Category Archives: Financial Independence

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Start young. Look away from your 401(k) when the market freaks out. Don't sell.

A lot of the investment advice you hear probably has to do with saving for retirement. Yet many people need to use the market's returns to achieve other goals, too.

Often it also makes sense to invest for objectives like a down payment on a house, starting a business or sending a child to college, among other milestones that can arise long before you go gray or consider leaving work for good.

"Life is so much more than retirement," said certified financial planner Peter Creedon, CEO of Crystal Brook Advisors in Mount Sinai, New York.

It can be intimidating and confusing to juggle multiple goals with different timelines. CNBC spoke with financial advisors about how to best do so.

To understand how to prepare for multiple goals, start by ranking those ambitions from most to least important, said CFP Douglas Boneparth, founder and president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York. Your list will be subjective, he said. "Personal finance is personal."

Achieving financial independence being able to retire may not be No. 1 for you at the moment. Instead, you may decide that buying a house is your top focus.

That's OK, but you also want to know the consequences of prioritizing one goal over another, Boneparth said. Maybe buying that house, for example, means you'll need to work two more years down the line.

"You can solve these puzzles," Boneparth said.

Once you have your goals defined, how should you save for them?

Barry Korb, a CFP and president of Lighthouse Financial Planning in Potomac, Maryland, has a fairly simple way to determine if you should be using the stock market for a particular objective.

If the deadline for when you'll need the money is under five years, it's too risky to use equities, he said, adding that in such cases you're better off saving with cash or certificates of deposit.

So much comes down to timeline.

One of Korb's clients recently told him that their child, a senior in high school, had been admitted to an Ivy League school. They told Korb they had $240,000 in a 529 college savings plan all in equities. (529 accounts are named after a section of the tax code and allow people to invest for college while avoiding taxes.)

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"I told them to immediately transfer 80% to 90% of the savings to cash equivalents," Korb said. "Certainly, they would rather risk, say, a 50% gain over the next few years as opposed to finding themselves with a 50% loss."

On the other hand, if the client's child was 1 year old, taking that same risk makes sense. In fact, saving with only cash would cost them.

If you begin investing at your child's birth for their college expenses, about a third of your goal could come from investment earnings alone, said Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert.

You can enroll in an age-based 529 plan, which automatically becomes more conservative more tilted toward bonds and away from stocks as your child nears the end of high school.

Understanding your risk tolerance is particularly important when it comes to shorter-term goals because you have less time to ride out market downturns, experts say.

Still, a lot of the wisdom around retirement savings also applies to these goals. Mainly, you want your allocation to become less aggressive as you move closer to needing the cash.

For example, let's say you want to have your down payment on a house ready in seven years.

Boneparth said he'd typically recommend investing between 40% and 60% of that savings in stocks, and each year easing more out of equities. Avoid the temptation to get complacent with too large a stock concentration.

The last thing you'd want to happen, Boneparth said, is to be over-allocated toward stocks and experience a big correction right before you were hoping to close on a house.

Of course individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans are where you salt away money for your old age. For college savings, most experts recommend using a 529 plan because of the tax benefits.

When it comes to other goals, like starting a business or coming up with a down payment, you should usually use a brokerage account, Boneparth said.

Although you can tap some retirement accounts for buying a house and other objectives, there comes a downside with doing so, he added: "You're interrupting the compounding going on there for a longer-term goal."

Read more from the original source:

Retirement savings on track? How to make sure you're prepared for other goals, too - CNBC

Dear Ms. MoneyPeace,

My sister has expressed concerns about our 84-year-old mothers memory and her ability to make reasonable financial decisions. I think my mother is experiencing the normal aging process, my sister is overreacting, and a decision to take away my mothers financial independence will cause even more harm than a few careless or forgotten payments.

Since I live far away and only see my mother two or three times a year, I asked my sister for some examples. She said our mother had forgotten to make a quarterly estimated income-tax payment and had received a notice from the IRS, had some charges on her credit-card statement from what appeared to be charities that she couldnt explain, and couldnt recall that she had transferred money from an investment account to another sibling.

I speak with my mother every week, and while she might repeat a story from time to time, Im truly impressed with what she remembers. Am I underreacting?

Faraway Son

Dear Faraway Son:

You are asking the right question. Now you need to understand about memory loss and how finances are affected. If a doctors evaluation and diagnosis confirms dementia, there are four steps you can take with your sister and your mother to protect her financial well-being while keeping her independent.

