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☆ You can still score a 2022 tax break with pretax IRA contributions — here's how to qualify
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

You can make your 2022 IRA contribution through the April tax deadline in 2023, as long as you designate the deposit for tax year 2022. However, it gets more complicated if either partner has retirement plan coverage at work and participates in the plan. With a workplace plan, some or all of your contributions may not be deductible, depending on earnings. For 2022, single investors with a workplace retirement plan may claim a tax break for their entire IRA contribution if their modified adjusted gross income is $68,000 or less. How to know if a pretax IRA contribution makes sense

☆ Millennials are building up a mountain of debt in pursuit of the middle-class American dream — and they're starting to miss credit card payments at an alarming rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This debt load is beginning to takes it toll — the NY Fed's report found that millennials are missing credit card and auto loan payments at rising rates. Millennials are starting to miss credit card paymentsAfter falling over the last few years as borrowers paid down their balances, US credit card debt rose $61 billion in the fourth quarter, the largest increase in the history of the NY Fed's data, which dates back to 1999. This increase brought total credit card balances to $986 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of $927 billion. Inflation has caused many millennial consumers to spend more, save less, and ultimately turn to credit card debt as pandemic-era savings have run out. While there are surely several factors fueling credit card debt among millennials, the high cost of childcare and related expenses surely aren't helping.

☆ Oksana Masters Had a Difficult Path to Athletic Triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

“A lot of people have no idea that I was living in a car right before Sochi”—the 2014 Winter Games, when she took home a silver and a bronze for cross-country skiing. Her 17 medals are also for rowing, cycling and the biathlon. “People see me now, but they don’t see the hard parts that came before,” she says. That is why she decided to write her new memoir, “The Hard Parts,” out Feb. 21. It also covers her formative years in several abusive orphanages in Ukraine, where she was born with webbed fingers, one kidney and no weight-bearing bones below the knees.

Maggie Tucker and her husband, both in their early 40s, retired on the same day. Tucker and Woods had a specific plan for how they would reach early retirement. Saving additional money in index funds and getting into real estate investing helped them meet their early retirement goals. Early retirement still held some surprisesWhile there have been relatively few disadvantages to retiring early, Tucker says that there are some — including a sense of ennui. And remember to celebrate: After retiring early, Tucker and Woods took their children on a six-week trip around Europe, visiting six countries in six weeks.

☆ NatWest calls time on UK banks’ rate-hike party
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose has brought that excitement to an end. It’s surprising that Rose thinks lending margins have maxed out already. Higher rates take a while to feed into revenue because so many borrowers have long-term or fixed-rate debt, which reprices slowly. That would be a cause for celebration among households and firms with spare cash, but it might bring the bank share-price party to an end. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

If you're dating someone new, here are five red flags around money you should be looking out for:1. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

☆ How a college student can make 6 figures in real estate, according to a 22-year-old home flipper set to rake in $300,000 this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shawn Castellanos earned about $150,000 during college by wholesaling homes with few renovations. Castellenos says he built his business without financial help and expects to earn $300,000 in 2023. "When you start talking about investing you're going to talk about real estate, because that's probably the best thing to invest in." The first house that Shawn Castellanos flipped in Dublin, Ohio, a 20-minute drive from Columbus. The interior of the house that Shawn Castellanos flipped.

☆ The price of a high-end iPhone has increased 66% since 2009. Tim Cook says people are willing to pay more for 'the best.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call that people are willing to pay more for a better iPhone. The price of a high-end iPhone has increased by 66% since the iPhone 3GS was introduced in 2009. Today, the latest high-end iPhone model, the 14 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage, costs $1,600. When the iPhone X was introduced in 2018, the phone sold for $1,149, or around $1,376 in today's dollars. In 2013, the company introduced the iPhone 5C, which cost $100 less than the iPhone 5S.

☆ I felt pressured to buy a nearly $1 million house at age 27 — and I deeply regret it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

She wasn't ready but thought if she waited, she'd never be able to afford a house. She talked about the pressure to buy and how she had to change her life to afford homeownership. We were saving around $4,000 a month, so we thought that a $6,000 monthly mortgage payment would be doable. Our take-home pay each month is a bit more than $11,000, and our monthly mortgage payment is about $6,800. We've realized we're going to have to make some substantial lifestyle changes to be able to afford the house.

