There are several steps for the property tax appeal process. The first step is to determine if you are receiving a higher assessment than what you believe the property could sell for in this period. If you feel the assessed value is high, you can then take the first step towards appealing the tax bill. If you do not succeed on the first level, you have two other levels to appeal to before taking the final step in a courtroom. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Wealth Building’ Category
The Stages of the Property Tax Appeal Process
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Ways to Afford Your Retirement Account Catch-Up Contributions
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Turning 50 might not be everyone’s idea of excitement, but when it comes to saving for retirement, 50 is when things start getting a lot more interesting.
That’s because people age 50 and over can make what are known as “catch-up” contributions to IRAs and most workplace-based retirement plans. These special contributions are in addition to regular contribution limits and allow individuals to maximize the amount of tax-advantaged retirement savings they can stash away.
The catch-up phenomenon has never been more important as American workers attempt to rebuild retirement savings devastated by recent market losses. Taxpayers 50 or older are permitted to make additional contributions beyond standard limits. For calendar year 2010, here are the standard contribution limits with their catch-up amount: (more…)
New Careers After Age 50
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Where The Jobs Are, How to Spruce Up Your Skills and Ready Your Finances for the Change
During the recent recession, many have found themselves back in the job market after age 50 due to layoffs or changing demands at their employers. Yet as life expectancies lengthen, a late career change isn’t always a negative. It may be a welcome chance to renew, re-educate and restart a full life.
It’s possible that in the future, an over-50 career change might become a common event, maybe even a desired event in our society – which means it’s definitely worth planning for. (more…)
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest?
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Owning a home outright is a dream that many Americans share. Having a mortgage can be a huge burden, and paying it off may be the first item on your financial to-do list. But competing with the desire to own your home free and clear is your need to invest for retirement, your child’s college education, or some other goal. Putting extra cash toward one of these goals may mean sacrificing another. So how do you choose?
Evaluating the opportunity cost
Deciding between prepaying your mortgage and investing your extra cash isn’t easy, because each option has advantages and disadvantages. But you can start by weighing what you’ll gain financially by choosing one option against what you’ll give up. In economic terms, this is known as evaluating the opportunity cost. (more…)
Debt Reduction – The Hybrid Method
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010By Roger G. Best
We’ve already talked about the Snowball Method and the Avalanche Method of Debt Reduction. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. The Snowball Method works toward paying off debt and does so by playing into basic human emotion. It pays off the smallest debt first, then moving on to the next smallest and so on, until all your debt has been retired. This method tends to be very emotionally satisfying because you will be able to completely pay off the smaller debt very quickly, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction. The disadvantage is that the Snowball Method doesn’t take into account the actual cost of the debt. If those smaller debts that you have are also the lowest interest rate, you’ll end up paying a lot more in interest, making this method the more costly of the two approaches. (more…)
The Balancing Act: Retirement vs. College Savings
Saturday, December 19th, 2009Even as the economy begins its slow crawl back, college costs are continuing to rise – that means parents are continuing to fight a tough battle between funding college and funding their own retirements.
In October, the College Board reported that the average published price of tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year U.S. public colleges was $7,020 for the 2009-10 school year, up $429 or 6.5 percent higher than a year ago. After adjusting for inflation, the average net price paid for tuition and fees by public four-year college students overall is lower in 2009-10 than it was five years ago — but higher than it was last year. Private four-year colleges saw a smaller increase of 4.4 percent or $1,096, but for a much higher average annual tuition of $26,273 for the school year. (more…)
GETTING YOUR FINANCES READY FOR THE NEXT RAINY DAY – OR DECADE
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009It was Benjamin Franklin who once said, “The man who achieves makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.” (more…)
How Your Personality Affects Your Financial Decision-Making
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009All investors are not created equal. That’s why financial planners start their first client meetings with a discussion of money attitudes, goals and risk tolerance – the driver at the root of all investment decisions. Some planners do this by general conversation, others by detailed surveys they ask their clients to fill out.
The survey route can be a more valuable tool because it forces clients to face their money issues, perhaps for the first time. Despite the difficulty in facing up to such key issues, individuals get a better idea of where their money strengths and weaknesses really lie. Often, the real difficulties lie in how money is spent. (more…)
What’s Your Money Personality?
Monday, December 7th, 2009When it comes to money, most, if not all people, have a personality or type. And the key to managing your money better is to know yourself and your “money” type, according to FPA member, Deborah L. Price, founder and CEO of the Money Coaching Institute.
According to Price, it’s important to take into account your cash flow and your net worth when building a financial plan. Your income and asset cash flow are vehicles to help you reach your goals, be it retirement or something else. However, it’s just as important to learn why you want to reach those goals or destinations. You want to understand and resolve any of the ‘potholes’ — patterns of beliefs or behaviors that you have — that may prevent you from arriving at your destination, Price said in a recent issue of FPA’s Journal of Financial Planning. (more…)
Dealing With Companywide Pay and Benefits Cuts
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Even as the economy shows a few glimmers of improvement, most economists expect some continuation of job, pay and benefits cuts to continue throughout the year. What can you do about these moves, even if they’re still in the rumor stage? (more…)
