Friday, February 2, 2018

Start cutting taxes now

Start now to cut taxes during 2018 and beyond
Trump’s new tax law may change your strategy for 2018. If you are in a high property tax state, your deductions may be reduced causing you to owe more tax. Prepare by reducing the number of allowance you declare to your employer on a W-4 form. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf. You may pay less tax with more children in 2018 since that credit was increased. Poor families will not get the Rubio increase.
You may start saving money now in January for a whole year’s benefit. First, PMI, the insurance you pay on your mortgage to protect your lender, is NOT deductible for 2018. (It is not for 2017 either) You can eliminate your PMI if you have paid down your loan so your home equity is over 20% of the value. PMI costs you 1 percent or more of the loan value each year. Ask your bank to remove the monthly PMI if your home has appreciated and or your loan balance is lower. The GOP also cut your energy credits for new appliances, windows and doors, tuition and fees deduction, and other special programs. Trump has told the diminished IRS staff not to worry about ACA penalties since the individual mandate is repealed for 2018 so refunds will not be held up. The mandate is in effect for 2017 tax year. The IRS says you won’t get some of your ACA forms until March (p 51, 1040). Despite promises for a ‘great health plan’ the GOP will allow less expensive insurance with fewer benefits to be sold. So-called ‘junk’ insurance caused thousands to go into bankruptcy from medical expenses.
Among Americans 65 and older, more than 5 million would get no tax break in 2019 and 5.6 million would see no tax decrease by 2027, according to an AARP Public Policy Institute analysis. In fact, cuts to Medicare and SS benefits are in the works for us so it is important to continue or start investing more to pay for the 2018 tax cuts for the wealthy. 
Avoid the coming tax increases with your tax-FREE account using your refund: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Tax-FREE-Wealth-Reserve/dp/1456505041


Best last minute tax saving move
Tax filing begins next week—Jan 29—even though all the forms are late in arriving. If you find you owe tax instead of hitting the refund button this year, you may still be able to claim your refund. You can reduce your income up to April 17 and receive a tax credit. Credits reduce your taxes dollar for dollar. In effect, Uncle Sam can help you reduce taxes AND save for retirement at the same time. On line 32, Form 1040 or line 17, Form 1040a, you can enter up to $5,500 ($6,500 over age 50) per person IRA contribution to reduce your income. If you meet the qualification, a credit will show up on Line 51, Form 1040 or Line 34, 1040a. You subtract this credit from your tax. EG: Income $66,000: tax refund is $3,335, without IRA contribution. With the contribution, the refund is $4,392 or $5,553 if you both make the contribution. Credit against tax is $400.

Experts say best retirement income strategy is ….[what]?
Academics looked at how to assure yourself you will have enough money in retirement. By looking at many ways to reach your goal, you can plan for a more successful financial life. Perhaps you think that you pay an advisor to worry about this problem. However, studies show advisors are not the best advisors when it comes to predicting your future behavior. Academics assume too much in this study. First, they assume everyone can wait to age 70 to take SS benefits. Most people actually can’t. They can’t afford to use their own nest egg until then. Second, cut back on spending during this period. But usually most people are most active just after retirement and want to do things like travel around the world or take 2 weeks on the beach in Hawaii. Third, we have no choice in the amount of income from our retirement funds like 401k, pensions and IRAs at age 70. The IRS tells us what amount we must take so Uncle Sam gets his cut before we die. You can’t use your nest egg at your own pace. Academics assume the perfect world.
Don’t leave this decision to advisors or academics: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Spending-Plan-enough/dp/1461084016


IRS free tax filing sites to avoid $300+ cost of filing
Commercial tax prep sites offer expensive loans as advances on your refund but you can keep your whole refund using the IRS free filing partners. Refunds can be in your account within 2-3 weeks. The average refund is over $3,000. You can create a tax-free retirement fund of $500,000 with that amount each year. If you need free tax preparer service for your 1040, use AARP Tax Aides near you. Bring last year’s return and ID: https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/
Use your refund to fund your tax-FREE IRS approved account: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976


Buffett's SIMPLE Strategy Beats Wall Street—22% in 2017; 11.11% since 1976.
The Master of investing, Warren Buffett, proved it, again. You do NOT need Wall Street 'professionals' to reach your financial goals. In fact, if you use them, you may give up 63% of your potential accumulations because of trading, charges, commissions and fees. Buffett’s SIMPLE strategy earns over 11% per yearDALBAR keeps track of returns and found that the average managed-account equity investor earned just 3.79% a year over 30 years. The benchmark returned 11.06%. You and I can start beating Wall Street with one phone call. Earnings are tax-FREE after age 59 ½ in special account too.
Earn 11% a year with Buffett’s SIMPLE strategy: https://www.amazon.com/MasterClass-Buffetts-SIMPLE-Strategy/dp/1983485268

