start this year by taking the refund early. Instead of overpaying your income taxes in 2014, invest the refund during the full year. Set up an auto contribution at work if your employer offers 401k, 403b or other retirement plan. Use a W-4 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf to INCREASE your allowances on line 5 and submit to your employer. This will reduce the amount of tax withheld each paycheck and increase your take-home pay. If you had a refund of $3,000 last year, your monthly investment could be $250. Or set up your own IRA with a low-cost mutual fund firm and have them deduct $250 from your checking account. You could grow your $250 a month into $250,000 in 20 years, $800,000 in 30 years, $1 million in 32 years. The best plan is the simple plan: http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Simple-Essential-Financial-Life/dp/1492258849/
If you already have your W-2, file early for quicker refund
Many people don’t have complicated tax situations and don’t need to pay someone to file. If you have wage income and don’t own property, it is a matter of filling in the forms online. You may qualify for FREE tax prep and FREE efile. Check the companies that offer this: At IRS.gov/freefile, select the “Free File Software” button. Each of the 14 Free File companies sets specific offers – generally based on income, state residency and age – to use their software. If your income is $58,000 or less, you will find at least one, if not more, offers available to you. The fastest way to get your refund is with direct deposit. Once the IRS begins processing returns Jan 31, it expects to issue more than 90 percent of refunds in fewer than 21 days: Most in 10 days.
Check “Where’s My Refund?” for personalized refund information based on the processing of your 2013 tax return. You can start checking on the status of your return within 24 hours after the IRS accepts your e-filed return.
Beware: Advisor/broker examiners budget cut—We are at their mercy!
Fewer financial advisors will be checked by regulators this year due to budget cuts at the SEC. This means that your advisor may be able to move money around unawares again. No one is checking on how they manage your money except you. Madoff was able to avoid discovery because no one asked about the clients’ accounts.
Congress is also asking regulators to tone down the rules about doing-what-is-best-for-your-client standard. The broker lobby is concerned that the pending rule that would raise investment advice standards for retirement-plan advisers could hurt investors with modest assets. Raising the standard of client care would seem to help not hurt investors.
Long-term care insurance price hike
A 60-year old couple each purchasing $164,000 of current protection that will grow to $730,000 combined when both reach age 80, will pay an average of $3,840 yearly, a three percent increase over the prior year's average. "Adding an inflation growth option builds your benefits over time but it can double the base cost of coverage," an analyst said. Couple discounts reduce the cost of coverage because usually only one of them makes a claim. Without inflation protection, the benefits can be half the expected amount. So the cost is closer to $6,000 per year. Since you may not need coverage for 25 years (average claim date), you are paying $150,000 for $730,000 that you may never use. Consider more flexible options: http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-Updated-2013/dp/148274001X/
Lobbyists start to derail ObamaCare one wheel at a time
U.S. Chamber of Commerce will no longer seek the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, working instead to correct what it sees as its flaws. For instance, the Chamber wants a change to the law’s definition of full-time employees from those working 30 hours a week to those working 40 hours or more. Thus all employers would limit hours to 39 per week to avoid the mandate. The Chamber would also like to see the ACA's health insurance tax and medical device tax repealed and will explore how the law's transitional reinsurance fee might be financed in a different way. Business lobbyists will start modifying each part of the health care coverage so it reduces the law’s effectiveness. You can join in: Future Lobbyists begin their 2014 classes Jan 27 with PAC’s and Campaign Financing, Lobbying 101, Online Advocacy, etc.
GOP plans further attacks on ObamaCare despite industry acceptance
President Obama's health care law may have gotten off to a rocky start, but executives of major private health insurance companies are informing investors that they're still betting on the program in the long run. On the other hand, U.S. House Republicans plan to introduce a bill to swap President Obama's healthcare law for a lower-cost, "patient-centered" system, Speaker John Boehner said. GOP also promises to reform taxes. "We believe in tax reform. Closing loopholes, getting rid of unnecessary deductions, lowering rates will be good for our economy and help create more jobs," Boehner said. Oil and gas and agribusiness subsidies were not mentioned.
SCAMS Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
We are paying for 164,253 of our active-duty armed personnel to be in 150 countries around the world. We have about 50,000 in Japan and 50,000 in Germany . Are we preparing for WWII again? There are 1,208,083[1] personnel in the United States . Our taxes pay for about HALF of the WORLD’s military expenditures every year. It is no wonder we're in debt.
Bailout of mutual funds too?
Banks are not the only institutions that we may have to bailout. There are mutual funds that use high leverage to try to gain an edge in investment returns, especially the “hedge” funds that the wealthy own. There $53 Trillion in these funds and some are buying and selling derivatives in secret and outside regulators view. This makes tax payers vulnerable again because if a large one collapses, its contracts could put our financial system at risk. Wall Street execs in the government will want to save their friends paychecks like GoldmanSachs’ Paulson did as US Treasurer in 2008’s global meltdown. The wealthy will expect us to save them from their gambling debts … again. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/business/bailout-risk-far-beyond-the-banks.html
Billionaire Baby Beanie mogul faces jail to avoid paying tax of 4%
The federal charge alleges that the inventor Warner earned more than $3.1 million that he failed to report on his 2002 tax form. He failed to pay $885,300 in taxes owed for 2002. That is under 4% of his assets.
Beanie Babies, sold for $5 to $7. At their peak of popularity in the 1990s, some collectors would pay hundreds of dollars for a rare character on the resale market, according to press accounts. Warner's net worth was listed as $2.6 billion in 2013, according to Forbes.
Who owns your account now?
Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbons to Japan ’s Suntory.
Budweiser to Brazil's InBev
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