We may think mind decline and dementia only happen in old age or with aging. However, stroke, traumatic brain injury, certain medicines and a host of illnesses, including COVID-19, contribute to memory loss at any age. Even dehydration does. Thats why only a medical professional can diagnosis your mothers condition.

Because your mother knows your name and lives independently does not mean she doesnt need help with her finances, even if a doctor does not see major issues. A recent study by Johns Hopkins medical researchers discovered dementia was associated with adverse financial events years before a clinical diagnosis. These financial events included missing payments resulting in lower credit scores up to seven years before diagnosis.

Normal aging does not include memory loss, or everyone over the age of 65 would exhibit this symptom.

Your mother may be experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that may be the beginning of something serious or it may not result in any progressive dementia. As for the great memory your mother does have, long-ago memories are stronger for those who may be losing with other cognitive skills. Equally, some elders just want to share their memories as they lose their peers.

Your sister may be noticing a range of small things that have leads her to believe your mother needs assistance. Studies have proven that in most dementia patients, social skills are the last to go. So your regular calls to your mom may not be picking up all the same signs your sister has seen.

Many people with memory loss are aware of changes but may not want to admit them. Others come up with coping skills. One woman I knew kept a list by her phone of each her childs name and their children. So when they called she could ask about them by name. If she did not have that list, she would have been lost. But her adult child on the other end of the phone would have no way of knowing that.

Another client suffered a major stroke. After she was back home, her husband was glad to have her back to normal and they continued shared financial responsibility, with her paying the bills. Yet one look at their checkbook revealed things were not normal. She had started giving to a charity monthly the amount she used to give annually. When I asked about the payment, she said they kept sending requests every month. I guess I forgot that I had given the previous month, she said.

What they were actually sending were thank-you notes, and she had misinterpreted them.

From then on, they paid the bills together, as they had the financial confidence together that individually they lacked.

Memory loss may include a loss of judgment or weakened reasoning. A few careless or forgotten payments seem minor; however, by someone long-detailed and exact in their financial matters, this may indeed be a warning sign.

Protecting your mothers assets is important for her long-term well-being. To this end, there are ways to build in some quality control checks while she maintains her independence. If a financial transition is needed, the steps will be in place. Your sister can implement them, but you can help with some of these from afar.

Start with these four steps:

Designate a trusted person: The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requires financial institutions to provide a form for a trusted contact on investment accounts. However, the company is not responsible for requiring a client to send it back. Be sure that all your mothers investment companies and financial professionals are notified in writing of who to contact if your mothers money habits change significantly or she cannot be reached.

Install a team effort on cash flow: Your mother may be willing to share online access for her bank accounts for monitoring purposes only. In addition, your sister can share the bill-paying responsibilities by just sitting with your mother as the bills are paid. Couples of course can do this together.

Review and freeze credit reports: This is one important way to prevent your mother from taking out additional loans, credit cards or being scammed in some way. Please note: she will be in the loop as she has to sign the letters to the credit-reporting firms and can remove the freeze at any time. Request her credit report today.

Update legal documents: A financial power of attorney (POA) is essential to handle someone elses financial affairs. A POA needs to be updated every five years to stay relevant. So be sure all your mothers documents are in place. Finally, consider setting up a revocable trust to streamline her financial life. A trust will enable your sister or whoever is the trustee to set up accounts to pay the bills whenever the time comes. Talk to her lawyer to learn more.

Read: 3 reasons a trust may make sense for your family even though your name isnt Trump, Gates or Rockefeller

In addition, be aware of other risks that could lead elders or those with challenges to make poor financial decisions. Phone scammers prey on those at home who answer their phones. Fraudulent mailings that appear to be from non-profits solicit donations. Social media friends request money or instill fear. All these exposures and a brain that is not as quick or solid in decision-making put people at financial risk. Making a plan with your mother to not respond with financial information until she talks to you or your sister may help her stay out of trouble.

Work together with your sister now so that both of you understand what is going on with your mother medically and how it impacts her finances. Too many families do not discuss this possibility, and often one person is left holding the bag when a crisis strikes and is stuck picking up the pieces of poor financial decisions. This is costly and time consuming.

Be proactive, rather than overreacting or beinglaissez faire.

CD Moriarty, CFP, is a columnist for MarketWatch and a personal-finance speaker, writer and coach. She blogs atMoneyPeace. Email your questions to MsMoneyPeaceQuestions@MoneyPeace.com

Now read: Should I take a $1,913-a-month pension or a $445,000 lump sum?

