Candlemas

Candlemas was an ancient Christian tradition, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles were a representation of how long and cold the winter would be. The Germans later expanded the concept, by choosing to have the hedgehog...

Retirement Plans

Many key dollar limits on retirement plans will remain the same in 2021 over 2020. The maximum 401(k) contribution stays at $19,500. People born before 1972 can contribute an extra $6,500. These limits apply to 403(b) and 457 plans as well. The cap on SIMPLEs is...

When is it too far?

In the last election of (2020) Oregon had Measure 110 on the ballot that decriminalizes personal possession of illegal drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and meth. Under the measure, people who possess larger quantities of illicit drugs could still possibly...

Gambling losses

In a recent court case, it was determined that a compulsive gambler can offset winnings with unsubstantiated losses. In 2014, he spent countless hours playing slot machines in four casinos. The casinos issued 160 Forms W-2G, reporting cumulative gross winnings of...

Bleak Profits

I was reading an article that was evaluating the validity of blog post by Ben Carlson, portfolio manager at Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC, where he stated, “investing when things look bleak remains a profitable strategy.” At first blush this seems counterintuitive. ...

Pin It on Pinterest