Be Careful Treating Your Hobby As A Business

Be Careful Treating Your Hobby As A Business

Do you have a hobby that actually makes you some money? Crafting and selling jewelry or pottery for example? Or blogging about travel? Perhaps you help friends breed dogs. Did you know that hobby income is taxable (it should be reported on Form 1040 Schedule 1)? And before 2018 any expenses associated with a hobby…
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How To Increase Your Tax-Free Savings

Probably most everyone is familiar with a company 401(k) retirement savings plan. Employees age 50 or older can defer up to $26,000 of their salary in 2021. The employer can additionally add contributions based on a matching formula or some percentage of company profits. In the majority of plans today employees can even choose to…
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What To Do With Your Deceased Spouse’s IRA

In this blog I’m focusing on your options with your spouse’s IRA if he or she predeceases you. (For simplicity I will use the pronoun “they” to avoid having to use the more wordy “he or she”). After your spouse passes away the IRS will require you to start filing as single rather than as…
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Who Really Benefits From A Direct Public Offering?

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase went public earlier this month. But rather than following the standard initial public offering (IPO) process, the company chose to do a direct public offering (DPO), also known as a direct listing. What’s the benefit to the company, and, more importantly, what’s the benefit (if any) to investors? In a standard…
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The Impact Of Higher Inflation

Inflation is in the news again after a long hiatus. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in May that the broad inflation rate rose 4.2% over the past 12 months, the largest increase since 2008. Exactly what is inflation, and how does it impact investments? Simply put, inflation (and its negative twin deflation) is…
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Are You A Thoughtless Investor?

A thoughtless investor is someone who invests in something without performing any kind of due diligence first. I prefer the adjective “thoughtless” rather than “dumb” because the latter implies a lack of intelligence. Thoughtless investors can be highly intelligent but simply may not have the time or skills to do the work necessary to determine…
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