The end of the year is rushing to a close, which means now is the time to finish your plans for saving money on your taxes. While there are some things you can do after December 31st to lower your tax obligations, most things must be accomplished by the years end. These year end tax tips are things you can do between now and December 31st to lower your tax obligation next year.
Contribute to your retirement accounts. Most contributions to your defined contribution plans such as a 401k, 403b, TSP, etc., need to be made by December 31st. Increasing your contributions will reduce your taxable income. You can also contribute to a Traditional or Roth IRA, SEP IRA, or Solo 401k plan and certain other retirement plans after December 31st and still reduce your taxable income as long as you contribute before the tax filing deadline.
If you can contribute extra to your retirement funds this year, then try to do it in the accounts that close out by the end of the calendar year before contributing elsewhere.
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– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with sentiment turning apprehensive after yesterday’s policy response sparked a strong rally. Even as recent domestic data has been encouraging, traders are skeptical of the sustainability of the economic momentum and see these only as a blip in the radar. Retail sales reported by chain stores have cemented expectations for a healthy holiday selling season.
An economic report released earlier in the day showed that jobless claims unexpectedly rose, although remaining below the 400,000 level. Traders now turn their attention to the manufacturing report to be released shortly after the markets open and may also be nervous about Friday’s non-farm payrolls report.
U.S. stocks advanced solidly on Wednesday, encouraged by coordinated central bank actions announced by the Federal Reserve along with some compatriot central banks and some positive domestic economic data. The major averages opened notably higher and rose sharply in early trading.
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Younger readers may not believe this, but there was a time when AT&T (T) was so powerful that the government had to break it up into pieces.
Yes, the Department of Justice took AT&T’s local operations and split it up into seven regional “Baby Bell” companies in 1984.
Now antitrust regulators are taking another look at the telco giant to determine if allowing it to acquire T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom (DT) will once again make it too big to the detriment of consumers. Skeptics will argue that it’s too late for that. There are already plenty of people that aren’t happy with AT&T. Maybe all of those Verizon Wireless attack ads finally did the trick.
Ma Bell isn’t crying “Uncle!” but its future doesn’t look as promising as its storied past.
Phoning It In
AT&T’s latest quarter reads like a dream. Earnings climbed to $0.61 a share from an adjusted $0.54 a share a year earlier. The tech bellwether has tacked on 2.1 million wireless subscribers, and it now tops 100 million wireless accounts.
However, every accolade comes with a cynical knock.
Average revenue per postpaid subscriber has gone up on a year-over-year basis for 11 consecutive quarters, but that feels out of touch and greedy.
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My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.
I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from Flickr.
Good stuff I found this week:
AgoraPulse – Facebook CRM like tool allows you to manage your Facebook page, track your best fans and turn fans into leads.
LunchMeet – iPhone app that taps into your LinkedIn profile to help you schedule networking lunches wherever you are, whenever you have available time.
Treehouse – Interactive courses to help your learn web design, programming and app building.
Ahhh, retirement. Nine holes in the morning, the beach on the weekends, sunset picnics and…the office for a few hours a day?
Not too long ago, the whole point of retirement was not working. But today’s retirees are increasingly counting themselves among the job-seekers. Roughly three out of four workers over age 50 say they plan to work at least part-time in retirement, according to a 2010 study by the Families and Work Institute; currently about 20% of retirees have a job. Indeed, working during retirement is becoming the “new normal,” the study says.
For some retirees working means an encore, a chance to dive into something they’ve always been passionate about. Others are driven by a desire to stay vital and stave off boredom. But for many people, working past 65 is a necessity, not a luxury. Considering the average boomer couple currently has a retirement savings shortfall of about $30,000, according to a recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, it’s a trend that experts predict with accelerate. “Boomers aren’t as financially prepared for retirement as earlier generations,” says Mary Johnson, a senior policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, a non-profit senior rights advocacy group.
Regardless of the reason, a post-career job hunt can drastically affect where you’re going to settle down when you retire.
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So I did a good bit of traveling this past year, specifically over the summer months. One hot ass day I was sitting in the gazebo of a Mediterranean beach house trying to enjoy the waves, the wine and the women…but something was impeding my relaxation.
It was the television and the ass clown on it. It was one of those slow motion car crash scenarios where you know you’ll regret looking later, but just cannot help to stare right then and there. I went online and tried to find the program but I couldn’t so take my word for it…or don’t.
It was an hour long biography of world famous Chef Mario Batali and certainly an interesting prelude In the bio, Batali talks about spending some formative years in Spain, hanging out with the Spaniard youth’s crème de la crème.
The crucial part came when the carrot topped pork chop gleefully talked about his dreams of becoming an investment banker. I can’t tell you exactly what motivation he claimed, but I do recall him being as excited as a prospective monkey dreaming about his days of self flagellation and indentured servitude at the feet of some BSD. <
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