Did your taxes?  Forgot something?  

Hmm, its the last thing you want to think about, but did you file all of your income when you submitted your tax return?  

One bit of income that folks often forget is a distribution from their retirement account.  If you took money out of your 401K during the tax year, you should have a 1099-R document sent to you by mail, or more likely its sitting in a recliner sipping a lemonade and waving at you from your broker's website or the website of the company that services your company's retirement funds, trying to get your attention.   

Go out to that website and see if there are 1099-R documents relaxing out there.  You may even find that there are forms for previous tax years that you didn't even have knowledge of.  If so, hello amendment.    You should have one also if you moved your retirement funds from one organization to another.  If you did the move directly or within 60 days, that will not create a taxable event, but you should keep track of that form.  

And yes those funds you took from your retirement account is considered income.  I know, you may have asked them to withhold taxes, but since they are unaware of your total income, what is withheld may actually not be enough, so just be aware.  

Yep, so you were about to log on to find out if any of those 1099-R's are awaiting your action... good luck. 

Have You Hugged Your Money Recently?

The brokerage statements are piling up on the piano.  The bank statements, if you still get them by mail are over in that basket, unopened, and if you get them digitally, you haven’t even opened the email informing you that they are available. Yes, I know you say, I check my balance a couple times a day, balances are good, but it doesn’t have enough money management mojo.

Yes, you’ll attend to your money right after you come back from vacation.  But of course, when you get back from vacation you’ll find yourself right back in the swing of things at work, and so it’ll have to wait until

Amending a Tax Return

Made an error on your tax return?  You can fix that error by "amending" your tax return.  File the correction on IRS Form 1040 X.  Currently you have to make amendments on paper.


Make sure you indicate on the 1040 X, the year of the return that you are fixing.  If you want to fix errors for several years, you will need to submit separate forms for each year that you are fixing.


Unless you are amending the return yourself, it will probably cost you, so generally if you make

Financial Eclipses

So, where I am located in this great country, there was only a partial solar eclipse today.  Eclipses are a natural part of our lives, a solar eclipse where the moon blocks the sun, or a lunar eclipse where the earth blocks the sun’s light hitting the moon.  At any rate, its one large body blocking out the other.  The majesty of it generates a good feeling, as you could hear from all the oohs and aahs from the total eclipse viewers across the country today, and the sounds of incredulity lasted from seconds to a few minutes, but when we see our expenses totally eclipse our income, or our liabilities totally eclipse our

Pay Yourself First is just a Platitude?

Pay yourself first.  You have heard this phrase many times before I am sure.  What does it actually mean?  Well for me it means, removing from your spending plan, funds necessary for saving and investment before you satisfy your other operational expenses.

I have been told by acquaintances that are regularly in financial trouble that “pay yourself first” is simply a platitude. Is it?  I gently suggest that they rethink their position. If you operate from the other end of the deal where you wait until you have satisfied all your expenses, you could often find yourself with nothing left to save or invest.  We are very comfortable in our consumer culture and so we really must discipline ourselves to offload income ahead of time to make sure that it isn’t “accidentally” or “purposely” spent, on everything else besides savings or investment. 

As the CEO of your own economy, make sure that you are first on your own payroll.  The responsibility is on you to make these savings and investment decisions.  Spending decisions are often made unconsciously, and they can occur often.  You must make conscious decisions to save and invest and only you can do it.   You will need that stream of income in your future, you really don’t want to be caught without it.

IRS warns of new twist to old phone scams

So scammers aren't taking any time off, they are working overtime and here's what they are up to now, this article from Forbes talks about a new twist to the old phone scams.

 

Be Prepared Before Disaster Strikes

 

Nation, like just about every other scenario, being prepared and organized reduces the inevitable stress that accompanies any disaster.  Follow these steps to help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed should disaster strike.  

Create an Emergency Plan.  If you don’t have an emergency plan, create one now.  If you have one, now is the time to update it.  You should review and update your plan at least annually.   Make sure