Follow-up on Costco dropping American Express. Costco has announced that it will only accept Visa credit cards at its stores starting April 1, 2016. American Express credit cards will no longer be accepted on that date. Customers can still use … [Read the rest]
Berkshire Hathaway 2014 Buffett Letter: Buy Businesses, Not Currency
Posted on March 3, 2015 // 1 Comment
Berkshire Hathaway has released their 2014 Letter to Shareholders [pdf]. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Warren Buffett taking over the company (1965-2015), both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger wrote separate letters discussing both the … [Read the rest]
Voya Corporate Leaders Trust Fund: Replicating a Buy & Hold Fund From 1935
Posted on March 1, 2015 // 5 Comments
Imagine that it is 1935, and the US has just survived the Great Depression. You think to yourself - if a company can survive this, it's got to be pretty solid. So you buy equal amounts of stock from 30 of the largest US companies, and hold them... … [Read the rest]
H&R Block Online Review – 2014 Tax Year Features and Screenshots
Posted on February 27, 2015 // 15 Comments
Here is my 2014 review of H&R Block Online DIY tax preparation software, to complement my TurboTax 2014 review and TaxACT 2014 review. I filed my personal tax return using each of the "Big 3" and I will try to share the overall experience along … [Read the rest]
Fidelity IRA Match: Switch and They’ll Match Your Contributions Up to 10%
Posted on February 26, 2015 // 15 Comments
Fidelity has released an infographic [pdf] about the power of saving 1% more of your income: To coincide with this, Fidelity started a related promotion to entice folks to move over their IRA assets to them. The Fidelity IRA Match is … [Read the rest]
The Best Credit Cards For Millionaires Who Count Their Miles… and The Rest of Us
Posted on February 24, 2015 // 9 Comments
The sales pitch for American Express has always been that their cardholders are wealthy and thus big spenders, which in turn justifies their above-average transaction fees charged to merchants. The theory is a merchant won't mind paying more in fees … [Read the rest]
Big Picture Financial Advice from Jonathan Clements
Posted on February 24, 2015 // 9 Comments
Here is some "big picture" financial advice from author and columnist Jonathan Clements. I'd like to collect enough of these tips from notable people and make a compilation post. Clements recently wrote his last column "How to Live a Happier … [Read the rest]
AssetBuilder 2015 Annual Letter: Currency Effects and Interactive Returns Tool
Posted on February 22, 2015 // 8 Comments
I enjoy reading articles by Scott Burns (also here) because he sometimes offers a unique perspective on things. He recently released the 2015 Annual Letter for his asset management company AssetBuilder. The whole thing is a good read, but here are … [Read the rest]
TaxACT Review – 2014 Tax Year Features and Screenshots
Posted on February 19, 2015 // 10 Comments
Having already done my TurboTax 2014 review, here is my review of TaxACT 2014. (H&R Block is next week.) For all three, I will be comparing the far-more-popular online versions. Price TaxACT come only in two basic flavors: Free and Deluxe. … [Read the rest]
TurboTax Review – Tax Prep Software Features and Screenshots
Posted on February 18, 2015 // 20 Comments
Although I'm still waiting on some 1099 forms (*cough* TD Ameritrade), I've already got most of my paperwork in order for my tax returns. I plan on comparing the three major tax preparation websites again this year: TurboTax, H&R Block, and … [Read the rest]
Tax-Efficiency and Qualified Dividend Income Percentages
Posted on February 16, 2015 // 18 Comments
Dividend distributions from mutual funds and ETFs are either qualified or non-qualified, and the difference could have you paying double the taxes. Qualified dividends are taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate, which varies from 0% to … [Read the rest]
Costs Matter: Vanguard Long-Term Performance Update 2015
Posted on February 12, 2015 // 2 Comments
The purpose of Vanguard's commitment to low-cost investing is not just to be cheap, it is to give their clients higher performance. Whenever a money manager charges higher fees for themselves, they will have to compensate by creating that much … [Read the rest]
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