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Changes To Deductions, Brackets, and Exemptions That May Affect You This Coming Tax Season

Being one of Chicago’s top sources for tax advice is something that isn’t easy. With a new government in place, constantly shifting rates, and a number of other obstacles, our dedicated CPAs work hard to ensure that all of our … Continue reading →

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9 Winter Navigation Hazards

Winter hiking navigation is different than three season navigation because easy trails can become unsafe from avalanche danger, deep snow, or dangerous weather conditions. When planning winter hiking routes, it’s important to factor these hazards into your route plans and preparation, even if it means taking a longer and safer route.

Here’s a list of the common navigation challenges you are likely to face on winter hikes:

1. Trail Junction Signs are Buried or Hidden

If your idea of navigation is following the signs at trail junctions, you’re in for a rude surprise since signs can be buried by snow or hidden from view when trees are covered in snow. Your best bet is to hike on more popular routes where deep snow has already been broken out by other hikers so that the trail is clear, or get really good at following trails using map, compass, altimeter, GPS, or navigation apps when signs and trails are buried and invisible.

2. Protective Clothing Makes it Difficult to See

It’s often necessary to wear ski goggles, a balaclava or a face mask when you hike above treeline in winter to protect yourself against frostbite. Unfortunately, this can make it very difficult to see side trails or snow-covered cairns, especially when your breath fogs your goggles. However good preparation and hiking in a group can help mitigate these risks

3. Lack of Light Contrast Makes it Difficult to See

When the fog drops down and the world is covered in snow and ice (whiteout conditions), the lack of contrast between ground and sky makes it increasingly difficult to relate your map to what you can see in the world around you. Most three season hikers don’t realize how important good visibility and light contrast are for determining distance or slope angles until they hike in winter, when the world around you is mostly white.

4. Forested Trails Become Impassible Due to Snow Depth

Forested trails which are easy to walk on in three season conditions, can become impassible when there’s six feet of snow on the ground. Instead of passing effortlessly below tree branches, you have walk in them, wreaking havoc on your gear, and slowing down your forward progress. The solution isn’t much better. You need to walk around them off-trail, or pick a different route, one that’s been trampled down by other hikers, so you can pass under the tree branches as usual.

5. Hiking in Deep Snow Requires More Time and Energy

Hiking in deep snow, regardless if you’re wearing snowshoes or postholing, requires a lot more energy than three season hiking and a lot more time to cover the same distance. My hiking speed is often half of what it is in winter compared to the rest of the year, because I have to carry a lot more gear, and because walking on snow and ice require heavier footwear and more coordination.

6. Fewer Hours of Daylight

Why are shorter days a navigational challenge? Try hiking at night in winter and you’ll quickly find that it’s harder to confirm where you are and see where you’re going, even when you wear a bright headlamp. For safety’s sake, try to finish your hikes before sunset or at least get back to a well known, packed-out section of trail that you can follow to your final destination. There’s a big difference between 9 hours of daylight in winter and 14 hours the rest of the year, when you can hike all day without worrying about being “benighted,” the term used in accident reports to describe hikers who unexpectedly find themselves hiking after sunset.

7. River and Stream Crossings Become More Dangerous

Crossing rivers and streams becomes much higher consequence in winter. In addition to the danger of getting wet and increased hypothermia, there’s also the danger of crashing through the ice bridges and snow shelves that span the water and form along the bank. If you fall through, even in shallow water, there’s a serious chance you’ll be swept under the ice or snow and drown. Scout all crossings very carefully and don’t be afraid to detour around crossings that are too dangerous.

8. Avalanche Terrain

It important to learn how to identify avalanche terrain in the backcountry and to be able determine if it’s a danger to you. This includes monitoring regional avalanche forecasts, monitoring snow storm activity, understanding avalanche danger signs, and learning how to walk across avalanche terrain without triggering one.

9. Vegetation Traps and Voids

When snow covers bushes and small trees, voids are formed underneath them that can trap hikers who fall into them. These are difficult to anticipate when snowshoeing across open terrain, so your best defense is to hike with other people who can pull you out if you fall into one. Staying on trails, if you can see them is a good way to avoid vegetation traps, but can limit your choice of destinations.

Conclusion

While winter is a glorious time to go hiking, there are many places where deep snow and hostile terrain are best avoided in order to increase safety. Even then, the unexpected can happen. Your best defense is to hike with other knowledgeable and experience winter hikers and to carefully plan your routes in advance with these hazards in mind.

See Also:

• Recommended Winter Hiking Gear List
• 5 Essential Winter Survival Skills
• Winter Navigation and Escape Route Planning

 

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The Cheapest Tax Software of 2017–TurboTax vs TaxAct vs H&R Block

There are three major tax preparation software packages on the market that most do-it-yourself tax preparers will use – TurboTax, TaxACT and H&R Block. Comparing these three options to find the cheapest can be a real chore. Each has several editions with varying features. As a result, it is important to compare competing editions between the providers, not just to look simply at the lowest overall price that any seem to be offering.

What is vitally important in selecting the least expensive tax software is making sure that you get the right one based on your own individual income tax situation. Each of these providers has a very attractive “free” package. But with two of them, they charge for a state return. The one totally free option is only for very basic returns. It won’t help those who have a complex tax return.

To help you sort through this mess, let’s take a look at the offerings of all three companies, as well as the individual editions, and the charges related to each. Note that the costs listed below are for the online versions of each tax software. The cost for the downloadable versions is listed at the end of the article.

TurboTax

TurboTax is highly regarded in the self-prepared income tax universe, and it is the most popular tax software. But it has five different editions, and you have to choose the right one for your tax situation. Otherwise, you’ll need to upgrade.

Here are summaries of all five editions:

Free Edition

This version is for simple tax returns, such as Forms 1040EZ and 1040A. It is free for both federal (including the Earned Income Credit, or EIC) and state returns. There is also no fee paid to TurboTax, as the name implies, and no fee to e-file. But just in case you’re thinking this is the way to go, remember that this edition is very basic. Essentially, it does none of the work that TurboTax is so well-known for.

For example, it does not transfer your information from a previous year. It also doesn’t provide online access to all tax returns on file, or search for deductions and credits. Still, for simple returns, it is the only free option available.

Deluxe

This is TurboTax’s most popular edition, and it provides most of the services the product is known for. It is recommended if you have tax deductions, as the edition is specifically designed to maximize those deductions. The cost is $34.99, and the e-file is free. There is an additional charge of $36.99 for state returns (per state). So if you have to file in your state, you’re really looking at $71.98 – and that’s assuming you don’t have to file for more than one state. Check out the TurboTax Deluxe Edition here.

Premier

This is the TurboTax edition you will need if you have taxable investments or rental property. It does everything the Deluxe version does, but it adds sale of investment securities, automatic calculation of cost basis for investments sold, and preparation of Schedule E for rental properties. The cost is $54.99 and includes free e-file.

It has the same additional charge for preparation of your state return(s), at $36.99 per state. Plan that you’ll have to come up with $91.98 for this edition if you have to file in your state. Check out the TurboTax Premier Edition here.

Self-Employed

This edition does everything that the Premier edition does, but it also adds preparation of Schedule C (sole proprietors). It maximizes business tax deductions and depreciation, and also reports income and expenses from S-Corporations, C-Corporations, partnerships, and multi-member LLCs (but not the actual returns for each). The cost for this edition is $89.99 including free e-file. And once again, many of you will have to add in the per-state charge of $36.99, bringing the actual cost to $126.98. Check out the Self-Employed Edition here.

