Spring home buying season has arrived and with wages up, mortgage rates down and inventory slowly increasing, many first time buyers are ready to enter the market. Before you get sucked into the vortex of never-ending open houses (say goodbye to your weekends!), you need to guard against the emotional pull that real estate creates, especially for those who have never gone through the process before.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed out February with gains of 11 percent, the best two-month start since 1987 and 1991, respectively. The NASDAQ Composite and Russell 2000 were up 14 and 17 percent, all of which is to say that those investors who were crying the blues at the end of last year, are now feeling a bit of spring in their steps.
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In the early part of tax season, the IRS reported that the average tax refund amount was lower than last year. While that news grabbed headlines, many of you wrote me asking for a deeper dive into tax preparation. Here is your tax boot camp for the first tax year of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
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It’s February, time for the column about how to talk to your special someone(s) about money. That “s” is intentional, because we need to expand our financial conversations from our partner/spouse to all of our loved ones: the romantic ones, the kids and the parents.
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Maybe we’re too preoccupied with the weather or the after-effects of the government shut down, or we’re too excited about the Grammys, or we’re too confused about the new tax law. For whatever reason, the IRS says that Americans have not yet embraced the new tax season with gusto.
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As weather watchers were preparing for Groundhog’s Day, economists were equally focused on whether the shadow of the government shutdown would impact the January employment report. They need not have worried.
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January 28th is the opening day for tax season. The IRS has said all deadlines remain in place, except for those victims of federally declared disaster areas.
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