By Kevin Theissen What are you going to do with your tax refund this year? Through the end of March, the IRS received over 81 million returns and processed just under 79 million returns. To that point, the IRS has sent out just under 60 million refunds checks totaling $188 billion. The average tax refund…

By Kevin Theissen Wealth disparity in the United States is a widely discussed topic but what is actually true? The gap between rich and poor is somewhat different than most Americans perceive it to be.  According to Statista: “Despite wealth disparity in the United States being a much-discussed topic over the past decades, the true size…

By Kevin Theissen The Internal Revenue Service continues to be backlogged and shorthanded—because of years of mismanagement plus Covid-19 related difficulties. As of last month, the IRS had over 20 million tax returns and correspondence waiting to be processed. Last year there were over 150 million taxpayer calls to the IRS that went unanswered. If…

By Kevin Theissen Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time since December 2018 by 0.25%. Several more hikes are expected later this year. Fed chair Jerome Powell emphasized that he wants to see the month-over-month inflation numbers come down and its latest projections indicate it may move rates above…

By Kevin Theissen Many people assume that when retirement rolls around, they should draw cash from their taxable accounts first. Generally, this is a good idea, but not always. A fundamental of tax planning is to put off paying taxes for as long as possible. By investing money rather than turning it over immediately to…

By Kevin Theissen Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine may have made you feel for the suffering of the Ukrainian people – and may have made you think that the issues in America may not come close in comparison. From a financial perspective, investors had been ready for a possible invasion for much of February. There…

By Kevin Theissen Each year seems to have new scams designed to steal your tax refund. Each tax season, thousands of people are victims of fraud. In these scams, fraudsters trick their victims into giving them enough information to file a fraudulent tax return in their name and direct the refund to a different bank…

By Kevin Theissen Almost everyone must become a caregiver to a loved one at some point in their lives. It could be due to unexpected circumstances or old age and it’s important to prepare in case you must take on this responsibility. If you are a caregiver, you know how taxing it can be, in…

Deadline for taxes is April 18 By Kevin Theissen Tax season is upon us again. It officially began on Jan. 24, and you’ll need to file by April 18 (unless you file for an extension). The deadline is usually April 15 but the Washington D.C. holiday, Emancipation Day, falls on Saturday, April 16 and is…

By Kevin Theissen The start of this year has brought some market volatility that might have caused you some uneasiness. It might be difficult but remember that this is normal – especially after a year when the S&P 500 index ended up approximately 27% (and the last three years up 100%). It can be hard…

By Kevin Theissen It’s not uncommon for people to pay more in taxes than anticipated because our tax system treats various income types differently and has tax and penalties that many are unaware of. One way to consider the stages of retirement could be: first, your pre-retirement or work and saving years, usually before age…

By Kevin Theissen By any measure, 2021 was a strong year for investors. But what’s in store for 2022? From my perspective, I expect that many of the same forces that influenced markets last year will play a role again in the year ahead. COVID-19 remains tragic and unpredictable. The pandemic was one of the…

By Kevin Theissen With the continuation of the Covid world, many businesses are desperate to find and keep workers. So, helping our children find a job is not very difficult these days. Perhaps more importantly, it’s the effort of encouraging them to work so they can learn important values about work, independence and understanding how…

By Kevin Theissen This past year was a good year for investors. The S&P 500 Index, which is made up of 500 U.S. companies, finished the year up almost 27%. The Nasdaq is up over 21% and the Dow is up almost 19%. Corporate profits were better than expected, the economy expanded, and the Federal…

By Kevin Theissen Are good physical and financial health driven by the same fundamental psychological factors? Many believe it’s true that people who value their future selves enough to regularly put money aside for their futures are likely to also make healthy decisions now to improve their health in the future. This concept is supported…