Vehicles aimed to help amass college savings or make gifts to minors.

Provided by Deanna R Pickering, CPA, PFS
If you want to save for college, you may wish to consider an UGMA or UTMA account. These custodial accounts are typically created by parents and other relatives who want to gift minors without having to [...]

If you’re going to say “I do”, here are some things you might want to do.

Provided by Deanna R Pickering, CPA, PFS
Are you marrying soon? Have you recently married? As you begin your life together, it’s important for you to start planning your financial future together and putting your finances on the same [...]

What should you store in one easily accessible place?

Provided by Deanna R Pickering
You might be surprised how many people have financial documents scattered all over the house – on the kitchen table, underneath old newspapers, in the hall closet, in the basement. If this describes your financial “filing system”, you may have a tough [...]

What might happen if they went away? The debate is gaining volume.

Provided by Deanna R Pickering
In July, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that very few taxpayers would be affected if the landmark tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 expired. “I do not believe it will affect growth,” he calmly commented on ABC’s This Week.1 [...]

The healthcare reforms may lead to some short-term aid.

Provided by Deanna R Pickering
Could Medicare soon be in better shape? Maybe. At the start of August, Medicare’s trustees reported to Congress that Medicare should remain financially in the black through 2029, a 12-year improvement over last year’s estimate.1 They credited the healthcare reforms carried out [...]

 
It may be better to sell that big home rather than keep it.
 
Provided by Deanna Pickering
You want to retire, and you own a large home that is nearly or fully paid off. The kids are gone, but the upkeep costs haven’t fallen. Should you retire and keep your home? Or sell your home and [...]

2010 donations made in Jan. and Feb. can be deducted on 2009 returns if donors prefer. Eligible contributions can be made in cash or by check, credit card or cell phone text message. A copy of the cellular bill showing the donee’s name, the date of the gift and the amount will suffice to substantiate the [...]