Category Archives: Personal Finance

The Government Wants To Limit Your Retirement Savings!

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uncle-sam

The US government wants to limit how much money you can save across your tax-advantaged retirement accounts (401k,IRA, Roth IRA…). President Obama released his budget plan the other day and one specific proposal really caught my attention. In the name of raising $9 billion in new revenue for the government, the President wants to limit the amount you can save in your retirement accounts to $3 million. The reasoning for the $3,000,000 limit is that it’s about equal to an annuity that would pay out $205,000 per year. A “reasonable retirement” in their terms. My initial reaction to the plan was some combination of shock and anger. “How dare they tell us how much we can save in our retirement accounts!” However, after taking the time to sit down and think about it some more, I can see both side of the argument.   Not many people are affected, at all. Currently 0.3% … Continue reading →

Infographic: How Americans Spend Their Tax Refund

 
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tax returns, tax refund, tax preparing, tax return, federal taxes, irs

Tax day is closing in fast. If you haven’t filed your tax return yet, well, what are you waiting for?! April 15th will be here before you know it. So decide if you’re going to be doing your taxes yourself, or if you’re better off hiring a tax pro. I filed my taxes weeks ago and am getting a refund from both the federal government and New York state for what seems like the first time (thank you mortgage interest deduction!). The average American received a tax refund of just over $2700 in 2012. Being the responsible finance blogger that I am, I gave you five dumb ways to go out and spend your refund check. Thankfully not everyone is irresponsible with their refunds. My friends at Green Dot have once again put together an awesome infographic that breaks down some interesting stats about who gets a refund, tax changes … Continue reading →

8 Questions About Money And Relationships

 
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money-relationships

I’ve seen this questionnaire on several other PF sites recently and figured I’d give it a shot and play along. The questions originated with Chase Bank, but I’ve seen Budgets are Sexy, Money Life and More, and Money Beagle  give their answers to these questions so check out what they had to say. After you finish reading my post, of course!  1. Would You Discuss Money On A First Date? Maybe. It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on a first date, but I don’t think I’d bring up any detailed talk about money on the first date.  Now, I’d be trying to put her financial picture together in the back of my mind as she talked about her life and job over the course of the night. But it’s probably in bad taste to come out and ask about that kind of stuff on a first date. I can’t … Continue reading →

What To Do With A Pay Raise

 
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tax refund, dumb ways to spend money, spend tax refund

Good times are here again! Pay raises are back! The economy is back and looking pretty healthy, so companies are starting to loosen the purse strings a little bit. That means 401(k) matches, bonuses and annual salary increases are all starting to return. Most employers have finished up year-end reviews and are starting to inform employees if and how much of a pay raise they’ll be seeing this year. Getting a raise is an exciting event. Even the smallest increase in pay gets me thinking about the possibilities of what I could do with that extra cash in my pocket. A pay raise, similar to a big tax refund or other financial windfall opens up the opportunity to blow all that money by making a large purchase. Or more commonly, slowly increasing your spending to match the extra amount you’re now seeing in each paycheck. You’ve probably seen this habit referred to as … Continue reading →

Five Dumb Ways To Spend Your Tax Refund

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burning-money

I filed my taxes this weekend, and like the majority of Americans I’ll be getting a refund from Uncle Sam. In 2012 the average tax refund was around $2900. You may remember that I’m not a fan of getting a big tax refund, and my refund this year is well below that average. Even still, I haven’t gotten a tax refund in a few years and it is exciting to consider the possibilities of what can be done with that money. I could drone on and on about how you should pay down your debt, build up an emergency fund or invest your tax refund. But what fun is that?! Instead, let’s look at the dumbest ways to spend your refund check! 1. Throw a Party – Believe it or not, I had a friend who did this. He threw a huge party after getting his check and spent it … Continue reading →