Tax season may be behind you, but don’t stash away your tax return quite yet. It’s full of information that might help you improve your finances or make a difference in next year’s tax picture. Here are four things you could learn from reviewing your return.
You probably already know you need to monitor your investment portfolio and update it periodically. Even if you’ve chosen an asset allocation, market forces may quickly begin to tweak it. For example, if stock prices go up, you may eventually find yourself with a greater percentage of stocks in your portfolio than you want. If stock prices go down, you might worry that you won’t be able to reach your financial goals. The same is true for bonds and other investments.
With the wide variety of stocks in the market, figuring out which ones you want to invest in can be a challenging task. Many investors feel it’s useful to have a system for finding stocks that might be worth buying, deciding what price to pay, and identifying when a stock should be sold.
In 2025, the OBBBA made permanent the gift and estate tax basic exclusion and GST exemption amount established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. Beginning in 2026, that amount is $15,000,000 for both (indexed annually for inflation starting in 2027).
You don’t want to pay more in federal income tax than you have to. With that in mind, here are five things to consider when it comes to keeping more of your income.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett is famous for his long-term perspective. He has said that he likes to make investments he would be comfortable holding even if the market shut down for 10 years.
Investing with an eye toward the long term is particularly important with stocks. Historically, equities have typically outperformed bonds, cash, and inflation, though past performance is no guarantee of future results and those returns also have involved higher volatility.
Most competitive employee benefit packages provide retirement, vacation, health, vision, dental, basic life, and disability insurance benefits, yet business owners might also consider additional programs to grab the attention of potential new hires. Fortunately, there are many benefit programs available, covering a variety of special circumstances, that can help round out and differentiate your offerings.
If you’re a decade or so away from retirement, you’ve probably spent at least some time thinking about this major life change. How will you manage the transition? Will you travel, take up a new sport or hobby, or spend more time with friends and family? Should you consider relocating? Will you continue to work in some capacity? Will changes in your income sources affect your standard of living?
Long-term care is not just provided in nursing homes–in fact, the most common type of long-term care is home-based care. Long-term care services may also be provided in a variety of other settings, such as assisted living facilities and adult day care centers.
At their December meeting, Federal Reserve officials estimated that the U.S. economy grew 1.7% in 2025, a year plagued by uncertainty around costly new tariffs. The forecast for 2026 growth was raised to 2.3% — a significant jump from the 1.8% rate previously forecasted in September.