Embrace Tax
Embracing tax is a great way to save money. Whether you're starting a new business, wanting to retire early, or just trying to understand your financial future, learning about taxes might just be the thing you need to get there. So where do you begin? Well, we have three quick tips from the team at Personal Capital on what to do and what not to do when it comes time for an audit.
In this article we cover:
- What is an audit?
- When should you expect an audit?
- What should be done when expecting one?
After reading this blog post, you will know more about how taxes work and be able to avoid them in future.
"This firm's mission is to improve the lives of its clients through exceptional financial planning and wealth management services."
- John Bittner, CEO
- Ensure you can pay your bills
- Ensure you need service
- Great for retirement planning
- Assets that provide long term growth potential.
- Cash value may be a better choice if not in a tax bracket where it will be taxed today.
- Includes investments such as stocks, bonds and ETFs.
- You can invest in mutual funds as well.
- Fees tend to be lower compared to bank or brokerage accounts.
- save money on taxes
- Lower fees than a bank or brokerage account.
- Can be used for investments and retirement planning.
- Fees tend to be higher compared to banks or brokers.
- Higher minimum deposit requirement than other accounts
There are several ways to transfer assets between your different accounts. Whether you have one account at your local bank, several accounts at different banks, or a brokerage account. Below is a brief summary on each of these methods as well as their pros and cons:
- Electronic funds transfer (EFT)
- This is the most reliable method of transferring funds from one account to another (no errors in transmission through internet).
- Costs more to transfer funds.
- You have to have the right type of account at the same bank.
- You have to have a checking account at the same bank.
- It's also possible to do an ACH or wire transfer
- This method is much slower than EFT.
- You'll be charged fees by both the recipient and sender of your funds.
- You'll have to have a checking account at the recipient's bank and some may charge funds for their wire transfer service.
- Some banks charge additional fees for ACH transfers.
- This is usually faster than a check.
- Fees can get expensive
- You can use online check clearing services which are sometimes free to use.
This article contains further details on these transactions as well as information on additional ways you can benefit from them such as international transfers and freezing accounts or transferring assets in between two accounts of the same type.
- International transfers are incredibly useful as they allow you to use your U.S. accounts for everyday expenses, while taking advantage of the tax free benefits of transferring money outside the U.S.
- Freezes are an excellent way to keep assets from being stolen by eliminating access to your assets (such as a fire, flood or burglary).
- A freeze can also be used to only allow certain assets to be accessed by certain people when you aren't around, such as a spouse or child with permission.
In this article we also include a short guide on how to get the best returns on your investments and manage your portfolio.
- Choose the right account type
- Choose the right investment for you
- Know which fees you're paying
The truth is that most advisors, brokers and financial planners have other interests at heart other than the investors they are serving (i.e. salesmen). Personal Capital gives you a simple, easy to use way to monitor your entire financial picture. This way you can see where you stand financially before getting invested in anything risky like a stock or mutual fund with commissions and/or high fees attached to it.
In this article we cover how Personal Capital can help you manage your finances, get the most for your money and save thousands of dollars on fees.
- Log in to Personal Capital
- Monitor your entire financial picture
- Evaluate your investments
- Find other ways to save money
Personal Capital is an online service that allows you take a more holistic approach to managing my finances. Utilizing their fee-only financial advisors who will review your entire portfolio and make sure you aren't paying extra fees on things like mutual funds or stocks. Personal Capital is perfect for anyone new to investing as well as anyone who is looking to make better money choices.
By utilizing a fee-only advisor, you can see how all of your investments are performing and see which ones are providing the most value. You'll also be able to track your net worth and see how it has grown despite don't have access to any of the extra fees that come with stocks and mutual funds.
Personal Capital is an online service that allows you take a more holistic approach to managing my finances. Utilizing their fee-only financial advisors who will review my entire portfolio and make sure I'm not paying extra fees on things like mutual funds or stocks.
- Take a holistic approach to your finances
- Monitor your entire financial picture
- Evaluate fees and commissions
"26% of Americans don’t think they need to save for retirement."
"73% of Americans have less than $25,000 in their 401(k)s."
"47% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts." - GOBankingRates.com 2018 Financial Literacy Survey
This article is a guide on how to start saving for retirement and which high yield savings accounts that best fit your lifestyle: regular vs retirement, rewards vs no rewards, etc.
- Understand how different savings accounts work
- Know which kind of account fits you
There are two very popular online brokerages - Fidelity and Charles Schwab. The first being long established and the latter, newcomer to the industry. While Fidelity is known for their low cost, Charles Schwab is known for their brokerage commissions. So which one should you choose? Based on usage and the general population who use one or the other in the U.S., here are my recommendations:
- The ease of use and price will determine where I recommend people invest their money.
Conclusion
Personal Capital is a great online service that allows you to take a more holistic approach to managing your finances. It can help you see where your money is going, how it's performing and how much you are making off of investments.
- Log in to Personal Capital
- Monitor your entire financial picture
- Evaluate fees and commissions
This article is a guide on how to start saving for retirement and which high yield savings accounts that best fit your lifestyle: regular vs retirement, rewards vs no rewards, etc. - first determine what kind of savings account works for you.
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Embrace Tax