Also: There is more to picking a place to retire than low taxes avoid these 5 expensive mistakes

And: This financial planners no-fail secret will have you effortlessly spending less

Link:

My 84-year-old mother forgot to pay her taxes and has some questionable credit-card charges; should I be worried? - MarketWatch

Gen Z will soon have $44 billion in buying power.

Yes, billion.

So if youre not adjusting your marketing tactics (or youre waiting because Gen Z is still young), youre already falling behind. Gen Z is, after all, already in the post-college workforce.

Surprised? The idea of generations can be confusing. Many seem to think millennials are perpetually in their 20s (when in fact theyre nearing 40) and Gen Zs are perpetually in their teens (when theyre actually nearing 25).

That means the older half of Gen Z is looking for things like student loans, auto loans and debt consolidation. And the younger half isnt far behind. Theyre opening their first checking and savings accounts and starting to build credit, likely with the help of their parents. It wont be long before they start moving toward financial independence by looking for their own financial institution.

If credit unions wait to start marketing to Gen Z, by the time those consumers even learn what a credit union really is and how it can benefit them, theyll already have opened accounts with and taken loans from banks.

And believe us when we say that switching financial institutions wont be a priority.

Which is a bummer, because credit unions already have a leg up in the financial industry: They are nonprofit and community-oriented, two things Gen Z cares about an awful lot.

So how can credit unions start engaging Gen Z right now?

Humanize your social media

In the early years of Instagram, everyone was concerned with aesthetics. How do you make your feed look good? Brands created consistent color palettes, influencers used the same two filtersall to look cohesive and beautiful.

While its still nice to have an Instagram feed that looks nice, Gen Z (82% of them!) is far more concerned with authenticity. Who cares about a seamless feed if the brand feels faceless and unapproachable?

Humanizing your credit union will go a long way when engaging our digital natives. Let them see who you are both inside and outside the office. Gen Z is much more likely to pay attention to funny and honest behind-the-scenes posts than another quote or testimonial.

Use humor

I get it humor can be hard. Memes come and go so quickly that if youre not looking at social media multiple times a day, a trend will have gone stale before you even knew it existed. And organizations that use old memes and trends dont always have the best reputation with Gen Z.

But when done right, humor does work. To keep up with the latest memes and trends, get more involved on Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok. Dont just follow other credit unions and your members. Follow meme accounts, influencers and others.

Tell your employees to alert your social media or marketing manager when they see a new trend on their personal feeds. Make social media monitoring part of someones job description. That way, youll be there when a trend starts, not when it ends.

Get involved in social issues

Gen Z is on track to be the most informed, educated and diverse generation yet. Theyre also the most socially conscious generation. One survey showed that 68% of those between 18 and 24 expect brands to get involved in social issues and contribute to society. Over 60% want to support ethical brands. Over 75% said they feel more positive about brands that promote gender equality, and over 70% want more diversity in advertising.

So that $44 billion in buying power I mentioned earlier? A vast amount of that is likely to go to brands and organizations, including financial institutions, that are vocal about social justice issues, promote gender and racial equality and diversity and pursue ethical business practices.

Address the real issues

When millennials hit adulthood, they quickly realized that the American Dream theyd been sold was no longer as attainable as it was a few decades before. The 2008 recession and housing crisis, along with compounding student loan debt, gave millennials a huge reality check.

Gen Z, however, never bought the American Dream in the first place. As teenagers, they already knew about the reality of wealth inequality and stagnant minimum wage. They understand the American Dream was unrealistic for the majority of people. They hear the Dave Ramsey-esque financial advice and theyre not falling for it.

This, in a way, makes them more financially prepared than millennials were. It also makes them more skeptical of any advice coming from financial institutions. The key for credit unions will be to address these issues the wage gap, wealth distribution and generational poverty.

Because credit unions already encourage wealth distribution and community support, they already have an advantage over banks. If credit unions begin addressing these very real financial issues, theyll gain Gen Zs trust much faster.

Host a focus group

Tweaking your focus on social media in the above ways can make a huge difference when trying to reach Gen Z. The reality is, though, that because credit unions often serve smaller or niche communities, your audience will vary from the audience of a credit union one state over, even if both audiences are technically Gen Z. Each city and state has its own unique economic and social issues.

When its time to get even more specific with your marketing, theres nothing better than talking to the people youre marketing to. Host a focus group (digitally, during COVID) and see what really makes the Gen Z near you tick.

