Veteran Chopper Pilot Shoots Down IRS Arguments. After serving two stints over nearly 25 years as a helicopter pilot and flight instructor for the Army, Jesse Linde found himself losing out to younger pilots for stateside jobs. While his wife remained in Alabama, Linde relocated in 2009 to Iraq, where he found steady work flying for a government contractor.
Read More
Giving After Disaster Strikes
Natural disasters can make humans feel powerless. The impulse to help in their wake is both natural and admirable. But while there is no such thing as “bad generosity,” some gifts are more valuable than others.
Read More
When Should You Borrow From Your 401(k)?
Sometimes the money in your retirement account can do more good in the present than in the future. While you should never raid your 401(k) for a new flat-screen TV or a vacation, under certain circumstances borrowing from your retirement plan can serve as a responsible financial planning solution.
Read More
Serving On A Nonprofit Board
Serving on the board of a nonprofit organization is not a decision to make lightly. Many professionals may mistakenly think that a position on a nonprofit board is simply a show title, but in a functional organization, board members actually do a great deal.
Read More
Lessons From The Nashville Flood Of 2010
Singer David Allan Coe famously said that the perfect country song had to contain “Mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin’ drunk.” Songwriter Steve Goodman obligingly added a verse containing all five to “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” The song’s popularity demonstrates that country fans have a sense of humor about the disasters that fill the lyrics of some of the genre’s most famous songs.
But the misery of the home of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, in 2010 was all too real.
Read More
Can Passive Investing Succeed Too Well?
In August 2016, the investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. released the provocatively titled report: “The Silent Road to Serfdom: Why Passive Investing Is Worse Than Marxism.” The report’s prediction was that, unless regulators and politicians took precautions, index fund growth could distort the financial markets and lead to massive mispricing of securities. Indexing is becoming more and more popular, the theory went, and if everyone chooses indexing, the system will break down because no one will pay attention to stock prices anymore.
Read More
Duly Noted
IRS Gives Same-Sex Couples A Do-Over. Same-sex marriage arrived in the United States in 2004 when Massachusetts first allowed it, …
Read More
How Does Getting Married Affect Student Loan Payments?
Many people imagine the discussions that lead up to a marriage as romantic tete-a-tetes with the occasional choice of invitation pattern thrown in. But those conversations also can, and should, include more mundane and even potentially painful topics. One common example: the state of your student loans.
Read More
Deathbed Financial Planning Tips
A terminal diagnosis for you or a loved one can make it seem as though your world is falling apart. While there may be nothing you can do about the illness, you may find solace in addressing issues that you can control.
Read More
Reporting Requirements For Foreign Assets
The term “offshore accounts” is often used as shorthand to suggest that such account holders are trying to dodge tax responsibilities. Especially after the Panama Papers, many observers are quick to assume the worst when someone holds assets outside of the United States. In reality, many, if not most, taxpayers who hold foreign assets do so in good faith for a variety of legitimate reasons. However, depending on the type of property in question and the taxpayer’s overall situation, keeping the Internal Revenue Service adequately informed can prove challenging.
Read More