TurboTax Business

While TurboTax used to offer this edition in an online version, it is now software/download-only. They have instead improved the Self-Employed edition that I just mentioned, making it a viable option for even more filers. If you have a more complex return and need the Business edition, though, you will need to download it this year.

This is the edition for small businesses other than those using a Schedule C. It includes preparation of returns for small S-Corporations, C-Corporations, partnerships, estates, trusts, and multi-member LLCs (this is different from, and more complex than, the capabilities of the Self-Employed edition above).

So, if your business takes one of these forms, you’ll need this edition. The cost is $149.99, which includes free e-file, but once again there is a $36.99 per state charge. The true price is then $186.98.

Related: Do You Need a Sole Proprietorship, an S-Corp, or an LLC?

With each of the editions, you start the process for free and just pay when you are done and ready to file.

Go to TurboTax’s Official Website

TaxACT

TaxACT works much the same way as TurboTax, in that it has multiple editions. In the past, it had a confusing array of editions and bundles. Recently, however, they have greatly simplified their production into three editions.

Free Federal. The free edition from TaxACT is limited to simple returns filed on Form 1040EZ and 1040A.  It is free for both your federal and state returns. The free edition also includes free e-file with the IRS. Check out the TaxAct Free Edition here.

Plus: The next level up is ideal for home owners and investors, as well as those itemizing their deductions. It costs $27 for the federal return and $33 for the state return, bringing the total to $60. Check out the TaxAct Plus Edition here.

Premium: This edition is designed for those who are self-employed, contractors, or freelancers. It costs $37 for the federal return and $33 for a state return. Total cost for federal+state (assuming you’re only filing in one state)? $70. Check out the TaxAct Premium Edition here. Before buying either the Plus or Premium editions, however, you must like at the Ultimate Bundle.

Ultimate Bundle. TaxAct does something a bit odd with its pricing. After running through all of the above editions with different prices, it then offers all tax forms and includes both federal and state returns in one bundle that it appropriately calls its Ultimate Bundle. The cost–$29.99. And once again, e-file is free. So for those that aren’t filing a 1040EZ (where the free edition is available) and plan to file a state return, the Ultimate bundle is the way to go. Check out the TaxAct Ultimate Bundle here.

**Home and Business Bundles. TaxACT offers three separate bundles if you plan to download their software (versus using the online version). These include filing options for a 1065 partnership return, a 1120S Sub-S Corporation, or an 1120 (C Corporation) return, at just $99.99 for each bundle. Each includes the basic package from Deluxe Federal and one free e-file. That price includes both business and personal returns, and both federal and state returns.**

Go to TaxACT’s Official Website

H&R Block

H&R Block has five editions, and you have to choose the one that most closely matches your tax profile.

More Zero Free Edition. H&R Block offers a “free” edition designed for simple returns and first-time tax filers. Like TurboTax and TaxAct, there is also no fee for a state return. Check out the H&R Block Free Edition here.

Deluxe. This edition is recommended for those with a more complicated return, such as freelancers. It has all the features of the Basic edition, as well as the ability to add freelance and independent contractor expenses (Schedule C-EZ). You can also store your return for up to 6 years with this edition. The cost of the package is $29.74. A state return adds $36.99 per state, so the total cost for this edition (federal and state) is $66.73. Check out the H&R Block Deluxe Edition here.

Premium. This edition has all the features of the Deluxe edition, but it is geared toward investors, small business owners, and investment property owners (Schedule E). The cost for the Premium edition is $46.74. As with the other editions, a state return will cost $36.99. The total cost for the federal and state package is $83.73. Check out the H&R Block Premium Edition here.

**Premium & Business. This edition is downloadable software (not an online edition, like the three listed above). It has all the features of the Premium edition, but is for preparation of corporate (S and C corporations), partnership, LLC, estates and trusts, and even non-profit income tax returns. It also produces payroll and employer forms, and unlimited business state program downloads. The cost for this edition is $62.97, and federal e-file is free. Check out the H&R Block Business Edition here.

Go to H&R Block’s Official Website

Worth Mentioning…

There’s a newbie to the free online tax filing game this year, in the form of an already-popular credit checking company: Credit Karma. Their new program, called Credit Karma Tax, is guaranteed to be completely free for almost all filers. The only exceptions are those filing small business returns — those filing small business expenses, however, can still use the program. You can check out our review of Credit Karma Tax here, which is brand new for 2017 (tax year 2016).

In Summary

All three vendors above have very similar editions available based on your tax situation. There is a wide variation in what each charges for their plans. TurboTax is definitely the highest priced, while TaxACT is clearly the lowest and H&R Block rests comfortably in the middle. It may come down to which program you have used in the past, and are the most comfortable working with.

Here is a summary of the costs based on various tax situations:

	TurboTax	H&R Block	TaxACT
Simple Returns (Federal Only)	FREE	FREE	FREE
Simple Returns (Federal + 1 state)	FREE	$9.99	FREE
Returns with Itemized Deductions (Federal + 1 State)	$71.98 (Deluxe)	$81.18 (Basic)	$29.98 (Plus)
Returns with Investments (Federal + 1 State)	$91.98 (Premier)	$89.68 (Deluxe)	$29.98 (Plus)
Returns for Real Estate Investors (Federal + 1 State)	$91.98 (Premier)	$102.43 (Premium)	$29.98 (Plus)
Returns with Self-Employed or Small Business Income (Federal + 1 State)	$116.98 (Home & Business)	$102.43 (Premium)	$36.98 (Ultimate Bundle)
	Go to TurboTax	Go to H&R Block	Go to TaxACT

Downloadable Versions

For those that don’t want to prepare their taxes online, downloadable versions of the tax software are available:

TurboTax: $29.99 to $99.99

TaxACT: Up to $70

H&R Block: $25.46 to $74.64 plus the cost of state returns and state e-file.

Topics: Podcast • Taxes

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Granite Gear Crown 2 – 60L Backpack Review

2017 – What can we expect from the next 12 months?

The post 2017 – What can we expect from the next 12 months? appeared first on Invis Team RRP.

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Should You Roll Over a 401(k) to an IRA?

If you’re thinking about leaving your current job, you have many things to consider. Is it the right move for your family? Will you be gaining or losing benefits? It also raises one very important question—should I roll over my 401k to an IRA.

I’ve been faced with the same decision three times. The first was when I left my law firm. I had two retirement accounts (one as an employee and one as a partner) with Fidelity. I left both accounts with Fidelity because I liked the investing options. The second time was when I left an in-house job at an IT consulting firm. The investment options there were not so good, so I rolled over the 401k into an IRA with Vanguard.

I did a lot of research when faced with the decision for a third time, after quitting my job. From the beginning, I was certain that I would roll over my 401k to my Vanguard IRA, mainly because of the lousy investment options in the 401k. As I had spent some serious time researching the issue, I thought I’d share what I found along the way.

Investing Options

Investment options within your 401k plan are the first and most important consideration. Many employer-sponsored plans have limited investment options. Other employers stuff their plan full of alternatives, most of which are bad choices. That was the problem with my last employer. While there were literally hundreds of mutual funds to choose from, all but one or two were just awful.

A related but equally important consideration is cost. It’s not enough that a 401k offer sound investment opportunities, they have to offer them at a reasonable cost. My rule of thumb is to keep the weighted average cost of all mutual funds and ETFs to 50 basis points or less. As I rolled over my 401k and rebalanced my investments, my goal was to try to get the total cost to under 20 basis points. There was no way I could reduce the costs to this level unless I rolled over my 401k.

Taxes

There are some tax implications to consider, particularly if you are toying with the idea of a withdrawal before age 59 ½. As this article from Oblivious Investor explains, you may be able to make withdrawals at age 55 from a 401k without the 10% penalty. As always, consult your tax advisor before making any decisions.