Not only will this help you tweak your marketing just for them, itll also give you an opportunity to start building relationships and encouraging word-of-mouth marketing, which is one of the most important forms of marketing anyway.

View post:

Not paying attention to Gen Z? Your credit union is already behind. - American Banker

The Highlight was young, not even a year old, when the coronavirus pandemic descended in the spring. If we had been padding along unsteadily, looking for footing like any ambitious toddler, our balance was entirely shaken by the seismic developments of 2020: the lockdowns and masks, the bizarrely mysterious and gravely dangerous virus, a summer of protests and the retaliatory federal response we felt in the rattling of our windows, a democracy and an election so fragile that some sounded alarms of an impending coup.

All these months later, looking over the body of work that writers from Vox and across the country produced for The Highlight amid the years fear and uncertainty, one thing is quite clear to me. The pandemic spawned an American existential crisis, a productivity slump, a small-business cataclysm. It provided the kindling for an incendiary and at times strikingly effective reckoning with American racism. But as difficult as 2020 was, each collective experience further distilled The Highlights mission, revealing new stories worth telling, new questions worth asking, and new narrative escapes worth exploring.

Some of the best pandemic coverage that The Highlight published already feels encased in amber, relics of a time when the nation stood at the precipice of catastrophe and nonetheless fell victim to its citizens instinct to preserve personal liberty above all. Other stories, like that of trans pastor Junia Joplin (who was fired after coming out) or the chronicles of young people of colors first experiences with police, will echo for years to come.

Below, find some of the best work The Highlight published this year. Because of the pandemic, and not despite it, 2020s most engrossing tales have a distinct richness. Theyre full of mystery, faith, ambition, truth-telling, and self-understanding precisely why they resonated with readers. I hope you enjoy them, too.

A mysterious outbreak. Hundreds of stricken schoolgirls. Was it an illness, or was something darker to blame?

By Daniel Hernandez

The church has not embraced those like Junia Joplin easily. She only wants to keep her job.

By Emily VanDerWerff

She wanted to ride with men in one of the worlds most dangerous sports. She had a lot more than her competition to be worried about.

By Steven Leckart

Financial Independence Retire Early, with its emphasis on extreme frugality, grew in popularity after the last financial crisis. But can the movement prepare its followers for the next one?

By Stephie Grob Plante

Turbulent reopenings and partisan mask wars highlighted the nations preoccupation with personal liberty above all.

By Eleanor Cummins

Can you remember your first experience with the police? For these nine Black and brown people, the encounters would shape their sense of safety forever.

By Kiana Moore

Small businesses were once pillars of communities, but economic and systemic forces left many fighting for survival. Then came the pandemic.

By Laura Entis

Amid the pandemic, workers whose jobs once defined their lives are questioning what it was all for.

By Sam Blum

Five people on finding the words and the strength to be themselves.

Interviews and photography by Annie Tritt

As the drug hits a cultural tipping point, states face an urgent call to expunge, or erase, minor pot convictions a move even the Biden-Harris campaign supported. This is one mans quest to clear his name.

By John Washington

Wanna hear something super bitchy? is a kind of love language.

By Alanna Okun and Aude White

Its time to ask why we continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on police misconduct lawsuits and billions more on policing that yields poor outcomes.

By Sean Collins

The long and public reckoning that followed the Holocaust shows a path forward for a United States that desperately needs to confront its racist past.

By Mattie Kahn

Lavanya Ramanathan is the editor of The Highlight.

Give the gift of understanding

In April, Vox launched a way for readers to support our work with financial contributions and we've been blown away by the response. This year, support from our founding contributors has helped us create projects that millions relied on to understand a year of chaos, and to keep their families safe. Support from our readers helps us rely less on advertising, and keep our resource-intensive work free for everyone who needs it. We want to add 2,020 more founding contributors to our supporter base by the end of the year. Help us reach our goal by making a contribution to Vox today, from as little as $3.

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The Highlights best reads of the year - Vox.com

Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

Leaving money management entirely up to your spouse is risky business.If you dont know the basics about your finances the passwords and account numbers to your retirement and bank accounts or the contact information of your familys financial adviser -- thats a problem. A big one.You cant control whether the stock market goes up or down, but you can control how knowledgeable you are about your own finances, especially the basics.Being left out of the financial loop is daunting -- even in good times. But what happens if tragedy strikes, as it has for so many throughout 2020? Dealing with job loss, chronic or debilitating health problems, separation, divorce or worse yet a spouse passing away, are you informed enough to keep your household financially afloat?

