Author Archives: David
Required Minimum Distributions – What You Need To Know
Many types of retirement accounts offer enormous tax advantages. For example, if you make contributions to an IRA or 401k, you may be able to deduct those contributions (i.e., not pay income taxes on the income you use to fund those accounts) now — and, instead, let the money grow — with no taxes due […]
Bing Nursery School and Harvest Moon Auction
Bing Nursery School and Harvest Moon Auction Meyers Wealth Management is a proud sponsor of the Bing Nursery School’s annual Harvest Moon Auction. Bing Nursery School was founded in 1966 and is recognized around the world for excellence in early childhood education. Each year Bing Nursery School holds its annual silent and live auction, benefiting the […]
Inflation always on our minds…
Especially when it’s low and nobody is expecting it. People can’t ‘time’ handling of inflation expectations better than they can time the rest of the markets. So every portfolio needs hedges against it built into their diversification plan. The CFA institute blog posts a timely reminder: https://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2015/11/11/three-reasons-why-it-is-still-a-good-time-to-talk-about-inflation/
9 Things To Do Before Year End 2015
Give gifts to charity. To get a tax break for any gifts you give (cash, stock, etc), those gifts have to be given by Dec 31 to qualified charitable organizations. The IRS provides a tool for checking on this: <https://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check> For a contribution of cash, check or other monetary gift, you need to keep a record […]
Five Things Investors Should NOT Do Now (WSJ/Zweig)
Jason Zweig hits it right on the head. Must-read for all investors. Summary:1. Don’t fixate on the news2. Don’t panic3. Don’t be complacent4. Don’t get hung up on the talk of a “correction”5. Don’t think you — or anyone else — knows what will happen next Read #5 again. And again. It drives all the […]
“Obama Targets Financial Advisers” — a WSJ editorial full of nonsense
Today’s WSJ Editorial. For the record, we at Meyers Wealth Management do NOT agree with the editorial. We have no opinion about HOW the Obama administration is going about this — legal procedures, etc. But the notion that someone who calls himself a “financial adviser” can do so without being subject to a fiduciary […]
Where there’s a Will, there’s a Plan – Estate Planning
Estate Planning for Everyone Where there’s a Will, there’s a Plan (and if there isn’t a will, there’s still a plan, but it might not be what you want) (Okay, the title is just being silly — as you’ll see below, it’s about a lot more than just a will.) First a few myths that […]
Free Money! Which, sadly, only 25% of those eligible are taking…
Now that I have your attention, let’s try that again. Free Money! What we’re talking about here is the “Retirement Savings Contributions Credit”. It was first created as part of the 2001 tax cut package called the “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001” and was made permanent as part of the 2006 […]
How are Social Security benefits computed, and what are WEP and GPO?
Social Security. Perhaps the most successful government program ever, Social Security was put in place as a form of “social insurance” in order to protect against people who’d worked their entire lives ending up in poverty in their old age. Before diving into various details about benefits, there are a few things to clear up […]
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California Property taxes in the US are generally proportional to the value of one’s property. The more valuable the property, the higher the taxes… Except in California. This is because in 1978, California enacted Prop 13 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)> which limited increases in the taxes on […]
Meyers Wealth Management 