If you've already maxed out your 401(k) or other workplace retirement account, consider contributing to a Roth or traditional IRA as well. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield services firm Halliburton Co (HAL.N) on Tuesday topped Wall Street profit estimates for its fourth quarter and said its shale oil-well fracking equipment remains fully booked with oil prices driving increased drilling. The largest provider of hydraulic fracking services used to complete shale oil and gas wells maxed out on its North American fracking equipment and crews. The business last year was in a standoff with oil producers, not adding new equipment until customers agreed to pay higher fees. Halliburton executives said on Tuesday they expect North America customer spending to grow by at least 15% this year, but warned its oil-well completions equipment remains fully contracted. For the full-year 2022, international revenue grew by 20% and North America revenue grew 51% compared with last year.

☆ Hitting your own 'debt ceiling': What a maxed-out card does to your credit score
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hitting your own "debt ceiling" or reaching the spending limit on your credit cards can cause trouble for your personal finances. A good credit score can help you qualify for and receive better rates on mortgages, auto loans and more. Credit utilization is one of the five factors that make up your credit score, and understanding how it works can help you improve yours. Your credit utilization rate is the percentage of credit you are using relative to the credit available to you. So if you max out your credit cards, your credit utilization rate would be closer to 100%, well above the expert-recommended 30% maximum for healthy credit.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday notified Congress that the U.S. will reach its statutory debt limit next Thursday. Yellen said it is "critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit." Congress in December 2021 increased the federal debt limit to about $31.4 trillion. This can extend the clock for weeks or months while Congress hashes out a bill to raise the borrowing limit. Yellen added, "Increasing or suspending the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments or cost taxpayers money.

In January 2021, my net worth was -$15,000. Despite this, my net worth increased from -$15,000 to $15,000 since January 2021. Together, these accounted for an increase of $12,000 in my net worth. In the end, these different sources accounted for an additional $5,000+ that I invested over the last six months — which has allowed me to surpass my original net worth goal for this time period. Three years ago, I made the first deposit into my Roth IRA and today that account makes up a substantial portion of my net worth.

☆ This 31-year-old started his vending machine business with $10,000 in savings. Here's how he maxed out his profits to make $300,000 last year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Marcus Gram started his vending-machine business in 2018 with $10,000 in savings. But when he realized vending machines could generate cash flow and required less startup capital, he changed his mind. He launched a vending-machine business with the goal of turning his $10,000 in savings into a million-dollar company. His company, Joyner Vending, operated 18 vending machines in four states as of 2021. After a year in business, Gram hit the jackpot of vending locations: a dorm that housed 500 students.

☆ It's time to boost 401(k) contributions for 2023: 'You're smart to jump on this,' says advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

If you're eager to boost your retirement savings, there's good news for 2023: higher 401(k) contribution limits. And now is the time to adjust your deferrals, financial experts say. You can funnel $22,500 into your 401(k), 403(b) and other such plans for 2023, up from the $20,500 limit in 2022. "Most people set [401(k) contributions] once and never look back." If you aim to max out 401(k) contributions for 2023, it may pay off to start early, as spreading it out may be easier than contributing more later in the year.

☆ A Florida crypto entrepreneur bragged in the middle of his January 6 testimony about his 'legs day' personal record at the gym
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Crypto advocate Samuel Armes had an eventful interview with the January 6 committee in July 2022. In the middle of being grilled about who authored the document, Armes ended up on the floor with a leg cramp and then bragged about how much weight he had just lifted. "Sorry, I'm cramping," Armes told Rep. Zoe Lofgren during the virtual interview, per the transcript released on December 23. He acknowledged in the interview with the committee that elements of his plan were used in the lengthier "1776 returns" document he was shown. "I ended up sharing it with her on a Google Drive," he told the committee, referring to Flores.