TOP 5 TAX TIPS FOR END-OF-YEAR PLANNING THAT COULD SAVE A LOT OF HEADACHES

Ive worked with thousands of families in my twenty-year career in financial services. Typically, our clients main point of contact is just one spouse. Thats it. The other spouse isnt involved.When I ask clients why their spouse isnt on the phone or attending a planned financial check-up meeting, the answer I most often hear is, My spouse isnt interested -- I handle the finances. I have heard this response from clients in the United States and in dozens of countries around the world. Its almost a universal phenomenon and yet no one talks directly about the perils of this pragmatic yet all too common approach.

If youre leading the charge alone, its a monumental disservice to your loved one. If youre disengaged and relying on someone else, you arent helping anyone particularly yourself!This inherent contradiction is hard for most couples to notice or acknowledge. For the one in charge, there is a sense of pride that comes along with taking a solo approach. Pride that they are saving their spouses coveted time, worry and even boredom.

HOW TO PAY OFF $50,000 IN CREDIT CARD DEBT

But make no mistake, theres nothing boring about knowing whats going on in your familys investment accounts. Helping to ensure your familys long-term financial independence and a dignified retirement? Its vital.

Get interested in your familys financesIf youre the one in a relationship who isnt interested in the finances, its time to get interested -- and fast.The good news is, Im not asking you to make big changes in your life.Im sure youve heard countless financial experts talk about the importance of having a will, life insurance and regularly contributing to retirement accounts. Thats fine advice -- and your household may already be following this.What Im talking about here is something much simpler: the basics. All it takes is five minutes per month for you to get up to speed and in the know with your familys finances.

HERE'S THE AVERAGE DEBT AMERICANS HAVE BY LOAN TYPEHere are some simple steps to get on the right track1. Sit down with your spouse once a month and learn what the dang passwords are to your bank accounts, retirement accounts and investment accounts.Log in and check who the beneficiaries are for goodness sake!2. If your spouse is the only point of contact for your households financial adviser or money manager, its time to change that. You should have an actual, on-going dialogue with them, too. At least know the advisers name, company and phone number.

3. Better yet -- know what your family is invested in and why. You may think your family is on the path to financial independence and early retirement, but if your financial adviser has too much of your money in less lucrative investments like bonds instead of stocks, you could find yourself outliving your money. Thats devastating.4. Model a team approach for your kids or even for your close friends who fall into this common trap, too. If you find yourself out of the financial loop, chances are your friends are too in their households.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREBeing prepared for lifes vulnerable momentsYou dont want to be scrambling to find your financial advisers phone number and the passwords to your investment accounts when tragedy strikes. Dont be that person who after 15 years of marriage is now in the midst of divorce realizing that the family investment accounts didnt have their name on the account. Worse yet, that the beneficiary was the spouses brothernot their kids. Enough said, right?Over the years, Ive spoken to many widows who luckily knew me well before they lost their spouse and they tell me stories of phone calls they would receive from financial advisers looking to help them because theyve read the local obituary pages. This actually happens.

They try to convince them in their weakest moment to fire their existing, longtime financial adviser that their deceased spouse likely hired -- and instead allow this new adviser to completely take control. And who knows what these financial advisers are investing their assets in?

It's heartbreaking, I know. And it's even more heartbreaking when they actually decide to hire that new adviser.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESSTaking small steps now to understand the basics of your financial situation will make you stronger during the toughest of times. Its never too late to do the smart and loving thing so that both parties are comfortable and knowledgeable.The more you know, the more power you have. This is especially important during times of stress when you feel helpless, scared and alone. Dont pass the buck to your spouse with your familys finances, its a mistake that only exacerbates the challenges that come with inevitable hard times ahead.Your future self and your family will thank you for taking more active approach now.Carrianne Coffey is senior executive vice president of Fisher Investments Private Client Group International and Chairperson of Fisher Investments Europe.Investing in securities involves a risk of loss. Past performance is never a guarantee of future returns. The foregoing is for general informational purposes and should not be regarded as personalized investment advice. Nothing herein is intended to be a recommendation or a forecast of market conditions. Rather it is intended to illustrate a point. Current and future markets may differ significantly from those illustrated here. Not all past forecasts were, nor future forecasts may be, as accurate as those predicted herein.

