Category: Finance

A handful of extremely wealthy US taxpayers holds trillions of dollars in foreign accounts, much of it in tax havens and through partnerships, according to a new study based on data reported to the IRS by foreign financial institutions. Since 2015, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has required foreign banks, investment funds, and […]

When choosing a credit card, you should consider the value rather than just the cost. At $695 per year, the American Express AXP Platinum Card is one of the most expensive credit cards on the market. Depending on your spending and amount of travel, you may get huge value from this card. On the other […]

Senate Republicans are moving forward with legislation to repeal President Joe Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness initiative. And it may attract some Democratic support, increasing the chances that it could pass Congress. Here’s the latest. Supreme Court Is Deciding Whether To Uphold Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Initiative Biden announced his unprecedented plan to enact mass […]

You’ve probably read more than plenty about how banks got into trouble. The “safe” bonds with low yields from pre-pandemic days that banks could only count at full value by treating them as something they would hold to maturity. The realization that banks were in trouble suddenly sent off depositors with far more in their […]

Cash has been crowned king yet again. Investors and savers are piling into cash as a safe haven from the banking turmoil that has rocked the industry these last few weeks. Since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), investors have transferred over $300 billion into money market funds bringing the total to a record-breaking […]

The Texas legislature is considering a proposed amendment to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which is the Texas Anti-SLAPP law and roughly the equivalent to the Uniform Public Participation Act (UPEPA) which is in the process of being adopted nationwide. Because the proposed amendment has the potential to create more problems than it solves, […]

Previously, I wrote on What a Trust is in some detail, but did not go into the duties the Trustee of a Trust owes to the Trust’s beneficiary. To summarize, a Trust is an agreement written by the owner of the property, which gives legal title to the property to the Trustee, but the benefit […]

“Has anyone had clients actually do the apocryphal story of a client using a 529 to go on a continuing education cruise of Europe?” asked one of my peers in a recent forum, “Trying to figure (this out) after client asked.” Can You Get An Education At Sea? There are a host of companies offering […]

Over the last few weeks, Financial Finesse coaches have written about the START™ method as featured in Liz Davidson’s book Money Strong: Your Guide to a Life Free of Financial Worries: Setting yourself up for financial success, Tackling financial stress, Advancing toward your goals, and Role modeling financial success. With each step, you can progress […]

There are many financial planning considerations before, during, and after a divorce. A key part of the process from a financial standpoint is dividing the assets. Generally, couples split the value of their assets 50-50 (though not always). But that doesn’t mean the actual assets are just split down the middle, and some assets are […]