Resource: 5 Ways Retirees Can Avoid Early Withdrawal Penalties

Simplicity

It’s much easier to manage fewer investment accounts. Change jobs a few times and throw in an IRA for good measure, and you’ll find yourself managing more retirement accounts than you can handle. Rebalancing your investments across multiple accounts is a real chore, too, as I quickly learned firsthand.

Between retirement and non-retirement accounts, and my accounts at Lending Club and Betterment, I felt like the guy trying to keep a dozen plates spinning on top of wooden rods at the circus. Rolling 401k accounts into a single IRA reduces the number of spinning plates you have to keep from breaking.

Roll Over Options

There are two primary options—mutual fund companies and online brokers. Both are good choices. The best choice for each individual often depends on what investment choices they plan to make. If you plan to buy all Vanguard funds, for example, opening an IRA account with Vanguard will be the most cost efficient option.

On the other hand, if you plan to invest in a variety of funds, ETFs, stocks and/or bonds, a discount broker is a better choice. That’s what I did with my SEP IRA, which I have with Scottrade. You can check out our list of the best brokers for IRA retirement accounts.

In the end, I believe that for most people most of the time, a rollover IRA is the best choice. But as with anything this important, weight the factors carefully and seek the help of a tax or investment advisor if necessary.

If you’re looking at what exactly you need to do for your own rollover, check out our easy 5 step guide. And if you have any other questions or tips for other readers, please let them in the comments below!

Here are some additional resources I found helpful:

• Emily Brandon of U.S. News published an informative article discussing IRA and 401k accounts worth reading. One interesting fact is that the vast majority of money in IRA accounts today came from 401k rollovers, not direct investments.
• Kathryn A. Walson at Kiplinger offers a helpful discussion of whether you should roll over a 401k. One factor she mentions is that with an IRA, you can withdrawal you money anytime you want, albiet with a possible 10% penalty. With a 401k, withdrawal options vary from one employer plan to another, and if you do take out money, you may be forced to take it all out.
• Pinyo over at Moolanomy gives you the nuts and bolts of rolling over a 401(k) to an IRA.

Topics: Investing • Personal Finance • Retirement Planning

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Bushwhacking Fisher Mountain in Winter

FitFest 2017 Recap

Thank you to everyone who participated in our FitFest 2017! FitFest is our most anticipated annual event where students get the chance to sample out a class or two offered here at UCSD Recreation to see what’s the best fit for you! Sample classes range from Yoga, Zumba, Bicycle Cycling and so much more. Watch the video below to see how much everyone who participated enjoy their FREE Fitness and Yoga classes, food truck, LIVE DJ and much more

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FreeTaxUSA Review

FreeTaxUSA is an online tax preparation website that enables you to Prepare, Print & E-file your taxes free. At least that’s true in regards to filing your Federal income tax return. This appears to be a pretty solid, if not spectacular, online tax preparation software.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who and What is FreeTaxUSA?

The company is owned by TaxHawk, Inc. It started in 2001 and was founded by a CPA and a team of professional software developers. The company is an original member of the IRS Free File Alliance and an authorized IRS e-file provider, and it has securely filed millions of federal tax returns with the IRS.

The software is updated each year by a team of tax analysts to incorporate the most recent changes in federal and state tax codes. When the software is updated, it goes through rigorous testing, as well as an approval process with both the IRS and each state.

Learn More: How to Get an Extension for Filing Your Taxes

The site claims that it grows by promoting itself mostly by word-of-mouth. Filers keep coming back since there are no charges for the roll-over of prior year tax data. In addition, the pricing is straightforward and has no hidden fees.

Still another advantage is that FreeTaxUSA has only two versions – Free and Deluxe. This is in contrast to other popular tax preparation software companies that typically have four, five, or even more versions. Filers may find the higher number of versions – as well as their associated add-on fees – to be both confusing and intimidating. None of that exists with FreeTaxUSA.

FreeTaxUSA Advantages

Here are the basic benefits of using FreeTaxUSA to prepare and e-file your income tax returns.

Even Complicated Tax Situations Are Covered By Both Editions

With competing tax preparation tax software programs, you usually have to buy a premium version in order to handle self-employment (Schedule C), rental real estate (Schedule E), and capital gains transactions (Schedule D), as well as the various types of K-1 related income sources. But FreeTaxUSA can handle all of those on both the Free and Deluxe editions.

Unlike with most of the other major players in the tax software game, the forms you can access with FreeTaxUSA don’t vary by version. The upgraded version is all about additional support, rather than additional forms. This means you can likely get all the tax forms you need filed through the free option.

Affordable Care Act

FreeTaxUSA is set up to accommodate the imposition of penalties for not having approved health insurance coverage that took effect for the 2014 tax year. They will also help you to claim any exemption from the penalty.

Free Support

Based on my review, I would say that FreeTaxUSA provides limited direct customer support.

You can search for support topics on the Customer Support page, or take advantage of the customer support email feature. If you pay for the Deluxe Edition, you can also get free support through chat, or see if the answer to your question is in the Q & A database.

Accuracy Guaranteed

Like other online tax preparation software programs, FreeTaxUSA guarantees the accuracy of their tax calculations. They will pay the interest and penalties if you’re assessed any by the IRS due to a calculation error in their software.

Audit Assist

The Deluxe version of FreeTaxUSA provides Audit Assist, which gives access to audit specialists who can answer your questions should you be subject to an IRS audit. It also lets you access the Audit Center, which is a database of information you might find helpful during the audit process.

The Audit Assist tool is much more limited than those provided by more expensive providers. According to FreeTaxUSA’s disclaimer, Audit Assist doesn’t cover state returns, and it doesn’t give you a representative who will correspond directly with the IRS. You’ll still have to do the work, but the experts will help you craft responses to the IRS, know what records to gather, and help you know what steps to take next.

FreeTaxUSA provides what I think would best be termed limited audit protection through their Audit Assist feature. This service is available only if you purchase the Deluxe Edition.

Related: I Was Audited By the IRS!

They give you access to the FreeTaxUSA Audit Center, as well as with audit specialists who can answer your specific questions. The Audit Center provides information as to how to respond to the specific IRS notice that you receive, as well as information on how to respond to either an IRS letter or an IRS audit.

Other tax preparation softwares provide more audit representation, but for a much steeper price. If you go through an audit, you may still need to hire a representative. However, if you’re at low risk for an audit, paying an extra $6.99 to access this feature could give you some peace of mind.

FreeTaxUSA Security

FreeTaxUSA is an authorized IRS e-file provider. They encrypt your personal information on their site. In addition, they conduct security and privacy verifications through Truste, Norton, and SecurityMetrics.

Online Backup and Account Rollover

FreeTaxUSA will back your completed returns up online, even with the free version. The free version will also automatically carry last year’s information over to your current year’s taxes if you use the software two years in a row.

Even if you didn’t file with FreeTaxUSA last year, you may be able to import some of your tax information from another service. This year, the software rolled out a new feature that allows for a PDF import of your prior year’s tax returns.

I tried the PDF import option when checking out this year’s software. It was simple to use, and smoothly uploaded my personal information and previous employer information. This definitely saves some time.

Cheap State Returns

As with many tax preparation software services, you’ll have to pay extra to e-file your state tax return. This isn’t uncommon. But the price of filing state returns with FreeTaxUSA is relatively low. You’ll only have to pay $12.95 to file your state returns based on your federal tax return information, and additional information you provide, this year.

Interface and Ease of Use

The interface for FreeTaxUSA is less fancy than that of some other, more expensive softwares. It has the same basic features, though, including a tracker for your estimated refund as you go, and tabs for the various portions of your return.

