Blog – Page 4 of 51 – Michele Cagan, CPA

3 Big Tax Changes You Need to Know for Tax Year 2020

10/28/2020
news, personal finance, retirement, taxes

Please Note: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on those links, I may receive compensation. The last you want to be thinking about now is next year’s tax return. This year has been chaotic, frightening, confusing, stressful, and mostly exhausting. So piling on the thought of taxes sounds… taxing. But this is exactly the time to think about it, because you can still make changes that will affect your 2020 tax bill – the one you’ll file in 2021. There have been so many changes that it’s hard for even CPAs to keep up. But those changes…

How to Prioritize Your Debt

10/22/2020
Managing Debt, Protect Your Financial Future, Saving and Investing, Single Mom CPA

Covering your essentials and tackling financially-damaging debt Please Note: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on those links, I may receive compensation. When it comes to managing debt, single moms have extra struggles to deal with. But we manage to overcome those hurdles and keep making strides to pay off debt and build net worth. Then 2020 happened, and for many of us our financial progress got knocked off track. According to a survey by Lending Tree, 56% of parents have gone into debt during this Covid crisis… and it’s even harder on single moms. But that doesn’t…

5 Reasons to Avoid Reverse Mortgages – Especially If You Need the Money

10/12/2020
retirement, you need to know this

Please Note: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on those links, I may receive compensation. If you're a senior who’s feeling financially insecure, you may be considering a reverse mortgage. But please don’t. Reverse mortgages sound like easy money. Instead of paying rent or mortgage, you get monthly payments for your house without having to sell it. Someone actually pays you to live in your own house. But the truth about reverse mortgage loans – and, yes, they are loans – is much more complicated. Use extreme caution when considering a reverse mortgage. It comes with a devastating…

How to Open a Roth IRA in Under 30 Minutes

10/07/2020
Building a Nest, investing, personal finance, Protect Your Financial Future, retirement, Retirement Planning, Saving and Investing, Single Mom CPA, taxes, The Basics, Uncategorized

You need to do this today. Single moms – women in general, actually – are waaayyyyyy behind when it comes to retirement savings. We all have plenty of reasons for this… but when we’re 80 and out of money, those reasons won’t matter at all. So today we are going to take 30 minutes to open up Roth IRA accounts. We’re focusing on Roth IRAs specifically because you always have free and complete access to the money you put in. This takes a huge barrier out of the way of retirement savings: This money is not locked up, and you…

Get Ready for Smaller Paychecks Starting January 1

09/08/2020
news, small business

The Payroll Tax “Holiday” Comes Due Next Year You’re may be getting bigger paychecks now that the President’s “payroll tax holiday” has started. If you are, you need to prepare yourself for a big drop in pay starting on January 1, 2021. That’s because the payroll tax holiday is really just a delay. You still owe the taxes – you just don’t have to pay them right now. And to make up for the tax you’re skipping for the rest of 2020, your employer will take out double taxes for the first few months next year. What Are Payroll Taxes?…