Retirement Watch Weekly
The Latest in Long-Term Care Insurance
Turmoil still roils the long-term care insurance industry. Many consumers probably will continue to see steep premium increases as in recent years, and there will be changes in coverage under new policies. But there also is good news, and buyers can take steps to make long-term care insurance more affordable without giving up coverage they […]
New Rules for Donating Used Cars
Plans need to be revised by taxpayers who intended to reap big tax breaks by donating used cars, boats, or planes to charity. Congress rewrote the law in 2004, and the IRS recently issued rules explaining the new law. Under the old law, a taxpayer could donate a used car to charity and deduct the […]
Eight Key Estate Planning Questions
Estate Planning is not about reducing estate taxes. That always was the case, but few people realized the importance of the non-tax factors until the 2001 tax law began the phase out of the estate tax. Every estate plan, regardless of the estate’s size, needs to address certain issues. Ignore these issues, and your heirs […]
Real Estate Bubble – Part 4
Are housing prices in the final blow off stage? Talk of the housing bubble is in at least its third year. Yet, home prices still rise at rapid rates in many areas. The recent drop in interest mortgage rates is likely to support current price levels and even higher home prices. A possible new warning […]
Injecting Some Growth to the Portfolios
Investors aren’t making too many mistakes these days. That means we have to search harder to find profitable investment ideas with a margin of safety. The most frequent mistake investors make is to misprice investments. In the typical investment cycle, investors buy whatever has been rising. This pushes the price of that asset to an […]
Our Aggressive Invest with the Winners Portfolios
We are low risk investors here at Retirement Watch. Carefully assess the risks and avoid the big losses is a big part of my investment philosophy. The gains will take care of themselves because of the long-term growth trends in the economy and the markets. That is why instead of searching for the next investment […]
End of the AMT?
The Alternative Minimum Tax might be nearing its end. Powerful U.S. senators announced their plan to pass a termination of the AMT by the end of 2005. If they are successful, many middle class and upper middle class Americans will breathe easier. But even if the senators are successful, you still must fear getting trapped […]
Get a Jump on Charitable Giving
Charitable giving tends to be clustered in the last couple of months of the year. But if you want to maximize charitable giving and your after-tax wealth, begin your charitable gift planning now. Instead of rushing the process in the busy year-end period, take the time today to plan the best way to make gifts […]