Unlike with some other software options, FreeTaxUSA won’t allow you to bounce ahead of the process. You’ll have to go in order, though once you enter some information in a section, you can go back to a previous section to make changes or additions.

This isn’t a big deal as long as you plan to file your taxes all at once. If you’re like me, though, you may prefer to put in each form as you receive it. You’d have a much harder time doing this efficiently with FreeTaxUSA. But, at least, you wouldn’t miss any sections on your taxes.

FreeTaxUSA Disadvantages

FreeTaxUSA does not advertise itself as being all things to all people. Here is a list of the tax situations that they don’t support, taken directly from their website:

• Foreign employment income (Form 2555)
• Foreign mailing address
• Household employment taxes (Schedule H)
• Nonresident alien returns (Form 1040NR)
• Farm rental (Form 4835)
• At-risk limitations (Form 6198)
• Installment sales (Form 6252)
• Tax for children with more than $2,000 in investment income (Form 8615)
• Prior year minimum tax credit (Form 8801)
• Archer MSAs (Form 8853)

For what it’s worth, I give the company a lot of credit for publishing a list of the tax situations that they don’t support.

Limited Customer Support

With the free version of this software, you can email support, or get your question answered in the online forum. If you upgrade to the Deluxe version, you’ll get access to online chat support. You can also get priority support to have your questions answered more quickly if you pay an extra $5.99 while using the Free version, or if you just update to the Deluxe version.

Pay to Amend

Many of FreeTaxUSA’s additional services cost extra, though the costs are small. You’ll have to pay extra to correct a mistake or omission on your tax return if you go through the Free version. In fact, you’ll have to pay $14.99 for each amendment if you file using the Free version. However, if you filed originally under the Deluxe version, you’ll get unlimited amendments for free.

Resource: What to Do If You Make a Mistake on Your Taxes

FreeTaxUSA Pricing

FreeTaxUSA comes in two editions, Free and Deluxe:

Free Edition

Like the free version of just about any service, “free” has its limits, even with FreeTaxUSA. Free extends to the following services:

• Federal Tax Return
• E-file Service
• Account Information Roll Over
• Printing of Tax Return
• Online Backup of Completed Returns
• Complex Tax Filing
• Federal Tax Extension

There are, however, charges for certain functions. To start, there is a $12.95 charge for state filing and preparation. There is no additional charge for state e-filing, but the $12.95 fee is per state so you can multiply that charge by the number of states you need to file taxes in.

Some other services that come with a fee on the free version:

1. Amended Tax Return – $9.95
2. Priority Customer Support – $5.95
3. Professionally Printed Tax Return -$5.95
4. Printed & Bound Tax Return – $12.95

We can presume that the last two features might be desirable if you needed to present your tax returns for business or borrowing purposes. But it’s unlikely that they are anything you’d need to have in the normal course.

Related: The Most Common Tax Deductions — What You Need to Know

One more thing, the Audit Assist function is only available on the Deluxe Edition. If your return is fairly simple and straight forward, this feature may not be necessary. But if there is a reasonable likelihood of facing an audit, you may do well to spring for the extra $6.99 and trade up to the Deluxe Edition. (Though given the limited scope of this service, I’d take it a step farther and say that you’ll be better off with a different online service entirely if this is the case.)

Deluxe Edition

The base price of the Deluxe Edition is $6.99, and it includes all of the services of the Free Edition, plus a few more. And just as is the case with the Free Edition, there is a charge of $12.95 per state return.

The Amended Tax Return and Priority Customer Support features – which you have to pay extra for with the Free Edition – are included in the Deluxe Edition. The Audit Assist feature is also included in the base fee with the Deluxe Edition.

Other than the per state charge, the only additional fees on the Deluxe Edition are the Professionally Printed Tax Return ($6.99) and the Printed & Bound Tax Return ($12.95) features. And again, you’ll probably only want these for presentation purposes, but may not need them at all.

While the idea of getting tax software for free is always appealing, you’ll still be looking at a cost of $12.95 for the Free Edition if you have to file taxes in your state. The Deluxe Edition base price is only $6.99, and it includes the services you’d have to pay extra for with the Free Edition. If you have to file in your state, your total price would be $18.90 for the whole Deluxe Edition.

With a difference of just $6.99 — which is more than reasonable for the services provided — I think you’d be much better off paying for the Deluxe Edition. That way, you can avoid add-ons for other services you may want or need.

My Conclusion About FreeTaxUSA

Overall, FreeTaxUSA is a decent online tax preparation software package, and the price is certainly one of the best in the field. Just be aware of the program’s limitations, such as the lack of phone support, the limited nature of audit assistance, and the tax situations that it doesn’t support.

Try FreeTaxUSA Topics: Taxes

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How to Pack a Hiking Backpack for International Plane Travel

If you plan to go hiking or backpacking in a foreign country or travel out-of-state by plane, here are 10 packing tips to help guarantee that your backpacking gear does get lost, destroyed by luggage handlers, stolen, or confiscated by airport security.

1. Don’t Check Luggage

Pack light, pack small and carry your backpack on the plane with you instead of checking a bag for the luggage compartment. If you have to, suck it up and pay extra for carry-on luggage if your airline charges extra for it. Your gear is far more likely to arrive with you if it never leaves your possession.

2. Wear Your Hiking Clothes on the Plane

Don’t pack your hiking clothes in your pack, wear them, especially the bulky ones. This will give you more space in your backpack. If you’re too warm, you can take off any extra layers in the plane.

3. Buy What You Need When You Arrive

If you’re having difficulty reducing your pack size or weight, eliminate everything you can buy at your destination, such as food, toiletries (especially), even extra clothing items like underwear, socks, and t-shirts.

4. Send or Ship Gear to Your Destination by Post or Express Shipping

Absolutely need a certain kind of food? Worried about your hiking poles? Send them to a B&B using DHL (best for international packages), FedEx, or UPS or have it held at the post office. Many countries have postal services which will hold a package for you at the post office (called General Delivery) which you can pick up with a picture ID like a passport. Search on the web for county-specific instructions and give your package adequate time to arrive before you travel.

5. Don’t Buy a Travel Backpack

If you’re a serious backpacker, don’t be tempted by so-called travel backpacks like the Osprey Packs Porter 65  or Farpoint 80 that have hideaway straps or wheels for rolling around airports. While convenient for business trips or touring out of hotels, they’re too heavy and awkward to use for backcountry backpacking.

6. Carry Irreplaceable Items

If you must check a bag (really a last resort), separate irreplaceable or expensive items like your backpack, trekking poles, sleeping bag, tent, GPS, etc. and carry them on the plane with you, while checking all other items in a cheap duffel bag like the Northstar 75L. Why a cheap duffel bag? – so you can discard it when you reach your destination and not feel too bad about it. You really don’t want to lug an empty duffel bag with you during your hike.

7. Pack your Backpack in a Duffel Bag

If you must check your backpack (again, a last resort), pack it in a tough duffel back to protect it’s straps and compartments. The aforementioned NorthStar 75 duffel is an excellent option with rugged fabric and a heavy-duty zipper.

8. Don’t Carry Stove Fuel

Don’t try to carry any stove fuel on the plane, including ESBIT cubes. It’s flat out illegal. Don’t even carry an empty liquid stove fuel bottle if you can avoid it, since it can have residual fuel or fumes, and be confiscated by security authorities.

9. Switch to an Alcohol Stove

If conditions permit, use an alcohol stove on your trip. Denatured alcohol, methylated spirits (or “meths”), and ethyl alcohol (190 proof or better) is available worldwide so you don’t have to pack any or worry about finding it at your destination.

