Do you have a tax refund coming? Some would say it means you over-withheld and should have paid less last year. Others look at it as a non-interest-bearing savings account. I’d look at it as an opportunity to improve your financial picture and prepare for the next inevitable downturn—whether it happens next week, next month, or five years from now.
In a post last month, I mentioned the skepticism we hear from time to time about Vanguard’s client-owned, at-cost structure.
In brief, under this novel structure the various Vanguard mutual funds own the operating company—The Vanguard Group, Inc.—that exists to serve those funds. No other owner pulls a profit from the operating company.
Another tax filing season has come to an end. You might have used an online service like TurboTax, enlisted the aid of a tax professional, or, as some of us still do, used paper and pencil and good old-fashioned arithmetic.
So, where is your 2009 tax information right now? Has it made its way to the basement to reside with returns from previous years? Did you store it on a secure data server? While keeping your old tax records organized is admirable, learning from them is even better. That’s why I encourage you to take another look at your 2009 return to see what might be gleaned from it—and maybe start making decisions that could benefit you in 2010.
What do inner-city families trying to save $500 for emergencies have in common with trust-fund heirs? Their common interest, it turns out, is financial literacy.
Now that Roth IRA conversions are available to people who previously hadn’t been eligible, there’s been quite a spike in coverage. However, the spotlight should probably be focused more on those who can have a Roth, but as yet do not. Read more »
