Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with it. But is that the best approach? It may sound counter intuitive, but it may be possible to have too much of a good […]
Category: Money Matters
Column, Money Matters
The financial literacy crisis
Money Matters by Kevin Theissen Imagine driving a car without a basic understanding of the rules of the road, or even how to operate it. Scary thought. Yet many Americans are operating their personal finances with only the barest minimum […]
Money Matters
When should you take Social Security? Sooner than you think!
ByKevin Theissen The Social Security program allows you to start receiving benefits as soon as you reach age 62. The question is, should you? Monthly payments differ substantially depending on when you start receiving benefits. The longer you wait (up […]
Money Matters
Tax deductions we overlook the most
Who among us wants to pay the IRS more taxes than we have to? While few may raise their hands, Americans regularly overpay because they fail to take tax deductions for which they are eligible. Let’s take a quick look […]
Money Matters
Take retirement for a test drive
There are many reasons why people who could retire are hesitant to do so. Some people think they need to wait until they’re 65 or older. Some are worried about running out of money. Many parents want to keep supporting […]
Money Matters
New tax cuts benefit mainly businesses
By Kevin Theissen Tax Cuts and Jobs Act The nature and shape of the nation’s tax system inevitably influences the everyday decisions made by individuals and businesses alike. After the implementation of one of the most comprehensive reforms in over […]
Money Matters
Don’t fall for tax scams or the temptation to perpetrate your own
By Kevin Theissen Every year the IRS releases its list of tax scams, spotlighting the myriad ways that people try to separate you from your money or reduce tax liability. Here are the “dirty dozen” that have regularly made the […]
Money Matters
I’ll have an order of purchasing power parity, please!
Purchasing power parity, or PPP, is a simple idea with a tongue twister of a name. When two countries have PPP, a basket of goods costs the same amount in both countries after the exchange rate has been factored in. […]
Money Matters
The ‘gig economy’ is not just for Millennials
While the emergence of the gig economy often is attributed to Millennials, MBO Partners’ 2017 survey found the full-time gig workforce is a generational mash-up. It includes 38 percent Millennials (ages 21 to 37), 27 percent Gen Xers (ages 38 […]
Money Matters
Income taxes are complex but logical
By Kevin Theissen The Internal Revenue Service estimates that taxpayers and businesses spend 6.1 billion hours per year complying with tax-filing requirements. To put this into perspective, if all this work were done by a single company, it would need […]