Become a Patron! I've written many times about my fondness for low-interest, and especially low-fee, balance transfer and cash advance credit cards, which allow consumers to borrow large — sometimes very large — sums of money for a fixed period of time and pay nothing to the bank if the loan is paid off by the end of the promotional period. This is a form of what I think … [Read more...] about Five profitable things to do with low-interest loans
taxes
Three approaches to cutting federal bonds out of untaxed accounts
Become a Patron! Last month I wrote about the curious fact that mutual funds designed to be held in retirement accounts, where their distributions are generally untaxed year-to-year, nonetheless hold federal bonds that are exempt from state income taxation. I suggested that it should be possible to optimize your retirement account holdings by replacing those federal bonds … [Read more...] about Three approaches to cutting federal bonds out of untaxed accounts
Don’t pay for tax benefits you’re not using
Become a Patron! I had a very interesting conversation today that got me thinking about a tax issue I had never given serious thought to before, and which I think is probably totally unknown to most investors, but that affects virtually all of them: the exclusion of US federal interest payments from state income tax liability. Upon just a moment's reflection, I realized that … [Read more...] about Don’t pay for tax benefits you’re not using
Two interesting strategies for avoiding the SECURE Act’s revenue provisions
Become a Patron! One blog I keep an eye on is Michael Kitces's website Nerd's Eye View. The content is rarely very relevant to me personally, but they do a terrific job digging deep into tax planning strategies and IRS rulings, so you can at least learn the outlines of an issue before doing your own research. The latest post, Strategies To Mitigate The (Partial) Death Of The … [Read more...] about Two interesting strategies for avoiding the SECURE Act’s revenue provisions
Wage replacement is an important measurement, whether or not it’s good policy
Become a Patron! I've written before about the FAMILY Act, the leading Democratic initiative in the House and Senate to create a nationwide system of paid family and medical leave like that enjoyed by citizens of virtually every other country in the world. One of the things advocates say when describing the FAMILY Act is that it's based on a "social insurance model." This … [Read more...] about Wage replacement is an important measurement, whether or not it’s good policy