Having debt or getting behind on paying bills is no longer a hidden or shameful life event. Today, the average American household is carrying over $5,000 in debt. People in this category aren’t spendthrifts, but they include people who have lost their jobs, or an expensive illness has hit them or an unexpected funeral debt.

There is no longer any guilt associated with the inability to pay your bills. More people are turning to personal installment loans to help. Companies offering installment loans can customize individual payment loan plans for their clients. Westernshamrock.com is one of the leading installment loan companies in America.

An installment loan involves a specific amount of money to be repaid with a fixed interest through fixed monthly payments. Installment loans are offered in both an unsecured or secured traditional loans. Installment loans can be customized to pay for the following: [Read more…]

Small fixes can go a long way in fetching a better price for a property you’re trying to sell. If you’re not too keen to spend a lot of money sprucing up a house you’ve put on the market, here are some inexpensive fixes that will increase the resale value of your home, curated from tips and tricks offered by seasoned real estate experts.

Make it spacious

No, you don’t need to knock down walls or make other big structural changes to make your rooms look spacious. Simply think out of the box: move furniture, remove the kitchen island, place mirrors on walls facing the windows, and replace opaque curtains with delicate sheers.

If you can indeed take down a wall that only serves as an obstruction to a fluid space, remember that it will only add to the value of your home. The idea is to make your space look airy and open so that it will appeal to potential buyers. [Read more…]

You’ve been hit with an emergency that requires you to have a lump sum of cash. What’s worse is that you haven’t made saving a big part of your financial planning. You’ve had other “priorities” that seemed to outweigh it, and now, here you sit in the middle of a crisis with nowhere to turn. This is the story for a lot of Americans as more than half the country has proven to be unprepared for even the smallest emergency.

Failing to Save Leaves Few Options

With nowhere to turn, they end up having to suffer through the problem, go further into debt, or abuse assets that they were investing in for their futures. In any event, they’re left with solutions that resolve the immediate matter but create larger problems down the line. Essentially, having an emergency savings fund would alleviate a lot of this stress. Having access to an account with several thousands of dollars in it would allow you to do everything from handle a home repair to cover the bills for a few months while you’re out of work.

In the Meantime

When in the midst of a financial emergency, trying to build a savings isn’t going to handle the matter at hand. So, in the meantime, there are still effective ways to get your hands on some cash fast to handle the problem. [Read more…]

By Helen Donovan

The Cost of Living (COLA) goes up every year, but you’ve had no increase in Social Security(SS) income since 2014 thanks to Republican President Ronald Reagan who changed the COLA formula affecting 66 million SS recipients today. But at last, you’re going to get a 2% raise.

Let’s say your SS income is $1,500 a month and your increase per month is $30. But when you get your New Benefit Amount statement from the Social Security Administration effective in 2018, your increase is $5 a month. What happened?

The premium for Part B medical insurance spiked in 2018, not a few dollars but by $25, going from $109 to $134. The $134 is automatically deducted every month from your check by Social Security Administration for Medicare, leaving you $5. Your monthly income now is $1,505. (Higher earners pay a higher Part B premium.).

About 42 percent of SS recipients will pay the $25 increase, according to the Chicago Tribune’s “Ask Kim.”  The hold harmless provision that protects COLA adjustments from being consumed by insurance premium increases did not apply because $25 is lower than your $30 raise. The fear is that this situation could repeat itself indefinitely in the future. [Read more…]

By Marty Fogarty, Heartland Law Firm-Glenview

If you’re not familiar with the VA Pension program, you’re not alone. Even most veterans don’t know it exists. But if you served in the Persian Gulf War, Vietnam War, Korean War or World War II—or if your spouse did—you may be eligible to collect up to $2,127 per month.

Called the “VA Improved Pension,” the program was created to help ailing, low-income veterans and their spouses, widows and widowers. It provides a tax-free monthly benefit to vets with smaller incomes and large medical expenses. And it’s not tied to service-related injuries.

Are You Eligible? 

In order to qualify, veterans must have served at least one day during a war period, served at least 90 days of active duty, and received a better than dishonorable discharge.

Claimants must be over age 65 or permanently or totally disabled. They must need help with some of their daily living requirements, and their monthly medical expenses must exceed their monthly income. Surviving spouses of veterans who didn’t remarry are eligible, too. [Read more…]

By Enrolled Agent Steven J. Weil, Ph.D., President, RMS Accounting

As 2017 draws to a close, it may be a good time to take stock of your assets and review your plans for their disposition.

Let’s review what choices you have for a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA and whether it makes sense to leave either of them to your loved ones:

Consider that an IRA may be subject to double or even triple taxation because:

• A  traditional IRA could be taxed as part of your estate.

• Further, the taxable portion of the IRA balance (sometimes the entire balance) is considered income, which means that when IRA withdrawals are made by the recipient, they are taxed.

• In addition, state income tax also may be due.

Those three taxes can reduce the amount that is left to an heir while tax collectors benefit most.

The Solution May Be Leaving the IRA to Charity Instead

Consider naming your favorite tax-exempt charitable organization as the beneficiary of your IRA, and, at the same time, leave other assets that will have a higher after-tax value to your heirs. This option is very tax efficient and avoids double or triple taxation because an IRA balance that is left to charity is not considered part of your estate and, therefore, is not subject to the estate tax. Nor is it subject to federal or state income tax. [Read more…]

The largest wealth transfer in history is looming before us. Are you ready?

By Jess Stonefield

Second acts aren’t just for people. The wealth you’ve earned thus far will eventually have a new life, too. And if you don’t plan properly, it might be a very short one.

As we build families and continue to age, the discussion of wills and estate plans becomes increasingly important. Our loved ones (and lawyers) want to make sure our assets and wealth go where we want them to when we pass away—that nothing ends up in probate—that our money and valuables are transferred seamlessly to the next generation.

The only problem: no one talks about what happens after. 

Right now, we face the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history. Accenture reports over the next 30-40 years, $30 trillion in assets will pass from Baby Boomers to their heirs in the United States alone. The issue: 70 percent of those intergenerational wealth transfers will fail by the time they reach the second generation. Even worse: by the time that wealth reaches the third generation, it will be worth just 12 percent of its original value. Nearly 90 percent of your hard-earned wealth lost. There must be a better way.  [Read more…]