Can’t Pay Your Taxes? Try These Tips By Jason Alderman If you’re worried you won’t be able to pay your income taxes by this year’s April 17 filing date, don’t panic; but don’t ignore the deadline and certainly don’t wait for the IRS to reach out to you first. Acting quickly not only gives you more repayment options, it can also significantly lower penalties... 

Life Insurance 101 by Jason Alderman Life insurance has no one-size-fits-all option. Singles with no dependents often need little or no coverage. But it can be an important purchase for people whose families depend on their income to cover daily living costs, mortgage repayment, college, retirement or other major expenses. According to Larry Davidman, owner of online insurance brokerage TermWorks.com,... 

Beware of Fake Check Scams by Jason Alderman The other day I got one of those annoying emails from a supposed Nigerian prince promising rich rewards for helping to move money out of his country. It’s hard to believe those kinds of scams are still thriving, but they are. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America, fraud (including fake checks, bogus sweepstakes... 

The 411 on Prepaid Cards by Jason Alderman According to Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, we live in a credit-dominated society. “Without a checking or savings account,” she says, “it’s difficult to cash payroll, Social Security and unemployment checks; you need a credit or debit card to shop online, book a flight or rent a car;... 

Medicare Open Enrollment Comes Early by Jason Alderman If you’re enrolled in Medicare, mark these dates on your calendar: October 15, 2011 – December 7, 2011. That’s Medicare’s 2012 Open Enrollment period – and you should note that it occurs a month earlier this year than in the past. Aside from exceptions made for a few special circumstances, this is the only period when current... 

Flexible Spending Accounts Slash Your Taxes by Jason Alderman Admit it: You probably spend more time comparison shopping online than reviewing your annual benefits enrollment materials. That’s a big mistake because the money you could save by choosing the right employee benefits package probably far exceeds any savings you could get on a big-screen TV. For example, many people don’t sign... 

Start Your Student Loan Search Now by Jason Alderman If you’ve got a high school senior, your household is probably knee-deep in senior-year activities – and expenses. Not to elevate your stress level, but this is probably a good time for you and your kid to start investigating how you’re going to finance college next fall. Seriously. Loan application deadlines are right around the corner... 

Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits Expire Soon by Jason Alderman If you haven’t already jumped on the home energy-efficiency bandwagon, the good news is that several federal energy tax credits originally slated to end in 2010 were extended through December 31, 2011; but the not-so-good news is that these credits are worth significantly less and are more restrictive than before. All is not lost, however,... 

The Power of Compounding by Jason Alderman I wish I had learned about the power of compounding a long time ago. As a kid I walked dogs in the neighborhood, earning $5 a week. If I’d started investing that weekly $5 from age nine until 65, it would have grown to $254,000, assuming an 8 percent return. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch compounding fever until much later. I missed out on maximizing... 

Financial Planners Not Just for the Wealthy by Jason Alderman It’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of important decisions we need to make concerning retirement accounts, investments, college savings and other complicated financial issues. That’s one reason more and more people turn to professional financial advisors to help them navigate an increasingly complex economic...