I’ve never heard this discussed by men, but some women carry the worry that they will end up old and alone, with no money and no home. It’s not generally ever-present, but rears up as reports on foreclosures, unemployment, plant closings, and law-firm and hospital layoffs proliferate in the press. It’s often termed “bag-lady syndrome”.
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.
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.
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 »
I had the chance to listen to Dan Heath recently. He’s the coauthor, with his brother Chip, of Switch, a new book about making changes. I’d read their last book, Made to Stick, and thought their conclusions were valuable, so I was looking forward to Dan’s talk.
