Category Archives: Documents

The One Paper I Never, Ever Throw Away…

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

You’ve read the headlines.  Over and over again, debt collectors are calling people who don’t owe them a penny and harassing innocent people into paying debts that aren’t owed.  An excellent example of this is documented in American Banker’s exposé … Continue reading →

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If You Die, Do Your Heirs Know Where To Find Your Estate Documents?

Posted on February 6, 2012 by

So, you go to all this trouble to make an estate plan.  You make sure your assets are titled properly, and there are the appropriate beneficiary designation forms are filed with your accounts.  You put together your will, trust (if … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Estate, Financial Planning | Tagged ,

How To Read Your Brokerage Statement

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Your brokerage statement comes at least quarterly, and usually monthly, but do you read and understand it?  I’ll give you a quick run-down on how to read your statement. Here’s a copy of one of my statements – a tiny, … Continue reading →

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Anatomy Of A 1040 – Part 2

Posted on January 13, 2012 by

“Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” — Plato Our guided tour of the Form 1040 is going pretty well.  We looked at the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Taxes | Tagged , ,

Anatomy Of A 1040 – Part 1

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” — Albert Einstein, physicist So, let’s make it a little easier. One of the (many) complaints I hear about taxes is that they are too complicated.  In fact, … Continue reading →

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Tax Organizers Are On Their Way!

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

Yay, it’s tax season again!  And that means the good folks at the post office are now whisking organizers to our tax client’s doors.  So, here are three easy tips for folks getting their tax documents together: Make sure you … Continue reading →

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To All Those Playing “The Mortgage Form” Game At Home…

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

You’ve been playing along in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau‘s Know Before You Owe program, right?  Well, I’m on their email list, and I got an important message from the CFPB for all those who participated in choosing the forms: … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Credit, Current Events, Documents | Tagged , , ,

Can You Pick The Best Loan?

Posted on September 13, 2011 by

I’ve been participating in the “Know Before You Owe” program at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for quite some time.  It looks like they’ve gotten to nearly a final draft of mortgage disclosure forms, and they need our help to … Continue reading →

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Know Before You Owe – Weigh In Now!

Posted on August 2, 2011 by

Alright, we’ve been following along as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been working on improving the mortgage disclosure forms.  They’ve received over 18,000 comments, and are in the final rounds of developing the forms.  This is your opportunity to … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Credit, Current Events, Documents | Tagged , ,

Credit Score v. Credit Report

Posted on June 30, 2011 by

Alright, I sense some confusion between credit scores and credit reports, so let’s clear it up. Clarity matters, because not knowing the difference between you credit report and your credit score will only lead to massive confusion.  And confusion leads … Continue reading →

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Good Citizenship Opportunity!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

That’s right, there’s another excellent opportunity to have your voice heard in government!  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just released its next round of forms for your perusal and comment.  Take a moment to make your federal government regulation … Continue reading →

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Smart and Sassy Guide to Budgeting: Part 6: Expense Problem and Troubleshooting

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

We’ve seen Trish A. Example tally her income and expenses, figure out her Savings to Spend requirements and see if she has an Income Problem.  Now we’re going to see if she has an Expense Problem, and what to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Financial Planning, Income, Spending

Smart and Sassy Guide to Budgeting: Part 5: Income Problem

Posted on June 1, 2011 by

So far we’ve covered the basics of how to set up a budget, from income to expenses, categorizing expenses and dealing with intermittent expenses.  Now we put it all together, and figure out if Trish has an income problem or … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Financial Planning, Income, Spending

Smart and Sassy Guide to Budgeting: Part 4: Savings to Spend

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

So far our intrepid heroine, Trish A. Example, has figured up her income, her expenses, and categorized her expenses into fixed, variable, and loan paydown/savings categories.  One category remains: intermittent expenses. Earlier we talked about Trish’s clothing expense.  Trish’s normal … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Financial Planning, Income, Spending

Smart and Sassy Guide to Budgeting: Part 3: Expenses

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

In Parts 1 and 2, we figured out why we’re budgeting and we’ve added up our expected income for the month.  Now we move on to the hairiest part of the budget: listing expenses. Why is it so difficult?  First, … Continue reading →

Posted in Documents, Financial Planning, Income, Spending