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In 2021, here's why you and your spouse both need to be informed about your family's finances - Fox Business

In terms of the fine art world, one of the first major hurdles for quilters was to be seen as artists, rather than (or at least in addition to) craftspeople. Now fiber art has come a long way from fringe practice to becoming part of the natural weft of the mainstream art world, but it is still perhaps rare to see shows of quilt works that are not solely themed around the medium as common thread. But at the Toledo Museum of Art, a new group show, Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change, recognizes that quilts are an art form that has always been concerned with identity, recognition, labor, communication, and human connection.

The show features some 30 works that run the gamut from historical and traditional quilting to ultra-contemporary and mixed media works, even pushing into virtual and non-fiber-based forms of quilting. Quilts have been famously adopted to tout modern causes, such as the AIDS Memorial Quilt (a selection from which is included in the show); it is perhaps less generally recognized that quilts have always offered a subversive avenue for self-expression to people who have been historically marginalized due to their gender, education, financial independence, and access to materials. The act of creating whole cloth from scraps and dregs is not just a matter of making ends meet, but a statement on the nature of what (and who) is discarded, as well as an empowering act of reclaiming that refuse in the name of something transformative and beautiful.

This is seen throughout Radical Tradition, from the literal transformation of suit fabrics hoarded at Dachau into a stark remembrance piece by survivors of the concentration camp; to tribute works like Faith Ringgolds Ben (circa 1978), a soft sculpture that adorns the titular unhoused man in a narrative mlange of pins and patches. Likewise, The Storm, the Whirlwind, and the Earthquake (2019-20), by Bisa Butler, is a stunning quilted portrait of influential social reformer Frederick Douglass. Although historically, the majority of quilting as a domestic art was done by women, contemporary participants in the show include men like Hank Willis Thomas, Aaron McIntosh, Anthony Sonnenberg, and Sanford Biggers. It also features a huge work by genderqueer artist LJ Roberts, whose massive, playful TransVan RV, with LiteBrite taillights and a radiant aura of stuffed rainbow yarn worms, dominates an entire wall and truly stands out, even in a show with so many dynamic ideas and participants.

There is, among many themes, an idea of invisible labor something which fiber artists can readily understand, but those unacquainted with the back-bending work of hand- or machine-sewing perhaps cannot fully appreciate. This notion is illustrated impactfully by Terese Agnew, in Portrait of a Textile Worker (2005), which renders a large-scale image of sari-clad women at rows of sewing machine in detailed greyscale that is revealed, upon close approach, to be comprised of brand-name manufacturing labels like the ones that are found on basically every consumer item we wear.

Though art has often been concerned with politics throughout the ages, Radical Tradition successfully underscores how through quilts, such agendas can be inserted into a quotidian and domestic setting, inviting us to wrap ourselves in these messages and really sleep on them (or under them) and that is one of the most potentially radical things about them.

Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change continues at the Toledo Museum of Art through February 14, 2021. The exhibition was curated by Lauren Applebaum.

As arts communities around the world experience a time of challenge and change, accessible, independent reporting on these developments is more important than ever.

Please consider supporting our journalism, and help keep our independent reporting free and accessible to all.

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The Subversive Power of Quilting - Hyperallergic

Pakistan President Dr. Arif Alvi has urged the media on Tuesday to create awareness for the rights and issues of special persons.

According to the details, President Dr. Arif Alvi in his recent statement said that the welfare of special persons is a big challenge and all segments of the society need to work for it.

The President said the government is taking steps to make special persons financially independent and give them access to educational institutions and jobs.

Appreciating the role played by the media to create awareness about breast cancer and against COVID-19, the President expressed confidence that the media will again cooperate for the promotion of the rights of the special persons.

Back on the 14th of this month, the President while stressing the need to facilitate the registration process for the benefit of special persons, said that effective steps have been taken to cater to the needs of persons with disabilities and enable special persons in various walks of life.

The President said that the registration process needs to be simplified for the convenience of special persons, effective steps should be taken to meet the needs of the disabled and enable them in various walks of life.

President Arif Alvi said that it was important to conduct a survey on special people so that strategies could be formulated to solve their problems effectively.

The President urged the concerned stakeholders to take steps for the economic development of special persons and their inclusion in the mainstream education system.

President Arif Alvi appreciated the steps taken by NADRA and the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation for the registration of special persons.

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President stresses on the financial independence of special persons - BOL News

The best Christmas gifts are the practical ones, especially if they make your life easier or teach you something new. If youre doing last-minute Christmas shopping for a practical gift that anyone can benefit from, youre in luck!

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Get an extra 15 percent off apps and software with this Christmas sale coupon - Pocketnow

As we approach new years eve 2021 it is time to think about all of your capital gains for tax year ... [+] 2020.

