Radio Show #145: Year-End Financial Planning

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Tick-tock...before you shut down for the holidays, spend a little time focusing on your financial life. You may find some easy ways to boost your bottom line!

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Here are a few ideas for year-end planning -- we'll cover more ideas in next week's show!

  1. Sell winners in taxable accounts. If you are at the zero percent capital gains rate now, but expect your income to be higher later, you may want to realize capital gains today at the lower rate. Your taxable income includes the gain, so make sure that you factor that in when you make your decision.
  2. Sell losers. If you have investment losses in a taxable account, now is the time to use those losers to your advantage. You can sell losing positions to offset gains that you have taken previously in the year, to minimize your tax hit. If you have more losses than gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 of losses against ordinary income.
  3. Avoid getting soaked by a wash sale. If you are starting to clean up your non-retirement accounts to take losses, don't get soaked by the "Wash Sale" rule. The IRS won't let you deduct a loss if you buy a "substantially identical" investment within 30 days, what's known as a wash sale.

Sherilyn kicked off the show with a question about how to save for college-something that Dennis is also considering for his niece's kids. Greg and Bill weighed in with investment questions, while Maria needed help with kick-starting retirement.

Martin, Bryson and Denise had questions about estate planning. In case you missed it, here are three posts that I put together in the aftermath of my father's death:

Care for the Caregiver

Estate Planning Basics 

Estate Settlement Basics

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE