Blatantly Illegal Tax Deductions

Blatantly Illegal Tax Deductions

Since we are currently in the midst of tax season, just for fun I thought I’d share some of the more creative tax deductions taxpayers have attempted to get away with.  Warning: do not try this at home! From the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants comes the following: A woman tried to claim her…
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Are Reverse Mortgages Still Worth It?

I’ve written before about the advantages and disadvantages of reverse mortgages, especially Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) that are insured and regulated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (see https://www.cognizantwealth.com/2014/02/20/reverse-mortgages-the-good-and-the-bad/).  One of the advantages – the fact that you do not have to undergo an income and credit check in order to qualify for the…
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What Is Extrapolation Bias And Why Care?

In 2013 the U.S. stock market had its best return in over 15 years.  When you reviewed your portfolio in January of 2014, did you add to your investment in U.S. stocks because they did so well the previous year?  If so, then you were guilty of what is called in the jargon of behavioral…
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Can Popularity Impact Investment Returns?

It’s well understood that investment risk and returns go together.  Simply put, investors expect a premium, generally in the form of a higher return, for investing in higher-risk securities, where risk is quantified as return variability or volatility. This explains why over time stocks outperform bonds and why the returns on small company stocks are…
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Do Stop-Losses Reduce Investment Risk?

Stocks are among the most volatile of the many types of publicly-traded investments available to the public.  Whether you invest in stocks directly or through mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), you might feel more comfortable with your investments if you knew you could limit your losses in case the market or the particular company…
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Where To Get Cash After A Layoff?

If you lose your job due to a layoff, the first thing you generally do is to start cutting expenses while searching for the next one.  But if you’re in your late 50s or early 60s, your prospects may be considerably more limited.  Although it’s illegal for employers to discriminate because of age, the fact…
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