The tax laws surrounding capital gains taxes are more complicated than people think. How much you will own in capital gains taxes will depend on what you are selling, how long you have held it, as well as your overall income. As we approach years end, it is an excellent time to have a refresher on what you need to know about capital gains taxes.

For those in the lowest income-tax brackets, capital gains are not much of an issue. In reality, the lower your income, the less likely you are to own substantial amounts of assets that could be sold with taxable gains. Even if you do, many of those investment gains will be taxed at a zero percent capital gains rate.

Those in higher income-tax brackets may find calculated their capital gains taxes much more complicated. You may find yourself paying higher capital gains rates at higher levels of income. Likewise, there is also a 3.8% surtax on higher-income earners to help fund the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). I should also mention capital gains taxation can vary at the state level as well.

Here is some information on the tax brackets for capital gains in 2020. I will say owing a ton in capital gains can be a good thing; it means you have made money on your investments. That being said, proactive tax planning with the help of a fantastic fiduciary financial planner can help minimize your capital gains taxes each year without sacrificing portfolio growth.

Who Qualifies for The Zero-Percent Capital Gains Rate?

For 2020, the zero rates apply to most singles with a taxable income of up to $40,000 and married couples, filing jointly, with a taxable income of up to $80,000. This means the average worker in the United States would fall into the zero-percent capital gains tax bracket.

The next capital gains tax bracket comes with a 15% rate. This rate applies to most singles earning up to $441,450 and joint filers up to $496,600. Earn more than this, and youll find yourself in the top capital gains tax bracket of 20%.

Unfortunately, the taxes on investment income does not end at the aforementioned capital gains taxes. I would be remiss if I didnt mention the 3.8% surtax on net investment income for joint filers with modified adjusted gross income of more than $250,000 and most singles above $200,000. This surtax will hit in both the 15% and 20% capital gains tax brackets. For those in the 20% capital gains tax bracket, that effectively raises your top rate to 23.8%. These top rates make things like tax-loss harvesting imperative for those benefitting from strong investment results.

Not All Capital Gains Are Created Equal

Depending on what you are selling, you may find your capital gains taxes differ from what has been mentioned so far in this article. For example, there is a 28% maximum tax on gains when selling art and collectibles. There are also specific tax rates for some depreciable real estate or some types of small business stocks.

You are likely aware of special rules when you sell your primary residence. In short, those who follow IRS rules will owe no taxes on the first $250,000 of real estate gain if they file single, or $500,000 if married, filing jointly. Consult your tax advisor or Certified Financial Planner for specific rules to qualify for this valuable tax break.

How long you have held an investment can dramatically change the taxation of gains.Short-term capital gains rates apply to investments held for less than a year. These gains will be subject to ordinary income-tax brackets, which can be as high as 37%, in 2020.

Generally speaking, investments held for at least one year will qualify for long-term capital gains rates. At this time, long-term capital gains rates are lower than ordinary income tax brackets. So, with tax planning in mind, ideally, you would not realize investment gains until they qualify for long-term capital gains rates.

Tax-Loss Harvesting to Low Investment Taxation

Simply put, tax-loss harvesting is the act of selling investments to minimize the taxes on your overall investment portfolio.Tax-loss harvesting is more about taxation than investing. You can harvest both short-term losses as well as long-term losses.Depending on your situation, one may be much more valuable than the other.

When we are tax-loss harvesting, we are selling certain shares of an investment at a loss to reduce taxes on the investment portfolio at the end of the year. You can use up to $3,000 of short-term losses to offset regular income. This number is the same whether you are filing as single or married, filing jointly. If you are selling an investment with long-term capital losses, you can use these losses to help offset the capital gains from other investments that have been sold for a profit. Tax-loss harvesting before years end can help you pay fewer taxes in 2020.

Understanding the drag that taxes can have on your long-term investment returns can help you make smarter financial choices over time. These smarter choices can help make achieving financial independence and building wealth easier. If nothing else, understating the rules around capital gains can avoid a big tax surprise when filing your taxes. Work with a fiduciary financial planner to develop a roadmap to reaching your various financial goals while minimizing taxes along the way.

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What You Need To Know About Capital Gains Taxes Now - Forbes

I remember when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnums circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibitwhich I most desired to see was the one described as The Boneless Wonder. My parents judged that that spectacle would be too revolting and demoralising for my youthful eyes, and I have waited fifty years to see the boneless wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench.