Fidelity raises fees on its Vanguard funds offering
In a surprise, the Johnson family is claiming it does not get paid enough to process Fidelity customer accounts so it is raising fees on those that hold Vanguard funds. Instead of competing on price like Schwab and others by lowering fees, Fido will go against the growth wave of low-fee funds. Since the largest index funds often carry a net expense ratio of 0.10% or less, they simply can't afford to pay for distribution unless they raise fees on all of their investors. Vanguard eschews the practice of paying for distribution, preferring to keep costs low. So far, the model is working, as the fund company frequently ranks among the top of the pack for investor inflows, proving that investors want low fee funds, even if they have to go out of their way to get them. For many types of assets, Vanguard maintains low-fee structure since it has no owner. Funds are owned by the investors themselves. A study by BrightScope found that stock funds in 401(k)s with fewer than 100 participants carried average expense ratios that were roughly 50% higher than plans with 5,000 to 9,999 participants. 

Which cars do mechanics claim are “crap”?
Asking mechanics about the cars they have worked on may have biased results because they have their personal favorite brands. However, when you ask enough mechanics, the same answers keep coming back. These are really bad reviews and they are sometimes specific: EG: Ford’s Ford Fiesta or Focus [automatics] are S@&$ and class-action suits are pending. Even expensive Porsche do not pass the smell test. Great comments: Spending $90K+ on what is essentially a 40-year-old tractor with nice leather seats.” Mechanics like cars that are reliable and if they break, are easy to get the parts and fix.

Ask your preparer about these tax CREDITS
A tax credit is more valuable than any deduction: a credit cuts your tax dollar for dollar and increases your refund. Even if you do not need to file a return, some credits will pay you for filing anyway. You may be eligible for up to $6,318. Use the EITC Assistant tool to find out if you qualify. If you qualified for health care premium tax credit you won’t know until you file. There are two child tax credits—one reduces tax and the other increases your refund. Credits to $2,500 are available to help you pay for post-secondary education for 4 years. The average refund is $3,000 and can pay for your retirement. Refunds may be delayed since lower withholding [2018 tax cut] means less Fed revenue.
Your tax refund can complete a $500,000 tax-FREE nest egg: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976

Is portfolio rebalancing right for you?
This is the time of year when your paid advisor/broker will call you to rebalance—sell and buy. Could it be that is how they earn a living--sell and buy? Didn’t John Bogle say: unless you are heavily into foreign equities, rebalancing is not productive? Yes, if you worry about being too heavily into stocks and fear correction like '08, perhaps your portfolio is not balanced correctly in the first place. Bogle made the observation that many S&P 500 firms are actually rebalancing all the time--they earn 1/2 revenues overseas and they balance their treasury funds every day with hedging and government bonds. A well diversified portfolio actually rebalances itself. Many clients earn over 11% nominal using what we call the Vanguard Top Ten. Some "rebalance" by switching their 'dollar cost averaging' contributions to the fund with the smallest gain. One of our authors, Zhou Wang, wrote about this strategy in his book, https://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X
As Mr Buffett has declared: you only need two funds for investing long-term. Another of our authors, Ian Sender, explained the Buffett strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592
So we say, when you rebalance you are doing what Buffett says not to do--buy and sell. Trading is what keeps Wall Street owners wealthy: https://www.amazon.com/Pimps-Wall-Street-money-middlemen/dp/151525254X



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Make “The Don” Great Again

“I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,”

Bannon and I wish to “destroy the state”–our government: “I don’t care.”


Trump can’t be a racist: he had a TV show”
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?


‘I’m the only one that matters’ Mob Boss, Nov 3, 2017
The Don’s enforcers lie re: contacts to Putin and list longer: Why all the lies if innocent?
GOP suppresses vote: can voters make America normal again?

‘I was elected President.’ (and you weren’t)
Dictator’s great weapon is fear: Dems are evil TV ad




How Govt wastes our money:
$24 million for 2 refrigerators for The Don’s ride.
Defense Dept report: 50% F-35 can’t fly, bad helmet, can’t refuel in air, 1000 glitches.

SCAMS:
Is it that easy to kill? The accidental death of a player in an online video game sparked a Los Angeles man to place a deadly prank call that sent police to shoot a Kansas man.

Self-driving cars do not recognize human on motorcycle.


Advisors James Polese & Cory Peterson Boston stole $500,000 of their client’s money.


Jobs:


GOP donor Koch tells Trump not to change the immigration rate “Immigrants are essential to the success”

HI worker who sounded false alarm has been doing it for a while

Who owns your account now?
Russia retweeted anti-Hillary messages 470,000 times: created fake events to change us  using our own social media accounts.

Miracle:

If Trump can last after he ordered special prosecutor fired in June after fired FBI director. Then lied. Now disparaging FBI and investigators. No law and order left? No morality or truth left? No credibility left in case of real emergency. Are our ‘representatives’ asleep?


IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
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