Tag: personal-finance
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Short-Term or Long-Term Rentals? How To Determine Which Rental Strategy Is Best For Your Financial Plan.
Getting into real estate investing has become more complicated over the last few decades. Traditionally, real estate investors would rent properties to tenants as long as they could pay the rent. With the rise of companies like Airbnb and VRBO, there is a whole new class of investing within real estate, namely the short-term rental…
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Is Keeping Your Old Home as a Rental Really Worth It? Consider These Five Factors.
A common question for new homebuyers is whether they should rent out their old home. Even with the highest mortgage rates seen in the last few decades, there is a natural pull to turn previous homes into a rental investment. There are three main areas to evaluate: the time, money, and tax implications of renting…
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Could One Accident Wipe Out Your Savings? Understanding Umbrella Insurance.
Insurance is always a game of what-ifs. The more what-ifs you can protect now, hopefully, the better off you will be if they appear in the future. Umbrella insurance helps protect against some of the worst-case scenarios, and many people don’t even realize it. While umbrella insurance is less talked about than other insurance policies,…
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Do You Actually Know What Your Insurance Covers? 3 Simple Strategies to Fix Your P&C Insurance.
Insurance is a normalized part of the modern world today, especially when it comes to all property & casualty (P&C) insurance. Even still, updating your homeowners or auto insurance often feels more like pulling teeth than financial planning. Regardless, making sure your P&C insurance works for you instead of against you could be life-altering if…
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Should I Keep My Disability Policy? Why Disability Insurance May Matter More Than Life Insurance.
If you got disabled and could not work, how long would your money last? Most people roughly understand the value of life insurance, but it almost seems as if disability insurance often receives far less attention. Even though in the same situation, death or serious disability would mean a loss of the same income that…
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How Much Life Insurance Do We Need? 3 Steps to Conquer Buying Life Insurance.
Walking through what happens if you or your spouse is not around is a mental exercise most people avoid. Unfortunately, that means when the day comes, we are not as prepared as we could be. Usually, this shows up when someone close to you has passed, especially if they have a young family. Money does…
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How Much Should I Have In Savings? How A Business Owner Balances Growth and Security.
One of the hardest financial disciplines is having ample savings. No matter how much someone has saved up, there always comes an “opportunity” to spend or invest in. Usually, this means weighing current savings against the new investment, expense, project, trip, etc. Don’t get me wrong, savings, by definition, build up cash for future purchases…
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Should I Take a 401k Loan? When a 401k Loan Might (and Might Not) Make Sense.
When it comes to debt, a 401k loan is a gray area in personal finance. These loans are not perceived as bad as credit card debt, but they also do not fit in the “good debt” category, as a low-interest rate mortgage would. So, how bad are 401k loans really? Are they a tool worth…
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How are My Inheritances Taxed? The Tax Side of Inheritances (Especially in Kentucky).
Those who have experienced settling an estate have seen how many different financial accounts and policies people can have. Passing away with stock, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, real estate, and other assets can create confusion and uncertainty about what is taxable. Specifically for beneficiaries who may not be directly involved, or those who have…
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Will Trump Accounts Replace 529 Accounts? Comparing Trump Accounts Against Popular Education Savings Accounts.
Before the first account has been opened, Trump accounts are already questionable in terms of how useful they will be. I wrote last week about what we know so far about the new Trump Accounts and how they work. It will be interesting as we learn more about these accounts in the coming months, whether…