10. Don’t Carry a Knife

Don’t bring a knife, a multi-tool or a machete. Easy to forget if you’re packing on autopilot, but Take Stuff Away (TSA) can take it away, so leave your blades at home.

See Also:

• Can You take Esbit Fuel Tablets on a Plane?
• Hiker Resupply and Mail Drops
• Gas Station and Convenience Store Resupply Guide

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Maxing Out Retirement Accounts: How Rich Could You Be?

Everywhere you look, experts are telling you to contribute to your retirement accounts. Whether it’s advice from newspapers, blogs, financial planners, or friends, any advice that is worth taking must include planning for retirement. Why? Because it’s that important!

Over time, setting aside a small portion of your monthly income can mean the difference between living a comfortable retirement and not being able to retire at all. But how much should you put away? One of the most common rules of thumb is to stick 10% of your income into a retirement account. If you have a work sponsored plan, like a 401(k), you should always invest enough to at least meet your company match. But again, these numbers are a bare minimum for retirement savings. Why not save more if you can?

While advice to save for your retirement is certainly sound, few people actually consider what saving more could mean for their future. Why stop at saving 10%? Why not save 15-20%? Heck, what would happen if you got really aggressive? How rich could you be if you actually maxed out your retirement accounts each year? Let’s take a look!

2017 IRS Contribution Limits for 401(k) Plans and IRAs

Every few years, the Internal Revenue Service adjusts the total amount of money that you are allowed to place into your retirement accounts. Contribution limits have remained flat again for 2017, holding steady for yet another year at $18,000 for 401(k) plans and $5,500 for IRAs. In addition, the IRS allows taxpayers who are 50 and older to make “catch-up” contributions. These allow an additional $6,000 contribution for 401(k) plans and $1,000 for IRAs, respectively. We can expect these limits to increase in the future, although it is not certain when that will happen.

Our Assumptions

That being said, we need to make a few assumptions in order to calculate the amount of wealth we can build by maxing out our retirement plans. To begin, we’ll assume that we’re going to be making regular contributions only, so we will not be adding additional money for “catch-up” contributions.

Additionally, we’ll make all of our calculations based on the current contribution limits — $18,000 for 401(k) plans and $5,500 for IRAs. Again, if history repeats itself, those limits will be increased in the future. (We won’t account for that here, though.) Furthermore, we’ll assume that our investments will compound on an annual basis. And, finally, we’ll need to assume a very conservative growth rate of 5%.

Maxing Out Your 401(k)

Using a free compound interest calculator, let’s take a look at 401(k) plans. First, let’s assume that you are currently saving $4,000 a year in your plan and have been doing so since you were 25 years old. Based on our current set of assumptions, you would end up with just over $500,000 in your retirement account at age 65. Not bad, right? And had you started saving this much at age 20, you would end up with $670,740 by the time 65 rolled around. Better yet, if you can stick it out just 5 more years, you’ll end up with $879,261 over a 50 year time period. As you can see, compound interest plays a huge role, especially over those last few years.

Related: The Power of Compound Interest

But, what if you get really aggressive? What if you take a page out of the extreme early retirement book, cut your spending to the bone, and max out your 401(k) account? Here’s what you’ll save:

• After 10 Years – $237,722
• After 20 Years – $624,946
• After 30 Years – $1,255,694
• After 40 Years – $2,283,115
• After 50 Years – $3,956,677

Amazing, right? By maxing out your 401(k), you could save about $125,000 more in 20 years than you would have saved in 40 with just a $4,000 a month contribution. You’ll have over $3 million more over a 50 year period. That is definitely not chump change.

Maxing Out Your IRA

Of course, maxing out a 401(k) plan can seem totally out of reach for most individuals. It’s much more feasible for someone to max out their IRA plan at $5,500 per year. If you did that, here’s an estimate of what you’d end up with:

• After 10 Years – $72,637
• After 20 Years – $190,955
• After 30 Years – $383,684
• After 40 Years – $697,618
• After 50 Years – $1,208,984

Again, you’ll notice the compound interest coming in strong toward the end. Your savings almost doubles over just the last 10 years. So, the longer you can hang in there, the better off your finances will be!

Maxing Out Both Your 401(k) and IRA Plans

Now, let’s imagine that you have done extremely well for yourself and are able to max out both your 401(k) plan and your IRA. How much wealth can you build then?

• After 10 Years – $310,359
• After 20 Years – $815,902
• After 30 Years – $1,639,378
• After 40 Years – $2,980,734
• After 50 Years – $5,165,661

Obviously, this type of money should provide you with a wonderfully comfortable retirement.

The Takeaway

Remember, these numbers are all for individual investors. Married couples have the ability to combine their retirement savings to increase their wealth-building power. So, while saving $18,000 a year by yourself may not be within reach, it could be achievable as a household.

Rather than deflate or discourage you, hopefully, these numbers will motivate you to save as much as you can for as long as you can do it. The power of compounding interest is real, and you can make it work to your advantage. The more you are able to save, the better off you’ll be in retirement.

More so than anything else, these numbers should be a reminder that putting money away for retirement is a long-term proposition. The earlier you start saving, the more success you’ll have. You have to play the long-game with your focus firmly set on the future. If you ride the ups and downs of the market, save until it hurts, and remember to be patient, you could end up being extremely wealthy in the end.

Topics: financial planning • Money and Life • Money Management • Personal Finance • Retirement Planning

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3 Ways Window Treatments Can Make Your Living Room Better

Having a high-end looking home can be difficult, especially if you have a tight decorating budget. Fortunately, there are ways window treatments can help make your living room better.  Read on!

Image Source: Flickr

Floor-to-Ceiling Sophistication
Floor-to-ceiling drapes are in high demand right now. Long drapes are more prevalent as homes are being built with higher ceilings and loft spaces become more popular. These drapes offer a sophisticated look, and at many places, can be customized in bright, contemporary hues for an updated appearance. According to Janet Barragan, senior vice president of window design at Curtainworks, “Eighty-four-inch curtains are the U.S. standard, but we now offer 95-inch curtains, and get requests for even longer curtains, from 108 to 120 inches, to accommodate today’s homes.” If you’re searching for long curtains for your windows, don’t be afraid to go custom and get the perfect window treatments that truly fit the unique size of your space. Photo courtesy of Curtain works. Source: HGTV

Establish a Color Palette
The fabric you choose for window treatments helps establish a color palette for the entire room. In this case, the window panels are a solid aqua, but a patterned fabric could be just as influential. The watery shade coordinates with the celadon rug and concrete gray walls, providing a colorful backdrop that’s also soft enough to let bright accents in fuchsia, purple, and pumpkin stand out. Source: BHG

Swing Arm Curtains
Swing arm curtains are one of the more unique window treatment ideas, and they haven’t seen much use in the United States in recent years. They require a special hinged curtain rod that allows you to move the curtain to stand out at a 90-degree angle from the window. Swing arm curtains are a brilliant and surprisingly inexpensive solution for bedrooms where you want to be able to block light easily without having to worry about ruining a carefully pleated or artfully scrunched curtain fabric with daily adjustments. Source: Freshome

If you want to know more about window treatments that can best fit your home style, contact us now!

 

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988

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Marmot Precip Rain Jacket Review

4 Shower Design Ideas

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Remodeling your bathroom shower can completely change the look of your bathroom. Here are some shower designs ideas that you might want to consider!

