A year ago I set myself some specific financial goals to reach in 2006. Let’s see what I managed to accomplish:
Separate business and personal financial worlds. Done, I have separate business checking accounts and credit cards, and I run all of my business expenses through those accounts. I have also set up a special home office area in our house.
Open a SEP IRA for 2005 business income at Vanguard. Done, opened a SEP-IRA with $2,500, which I then later rolled over to combine with my existing Traditional IRA.
Do my taxes and research to maximize tax return. Used the advanced form of TurboTax to do this for 2006, for 2007 I will either have to do a lot more reading on how to do S-Corp taxes ...
ITASCA, Ill.—Brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Friday said it will pay nearly $37 million to end charges that it participated in an industrywide contingent commissions scheme. The allegations came as part of a federal multi-district class action lawsuit pending in a New Jersey district court,...
NEW YORK—Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. has agreed to sell its Putnam Investments subsidiary to Montreal-based Power Corp. of Canada for $3.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The deal is expected to be announced early next year pending fund-investors’ approval, the report said,...
BEIJING (Reuters)—China has ordered its deadliest industries, from oil drilling to mining and road transport to construction, to pay fees to improve safety, the government said Friday. Mining accidents killed more than 8,000 people last year and road accidents killed nearly 100,000, according to...
Pentagon Federal Credit Union is now offering a generous 6.25% APY rate on it’s 3, 4, 5, and 7-year CDs (they call it a Money Market Certificate). These rates probably won’t last, so if this looks good to you you may want to jump in now.
These certificates may be a good alternative to online savings accounts for your emergency funds or other accounts with medium-length horizons. Penfed only has a $1,000 minimum on each certificate, and has relatively lenient penalties on early withdrawals. I wouldn’t use these for retirement savings if you’re young, though.
Since this is a credit union, you must meet their eligibility requirements to join. Basically all members of the military and their immediate families are welcome, as well as ...
J.D. of GetRichSlowly was looking for some guest authors during his break, so I submitted a short piece on How To Prevent Lifestyle Inflation, or the vicious cycle of Earn More, Spend More. We are successfully living on one income right now, but doing that in the future may be tough, primarily due to housing costs where we want to live.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—James Michael Foley, a vp of sales for UnumProvident Corp., recently pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to group product sales, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Mr. Foley sold policies to about 10 employers and directed UnumProvident’s underwriting department to name a...
SAO PAULO, Brazil—Years of attempts to gradually open Brazil’s reinsurance market to foreign competition may finally succeed. The nation’s senate on Dec. 20 sent a bill to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that would gradually increase competition against the IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A, the...
Taxes are always confusing, and marginal tax rates are no exception. Although I am no accountant, here are some clarifications on how to use the 2006 tax bracket table I just posted.
First, it should be noted that it is for taxable income, not gross income. In very broad terms, taxable income is your gross income minus exemptions and deductions. Everybody has at the the standard deduction ($5,150 for single taxpayers and $10,300 for married taxpayers filing jointly for 2006), and many people have more from things like mortgage interest and state income taxes. But remember, gross income also takes into account interest and capital gains from selling investments. So estimating your actual taxable income without actually filling out a 1040 form can be ...
HAMILTON, Bermuda—Keith L. Shroyer, former president and chief underwriting officer of XL Re Latin America, died Dec. 24 after a two-year battle with brain cancer, XL Capital Ltd. announced. He was 57. Mr. Shroyer, an American who spoke Portuguese and Spanish fluently, spent his entire 30-year...