Like Churchill, who had his childhood wish fulfilled only in middle age when Ramsay Macdonald became Prime Minister, those of us who sit on the boards of companies, have the ill fortune to observe invertebrates without visiting the circus.

Indeed, the one common and overriding criterion for the selection of a director by the person in control of a board is the absence of a spine. Like all generalisations, that statement is not fair to those few controlling shareholders who possess the self-confidence to be challenged.

But a very large proportion of the promoters, even with over 50 per cent shareholding, are petrified of being perceived as having lost control if they allow directors to even discuss (to challenge or to disagree would be unthinkably violent behaviour) their suggestions. If these controlling shareholders have been abusing their power, they have even greater reason to be afraid of a challenge. Hence the paramount consideration of noodle-spines in selecting members of the board.

Having sat, in 20 years, on the boards of more than half-a-dozen companies and observed the behaviour of many other directors during the preceding 36 years as an auditor, I have observed similarities in the conduct of such invertebrate directors and their correspondingly, confidence-challenged, hirers.

For starters, promoters who make frequent and loud declarations of their commitment to good governance are generally those who practice it the least. They will strictly observe all the rituals of governance mandated by the law, but nothing of its spirit. Any suggestion to adopt a good practice not written into the law is met with a blank stare. Another trick of such promoters is to make a prominent individual, prominent but spaghetti-spined, the independent board chair, thus strengthening perceived high levels of governance.

Indeed, as in the case of promoters, many directors who are loudest in professions of good governance, are the meekest when seated around the board table. Several of these directors burnish their reputations by holding forth at seminars on corporate governance; for the insider it is shocking to see the chasm between the conduct they preach from the lectern and that which they practice at the board.

It is not uncommon for an individual to be a model director in an environment conducive to independent behaviour and lie supine in a promoter-dominated board. This Jekyll and Hyde behaviour further reinforces the impression of good governance when there is none. The regulators have attempted to stiffen the spine of independent directors in two principal ways by trying to keep individuals who might find it difficult to behave independently from joining boards and by empowering independent directors in specific areas of governance.

The first way is riddled with difficulties. It may be possible for regulators to define financial independence, but it is impossible to define emotional independence. The latter is where remaining on the board of a specific company or on the board of any company is vital to an individuals self-esteem. These people believe that their status, their position in their family or their friends circle, depends on their continuing on the board of a specific company or companies in general. Because it takes an enormous amount of self-confidence or arrogance to consider oneself greater than the company, few individuals have the ability to suppress their emotional dependence on a company directorship.

Because the regulators have been prescriptive in defining independence it is possible for many persons who are not so to still be passed off as independent: former employees after the cooling off period, CEOs of other companies controlled by the same promoter, professionals or businessmen who earn a significant income from other entities controlled by the promoter, directors of other private companies who have procured for those entities a significant investment from the promoter. All of these are beholden to the promoter but are treated as independent.

The second approach has its own weaknesses. The regulators have prescribed a number of ways in which independent directors can reach decisions uninfluenced by the controlling shareholder: committees with no controlling shareholder or with the latter in a minority, recusal of interested directors, greater transparency, mandatory discussions of certain items in the board or a committee, etc. But when the directors sitting on these are themselves unable to think independently, they become mere tools of the promoter, executing their mandate in a perfunctory or as directed fashion.

Sometimes promoters err and vote in a director with starch in her or him. As time passes and the director begins to demonstrate that conduct, the promoter adopts a simple strategy. Matters are informed to the other directors off-line and only those that must be brought to the board are included in the agenda with minimum information provided.

If more is asked for by the uncooperative director, he is told that it will be presented at the meeting. That is then done perfunctorily and confusingly. Loyally, the other directors rush to nod assent, leaving the sole director floundering for more. The chairman, meanwhile, suggests that in the interests of time the details can be gathered after the meeting and moves on to the next item.

In extreme situations the unfortunate individual receives the silent treatment. She or he finds that her or his orthopedically impaired co-directors, who had promptly responded to emails or conversed between meetings have gone silent. All efforts at communication are received with frigid silence. Obviously, the promoter lies behind this.

And when the bull-in-the-china-shops term ends, there is relief all around and the silence suddenly is filled with words of praise for the wonderful inputs the misfit made during the five-year term. You can be sure that neither side wants a reappointment of this monster.

The writer is an independent director on the boards of Thermax and Exide Industries and has served on the board of Tata companies. The views are personal. (Through The Billion Press)

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The invertebrates in boardrooms - BusinessLine