Below are 4 shower design ideas:

Add Some Art
This art deco bathroom has inset doors and handmade subway tile on the walls of the shower. The entire room serves as a shower floor, with blue and green tiles. Clear-glass shower deflectors contribute to the clean and open composition of the room. The built-in vanity and tall cabinet ensure personal care. Source: HGTV

Light Up
Nothing brightens your day like a refreshing shower, and this is one of the brightest — with a glass block exterior wall and a skylight, there’s plenty of daylight. Choose a skylight that opens to let humidity escape and help prevent problems with bathroom mold. Source: HouseLogic

Save Some Space
Want a bath and a shower but lack the space in a small bathroom? Rather than squeezing in separate fittings, look for an L-shaped shower bath with one wider end to give you more room for a comfortable shower. Source: IdealHome

Shower Plus Steam Room
A designer shower enclosures walk-in and a steam generator can be combined to create your very own steam room. It’s a simple way of making your own spa. The amenities are critical is this case. It would be wise to include a small window that can be opened when you use the shower alone to let the air circulate. You’ll be able to use this space both as a regular shower and a steam room and you can enjoy relaxing moments right there in your own home. Source: Homedit

 

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

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8 Strategies for Stressing Less About Retirement

What stresses you out these days? For me, juggling work and family is the daily grind, but my underlying stress is largely financial — managing cash flow, paying off debt, saving for retirement.

You know, the basics.

Apparently I’m not alone. A recent Schwab survey found that retirement savings is the number one cause of financial stress for most people. The scariest part of this survey? Those questioned were all 401(k) participants!

Even individuals who are actively saving for retirement in some capacity are stressed about whether or not they’re saving enough and if they’re making the best investment choices.

While it’s important to spend time thinking about retirement, you shouldn’t feel substantial stress about it, especially on a daily basis. What you need to reduce stress isn’t a million bucks (though that might help!). You need a plan. Even if you can’t save much for retirement right now, getting a plan in place can help you stress less about retirement as it looms ever closer.

Need some specific steps to let you stress less about retirement? Try this eight-step strategy to beat retirement planning stress:

1. Know where you are and where you’re going.

Any good retirement plan starts with an understanding of where you are and where you’re going. If you’re feeling stressed about retirement, it’s time to figure out what your current savings looks like. Take some time to pull the balances and investment portfolios for all of your savings vehicles, including employer and individual plans.

Then use the tools outlined in this podcast to see if you’re on track to replace 80% of your pre-retirement income at the time you retire. By stepping through this strategy, you’ll see if you currently have enough in savings and how much you need to save each year in order to have enough to retire.

Learn More: Three Lessons You’ll Find in the 4% Rule

2. Focus on the future

If you’re like all-too-many others, step one could have a somewhat scary outcome. In fact, about 23% of American households are not on track to cover retirement expenses, according to a Fidelity survey.

In this situation, it’s easy to focus on the negative, and to just become more stressed about retirement. Then you either end up waking up at night thinking about the future, or sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the problem.

But beating yourself up about poor financial and savings choices in the past will do you no good. Instead, resolve to focus on the future. As you walk through the rest of this plan, you’ll get a better grasp on how to recover your retirement savings plan. Focus on taking steps to improve your future, rather than perseverating on the past.

3. Come up with a plan

Your retirement savings plan can start off as simple or as complicated as you’d like. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start off with a percentage savings goal for your employer-sponsored retirement savings account. (Remember to save at least enough to take advantage of any savings matching plans your employer offers!) Or if you’re more comfortable with complex decisions, learn how to save in several types of accounts to maximize your tax benefits.

Eventually, every DIY retirement investor should learn to navigate the world of 401(k)s, IRAs, and possibly even non-tax-deductible investing vehicles. But if you’re just starting out, keep things simple.

Resource: Retirement Savings Vehicles

The key here is to plan to save a certain percentage of your income. Setting percentage-of-income goals is a simple way to get retirement savings back on track. As you meet these savings goals, you can then take time to form a more complex retirement savings plan.

4. Save early, and save often

Regardless of your age, it’s never too late to start saving for retirement. It’s never too early, either! In fact, the sooner you can start saving, the better off you’ll be and the easier it will be to meet your long-term retirement goals.

Learn Why: The Power of Compound Interest

Even if you can only afford to save a few dollars a month right now, start saving that few dollars regularly. If it helps, automatically transfer money into your retirement account with every paycheck, or even once a week. This can help you save rather than spending your few extra bucks frivolously.

What if you’re struggling under a mountain of debt? How should this change your retirement saving strategy? Your retirement savings strategy may be more nuanced. The bottom line here is that you don’t want to miss out on employer retirement savings matches. These are free money opportunities! But if you have higher-interest debts, you may want to get rid of them before you ramp up your retirement savings.

5. Learn to keep it in balance

Asset allocation may be the piece of retirement planning that stresses you out the most. But it’s necessary, and it doesn’t have to be that stressful. You don’t need to balance your assets every month, but you should set a goal to rebalance them on a regular basis.

Not sure how? Listen to this podcast to figure out how to keep your assets in balance. Rebalancing will help ensure that you keep your risk profile where you want it, and that you can reduce your risk adequately as you near your target retirement age.

6. Get comfortable with some risk

Many investors fear taking on too much risk in their retirement portfolios. This is especially true when investing in more volatile vehicles like stocks. Sure, you can lose quite a bit of money in a year. Over time, though, your investments will return bigger gains than if they’re invested in lower-risk options.

While you need to decide exactly how much risk you can handle, the bottom line is that every investment comes with at least some risk. And taking on a little more can mean bigger gains in the long run. They key is to decide how you’ll invest, and then weather the storms. Selling off completely when the market crashes is a recipe for retirement investing disaster.

So as you’re deciding on your investing plan, know how much risk you’re comfortable with, and then roll with it.

7. Reduce retirement expenses now

One of the best ways to make retirement planning less stressful is to set the bar a little lower. Sure, you want to be able to live a comfortable — or even a totally fabulous — life in your golden years. But maybe that doesn’t mean saving more money. Maybe it means working now to reduce your retirement expenses later.

The most important step here is to pay off debts, especially high-interest debts. Get and stay out of credit card debt as soon as you can, and you won’t have those payments to worry about during retirement. You might also make a goal of paying cash for future vehicles, so as to avoid car payments. And you may or may not decide to pay off your mortgage early before you retire.

Another, less obvious way to potentially avoid future retirement expenses is to take care of your health. Healthcare costs could eat up a big portion of your retirement savings. And while you can’t avoid every potential problem, focusing on exercise and a healthy diet now may ward off some chronic issues, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Plus, staying healthy will help you enjoy those years that much more.

8. Practice makes perfect

Finally, as you draw close to your retirement years, you might practice living on your estimated retirement income. Cutting back expenses early can help you save more during those last working years, which can be a boon to your retirement portfolio. Plus, learning to live with less now — and seeing how simple that can be — can help you reduce retirement-related stress.

Even if you’re a couple of decades away from retirement, learning to live more simply and cut expenses can help you save more for retirement while stressing less about your future.

Learn More: 7 Expenses That Vanish During Retirement

This eight-step plan may not completely cure your retirement-related stress. But it can help you feel less worried as you move towards your retirement savings goals.

Topics: Asset Allocation • Budget • debt • financial planning • Money Management • Personal Finance • Retirement Planning

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Columbia Bugaboot Plus III Titanium Omni-Heat Winter Hiking Boot Review

22 of the Best Tools to Manage Your Money (Most Are Totally FREE)

Most of us use a lot of tools to manage our money, budget, investments, and so forth. So I thought I’d pull together a list of the tools I use nearly every day. Hopefully you’ll find some options here that will help you make the most of your money.