☆ A real estate investor who retired at 32 shares his 5 best pieces of advice for beginners heading into 2023 — including why it's just as important to know when to exit as when to buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

After just five years of investing in real estate, Justin Sloan officially retired at the age of 32. When he was 32 years old, just five years after purchasing his first real estate property in 2011, Justin Sloan officially retired. And while residential real estate investing has stolen the headlines this year, Sloan found success by investing in commercial real estate properties. Instead, Sloan still believes that beginners should start out the more traditional way — by investing in residential real estate. "The lessons that I learned in residential real estate carried over to commercial," he told Insider in a recent interview.

☆ A real-estate investor who owns 9 commercial properties explains how he retired at 32 after just 5 years of investing by branching into commercial properties over residential — and shares where he see
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Justin Sloan retired at 32 years old, just five years after he started investing in real estate. Sloan did this by branching out to commercial real estate, which he prefers over residential. Buying his first residential propertySloan began researching other investable assets such as franchises and municipal bonds, but found the idea of real estate investing especially appealing. "I was that naive to the idea that you could hire someone else to take care of your real estate." That same year, he stopped opening more cell phone stores, and instead directed all his revenue towards real estate investing.

Car buyers are watching the clock tick down for the Inflation Reduction Act’s updated electric vehicle tax incentives to kick in. If you shop right nowState and federal EV incentives already exist. Their car was built in Tennessee and qualified for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, which they were able to combine with a Massachusetts EV tax exemption of $2,500, effectively knocking $10,000 off the price. Plus, caps on how many vehicles can qualify for existing tax incentives have kept some buyers on the sidelines. If you shop in 2024After next year, the IRA makes an important change to how consumers apply their tax credit.

☆ 'You can control your tax reporting destiny.' 4 key year-end tax moves
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While your tax return isn't due until April, several key deadlines are approaching by year-end, experts say. "You can control your tax reporting destiny," said certified financial planner Jim Guarino, a CPA and managing director at Baker Newman Noyes in Woburn, Massachusetts. Since few Americans itemize deductions, it's harder to claim a tax break for charitable gifts. Time Roth IRA conversions with transfers to a donor-advised fundAnother charitable giving strategy, donor-advised funds, may pair well with a Roth IRA conversion, Guarino said. Donor-advised funds act like a charitable checkbook, allowing investors to "bunch" multiple years of gifts into a single transfer, providing an upfront tax deduction.

☆ Gen Zers are taking on more debt, roommates, and jobs as their economy gets worse and worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Gen Zers are taking on credit-card debt — and missing their payments — at a rising rate. Amounts of credit-card debt and delinquency rates are on the rise, especially among 18- to 29-year-olds. But if a recession comes, Gen Zers could be among the hardest hit due to mounting debt, few savings, and vulnerability to layoffs. US credit-card debt overall rose $38 billion between July and September of this year, per the New York Fed. For older Gen Zers, the delinquency rate rose to over 6%, though still below the roughly 9% pre-pandemic rate.

Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightThe best credit cards for good credit reviewsMany of the best credit cards for good credit offer generous rewards and 0% introductory APR offers with no annual fee. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are offering record-high new welcome bonuses. Review: Citi Custom Cash card reviewCredit cards for good credit frequently asked questions (FAQ)What is a good credit score? If you're rebuilding your credit, it's best not to focus on rewards credit cards until you've solved the issues leading to a score that hovers around 600. Even if you simply don't have enough credit history to warrant a score approaching 700, consider a secured credit card or a student credit card.

☆ Long Covid may be 'the next public health disaster' — with a $3.7 trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Norpel is one of millions of Americans with long Covid, also known as long-haul Covid, post-Covid or post-acute Covid syndrome. Key symptoms: Long Covid has been linked to more than 200 symptoms, according to The Rockefeller Foundation. Duration: There's no consistent definition of how long symptoms must persist for someone to be considered a long Covid patient. What experts do know is that for some, long Covid symptoms can last months or even years. "I don't know if it's for the rest of my life or not," Hurst said of feeling long Covid symptoms.

Garcia tells Insider, "I was inputting some numbers into a retirement calculator, and it let me put in my age. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

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