Investing

1. Personal Capital: Without question, this tool is THE way to track your investments. You can link all of your 401k, IRA, and taxable accounts. Personal Capital will track your investments in real time, offering charts and graphs on everything from performance to asset allocation. It also gives you a picture of the fees you are paying in your 401k and other retirement accounts. Oh, and it’s totally free.

2. Morningstar: This free resource is hands down the best place to research mutual funds and ETFs. Its portfolio tracker (requires free membership) can slice and dice your portfolio in terms of cost, asset allocation, and a million other criteria. If you upgrade to Morningstar’s premium service, you’ll get additional analyst reports and details on your investments.

3. Betterment: For those looking for a low cost, low minimum, and easy investing solution, Betterment is the answer. It’s extremely easy to use, and they offer both taxable accounts and IRAs. I’ve had an account with Betterment since 2011, and contribute to it automatically every month.

4. Vanguard: For lost cost index funds, Vanguard is the clear winner. I’ve rolled over my old 401k accounts into Vanguard IRAs, and I have most of our taxable accounts here. It’s free to open an account and very easy to use.

5. Scottrade: If you are looking to trade stocks, ETF, or bonds, Scottrade overs ease of use and very low costs. I’ve had a SEP IRA at Scottrade for several years. One of the big benefits is the ability to go into a Scottrade office and actually talk to a real life human being.

Listen to the podcast where I describe how these tools have helped me manage our finances

Budgeting & Money Management

6. YNAB: This software is hands down the best budgeting tool I’ve ever used. And I’ve tried all of them. The video tutorials that YNAB has produced not only show you how to use the program, but they also provide invaluable tips on how to budget effectively.

7. Capital One 360: This is one of two online bank accounts I use. Cap One 360 offers extremely competitive interest rates and virtually no fees. Its website is also very easy to use.

8. Synchrony Bank: Synchrony consistently pays one of the highest interest rates on FDIC-insured savings accounts (1.05% APY as of June 22, 2016).

9. Excel: With all of the available online tools, it’s easy to forget about some of the basics. Excel is where I track our net worth, updated monthly.

10. Citi Double Cash: I use a credit card for every purchase I can for several reasons. First, it’s the safest way to spend money. Second, it makes tracking my spending very easy. I just download the transactions into YNAB. And third, I earn cash back on every single purchase. The Citi Double Cash is my primary card because I earn 1% on every purchase + 1% when I pay for those purchases.

Learn More: How to Spend the Same But Get More

Credit & Debt

11. myFICO: The place to go to get your official FICO score is the company that created the score in the first place, myFICO. If you sign up for FICO’s score monitoring service, you get access to your FICO score for a small fee.

You can also get access to your FICO score for free with owning a Barclaycard.  Barclaycard is one of the few credit card issuers that provides its card members with free access to their FICO score.

12. Annual Credit Report: This is the place to go to get your free credit report. Note that you don’t get your credit score here, just your report. But it’s essential to make sure there are no errors on your report. I’ve created a video walking you through the process, which you can find by clicking here.

13. Credit Karma: For monitoring your score and getting an idea of where you stand, there are two great options. And I use them both. After all, they are totally free. No “free” trial. No credit card required. Just free! The first is Credit Karma.

14. Credit Sesame: The second is Credit Sesame. Both tools do an excellent job of telling you exactly where your credit stands, what is helping your score, and what is holding you back.

15. 0% Credit Cards: My wife and I used 0% balance transfer cards to help us get out of debt. The no interest cards reduced our interest payments (obviously), which not only saved us money, but also got us out of debt a lot faster. Two of my favorites are Chase Slate (0% for 15 months; no transfer fee) and Citi Simplicity^® Card (0% for 21 months; 3% transfer fee). You can find other current options in our list of the best offers by clicking here.

16. Debt Reduction Calculator: This is one of my favorite calculators when it comes to getting out of debt. You can enter multiple debts with different rates and terms. It allows you to set up extra payments and customize the order of the debts you’ll pay off first. The result is the length of time it will take you to get out of debt and how much it will cost.

Resource: How to Use the Avalanche Method to Get Out of Debt

Real Estate

17. Mortgage Rates: The best place to compare rates is at LendingTree. The site is easy to use for both mortgages and refinancing.

18. Zillow: If you are looking to buy, or just looking to kill an hour or two, Zillow is a great option. You can easily search for available properties anywhere. Most listings have photos and loads of details about the property.

19. HUD Homes: Every single investment property I’ve ever purchased was a HUD home. HUD foreclosures are also a great place to find a home you plan to occupy. Start by researching on the HUD website, but make sure to use a realtor who has a lot of experience with HUD.

20. Karl’s Mortgage Calculator: Simply put, it is the best most comprehensive mortgage calculator you’ll find anywhere. It’s also really easy to use.

Retirement

21. Retirement Nest Egg Calculator: From Vanguard, this calculator lets you easily run simulations to determine if your retirement savings will last during your retirement.

22. The Flexible Retirement Plan: Arguably the most comprehensive free retirement calculator available, the Flexible Retirement Plan is the place to start if you want a DIY plan.

Related: How to Know If You’re Saving Enough for Retirement?

Insurance

Bonus Tool: Haven Life–They offer free online quotes for term life insurance. It’s the only type of life insurance the vast majority of us need. And Haven Life can often issue policies without the need for a medical exam.

Bonus Calculator: Should you pay off the debt with the smallest balance first, or should you tackle the one with the highest interest rate? Take the guesswork out of this question with the free debt snowball calculator.

If there are other tools that you find helpful, share them in the comments below.

Topics: Credit • Credit Cards • Podcast • Tools & Resources

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Which Hillsound Trail Crampon is Right For You? How to Choose

Virtually half of Canadians aren’t taking actions to achieve financial goals: CIBC survey

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TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios Review

TD Ameritrade has rolled out its own “robo advisor” feature, called Essential Portfolios. If you already invest with TD Ameritrade, or have been considering doing so, you should take a close look at this investment management tool. It’s a way that you can move some, or even all, of your investments into a low-cost, fully managed portfolio. It’s also a way to free up your time and attention to concentrate on other areas of your life.

What Are TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios?

The Essential Portfolios feature was first made available to TD Ameritrade investors at the tail end of 2016, so it’s a very new investment advisory tool. As a robo advisor, it starts with determining your investment temperament, and your future goals. A portfolio is then built around your temperament and goals, comprised of a set of low-cost exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Essential Portfolios is managed by Amerivest Investment Management, a.k.a., Amerivest, which is a registered investment advisor affiliate of TD Ameritrade. The investments used in the portfolio are ETFs recommended by Morningstar Investment Management. The ETFs are arranged in portfolios ranging from conservative to more aggressive, consistent with your own investment profile.

The Morningstar connection serves to minimize the impact of Essential Portfolios being brand new. It may also provide them with an advantage over other robo advisors, who are relying primarily on internal investment managers alone.

How TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios Works

In order to open an account with TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios, you start by completing a simple application. The application requests basic information, including identifying information, contact information, employment, and citizenship confirmation.

You can set up a wide variety of account types, including the following:

• Individual
• Joint Tenants WROS (With Rights of Survivorship)
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Rollover IRA
• SEP IRA
• SIMPLE IRA
• Minor IRA (Roth or Traditional)
• Trust
• UTMA/UGMA
• 529 College Savings Plan
• Coverdell ESA

In order to determine the specific type of portfolio for your investments, you must complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire starts by asking questions regarding your investment goals, including specific targets and timelines. They will also ask questions that are designed to assess your risk tolerance, ranging somewhere between conservative and aggressive. They will give you a breakdown of the probability of reaching your goal, based on your chosen (and the recommended) risk tolerance. You can then reevaluate your monthly contribution or even change your aggressiveness, based on what you see.

Once your investment profile has been determined, a portfolio will be constructed that is consistent with that profile. There are five different portfolios, ranging from conservative to more aggressive. The portfolio will be built around ETF’s, which are designed to provide exposure to certain broad market sectors, that are necessary to build the appropriate investment portfolio for your investment profile.

Your portfolio will be constructed with nonproprietary ETFs, that way you will be provided with fully objective investment choices. The ETFs are selected from Vanguard or BlackRock’s iShares. Each Essentials portfolio will be comprised of five ETFs, plus cash. The ETFs have a weighted average expense ratio of between six and eight basis points (bps) in order to keep investment expenses to an absolute minimum.

Related: My Experience with Vanguard Advisory Services

But beyond the ETF’s, you can also trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit and unrelated ETF’s in your account. In addition, if your account is approved, you can also trade options.

TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios Benefits and Features

TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios comes with a number of benefits and features, including:

• Account protection – Your account with TD Ameritrade is covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), which provides protection of investor’s accounts for up to $500,000 in cash and securities (up to $250,000 in cash) in the event of broker default (but not losses due to market factors). TD Ameritrade also provides each investor with up to $149.5 million (including up to $2 million in cash) in additional coverage, provided by London insurers.
• Brick-and-mortar branches nationwide – TD Ameritrade has a network of more than 100 branches located in and around many of the nation’s major cities. This is an advantage that sets TD Ameritrade apart from many of the robo advisors, who operate strictly as online platforms. You can certainly handle your Essential Portfolio completely online, but if you have run into a problem, it’s good to know that there may be a physical branch location nearby where you can get hands-on assistance.
• Accessible from any digital device – You can stay connected to your Essential Portfolios account using your home computer, tablet or smartphone, providing you with unrestricted access to your account.
• Automatic rebalancing – Your portfolio will periodically and automatically be rebalanced, in order to keep it consistent with the set target allocation. This feature alone can save you considerable time and money when compared to manual investing.
• Customer service – In addition to having more than 100 local branches, TD Ameritrade also offer customer contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via toll-free phone, email or live chat.

Resource: Rebalancing Your Portfolio

TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios Pricing

TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios come with a single low 0.30% advisory fee. The fee is consistent with other low cost robo advisors available in the market. There are no other fees associated with the account, other than the ETF expense ratios of between six and eight basis points, as described earlier.

You can open your Essential Portfolio with a low minimum deposit amount of just $5,000. That opens Essential Portfolios to many new and small investors, who are generally the investors who are most interested in getting a professionally managed investment portfolio. The low minimum also works well in conjunction with the very low annual advisory fee of 0.30%.

Should You Use TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios?

TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios is a newcomer on the block. But given the strength and reputation of TD Ameritrade, as well as the portfolio management provided by Morningstar and the ETFs by Vanguard and iShares, the newness of the program should be an issue.

With the combination of a low minimum initial investment requirement, as well as very low fees, Essential Portfolios can be an excellent choice if you are a new or inexperienced investor, or if you don’t have the time or inclination to handle your own investments manually.

To sign up for TD Ameritrade’s Essential Portfolios, or just to get more information, head for the Essentials Portfolio page to start the process.

Topics: Investing • Make Money • Money Management • Personal Finance • Reviews

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Adding Navigation and GPS Apps to Map and Compass for Backcountry Navigation

The Appalachian Mountain Club has invited me to give a 90 minute talk and workshop on Adding Navigation and GPS Apps to Map and Compass for Backcountry Navigation at their Annual Summit Meeting on January 28, 2017 (9:30-10:55 AM) at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood, MA (just outside Boston.) My workshop is one of 20 presentations and interactive workshops on skills, conservation and leadership that will be given at the conference, many by Appalachian Mountain Club volunteers like myself.

If you’re a map and compass curmudgeon, my workshop will give you a crash course in the use of Internet, GPS, and Smartphone Apps for use on-trail or off. I’ll discuss the digital mapping revolution and personal map publishing, in addition to demonstrating a variety of navigation and smartphone apps including Caltopo, Gaia, and NE Hiker.

Click here to register or see the conference full agenda.

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118-150 Robson by Amacon – Plans, Prices, Availability

At a Glance

• prime location at Robson & Cambie streets
• 30-storey mixed-use building
• 125 studio to 3-bedroom condos
• hotel with restaurant & lounge
• 1 block from BC Place Stadium
• 1 block from Vancouver Public Library
• goal of LEED Gold

Where Downtown Meets Yaletown
Canadian developer, Amacon, has proposed to redevelop the site of the Northern Electric Company Building at 118-150 Robson Street into a mixed-use building containing a 120-room hotel, 4,635 sq ft of commercial space, and a residential tower with 125 condominiums. The Art Moderne façade of the heritage building will be restored and re-purposed into retail shops and a hotel, above which a new luxury residential tower will be constructed.

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Located where Downtown Vancouver transitions into the residential neighbourhoods surrounding the north shore of False Creek, you’ll have within mere steps of your front door an exceptional range of eateries, shops, professional services, and leisure activities for unparalleled convenience. Revel in the nightlife of Granville Street or cheer on the home team at a BC Lions game in BC Place. Survey the brand name boutiques along Robson Street or enjoy a fine dining experience in one of Yaletown’s eclectic restaurants. Living more is driving less.

Pricing for 118-150 Robson
As this project is in the development application stage, pricing has not yet been finalized. To ensure you are kept up-to-date on this excellent purchase opportunity, we strongly recommend signing up to our VIP list above.

Floor Plans for 118-150 Robson
Current plans envision 125 residential suites, ranging from studios to 3-bedrooms, making this property suitable for families.

Amenities at 118-150 Robson
Residents will enjoy shared use of a fifth floor indoor amenity room and an outdoor area to enjoy fine summer days with family and friends. Have out-of-town guests visiting? What’s more convenient than staying at the attached 120-room hotel and have use of its amenities? So many more conveniences are located just outside your door.

Parking and Storage
Approximately 280 underground parking and 250 bicycle stalls have been proposed for residents, hotel guests, and retail customers. Of these, 56 will be electric vehicle charging stations.

Maintenance Fees at 118-150 Robson
Will be included with release of pricing information.

Developer Team for 118-150 Robson
Amacon, developer of prestigious properties such as Modern on Burrard Street, has partnered with GBL Architects to redevelop the former Downtown Vancouver Catholic Archdiocese property. For over four decades, Amacon has been one of the most influential real estate development and construction firms in Canada. With a spectacular portfolio of landmark developments in Vancouver and Toronto, Amacon has established a highly-regarded reputation for setting the standard in the development industry.

Amacon is driven by passion to design with architectural innovation; a commitment to constructing uncompromising standards of quality and superior craftsmanship; and offering responsive customer care and proven satisfaction. These are the building blocks that define Amacon’s signature developments and new communities.

GBL Architects is a comprehensive, energetic, and diverse firm of architects providing a full range of architectural services to the private and public sectors. The firm has built its reputation on high quality design, tight project management, technical proficiency, financial responsibility, and keen administrative skills.

Each project design is based upon our knowledge of traditional and innovative construction techniques, materials and methods, and our familiarity with the appropriate local codes and approval processes. The considerable number of projects successfully realized by GBL have helped to shape the form and development of communities and neighbourhoods throughout British Columbia.

Expected Completion for 118-150 Robson
TBA.

Are you interested in learning more about other homes in Yaletown, Southeast False Creek, or Chinatown?

Check out these great Yaletown Presales!

The post 118-150 Robson by Amacon – Plans, Prices, Availability appeared first on Mike Stewart Real Estate Specialist 604-763-3136.

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