by Leif Jensen | Sep 3, 2025 | Rant |
Car insurance premiums have been notably increasing. This trend is supported by data: Lexis-Nexis Risk Solutions’ annual report found average insurance costs rose 10% in 2024, following a 15% surge in 2023. Bankrate reports that full-coverage policies now...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 1, 2025 | Rant |
Have you been hearing all of the yelling is about money? According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it may be because the total cost to own and operate an automobile averaged a frightening $12,296 in 2024, roughly 30% higher than a decade ago. Driving has almost...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 25, 2025 | Rant |
More and more we have companies that insist that you need to keep paying for what you have purchased. Monsanto’s business model for its genetically modified seeds typically requires farmers to purchase new seeds annually rather than saving and replanting seeds...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 18, 2025 | Taxes |
I have a client whose return I just completed has a tremendous tax bill because of the huge amount of capital gains, interest and dividends. They had a couple of good things happening, first off, lots of capital gains, usually means a winning investment strategy. ...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 11, 2025 | Retirement |
On August 9, 1935, The Social Security Bill (H.R. 7260) was sent to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his signature. An important part of the New Deal was the first national social insurance policy. It would help ensure that older Americans would have a stable...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 4, 2025 | Rant |
Hackers are getting better and better. Typically, I have been able to easily recognize the mistakes and just delete the e-mails. This week I received one that looked legit and forced me to make some calls all because I believed it to be an real e-mail. Luckily, I...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 28, 2025 | Rant |
I am far from surprised. Illinois concealed carry licenses are not currently trending downwards. While there was a recent ruling deeming the state’s ban on concealed carry on public transit unconstitutional, this decision is limited to the specific plaintiffs...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 21, 2025 | Taxes |
Tax prep software firms are celebrating the proposal in the House-passed bill: The end of IRS’s Direct File. This program, which IRS first piloted in 2024 and expanded this year, which allows eligible individuals to opt in, and with IRS’s help, to prepare and e-file...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 14, 2025 | Money Management |
Determine Your Capital Gain or Loss Capital Gain: The difference between the sale price of your asset and your “basis” (usually what you paid for it, plus commissions or fees) Capital Loss: If you sold the asset for less than your basis, you have a loss,...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 9, 2025 | General |
In recent years, Chinese state-sponsored hackers have emerged as one of the most significant security threats to the United States, particularly through their targeting of civilian infrastructure. This threat, which intensified during the Trump administration, has...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 7, 2025 | Rant |
I was talking to my youngest who has a very eclectic group of friends, who all seem to have the same unusual reading sources as my son. Recently one of these friends gave him a cryptic warning, No specifics per say, just a be very prepared for something major to occur...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 2, 2025 | General |
It seems that some people still don’t realize that you need to have reasonable compensation as a “S-Corp” owner. Definition and IRS Scrutiny S Corporation owners who actively work in their business are required by the IRS to pay themselves a...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 1, 2025 | Rant |
I comment often that I get blog topics from conversations with my kids. True when I think of them images from pre-school enter my mind first. Granted they are all grown men. Now they read sources that I never heard of, they tend to avoid the mainstream media,...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 30, 2025 | Rant |
A millennia ago when I was a mere youth, Chicago sports teams were on regular tv and free to watch and a part of everyone’s day. Hell they even had catchy theme songs: “Here Come the Hawks”; “Hey Hey Holy Mackerel”; Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”.. Now it...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 25, 2025 | Retirement |
The situation may sound like bad luck, but it’s a reality for many older Americans. About 1 in 5 people over the age of 50 have no retirement savings at all, according to a recent report from AARP. This alarming statistic highlights a growing crisis in retirement...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 23, 2025 | Economy |
“The middle class has been declining — we just haven’t recognized it fully,” LISEP Chairman Gene Ludwig told CBS MoneyWatch. “It’s really dangerous because it’s the kind of thing that leads to social unrest, and it’s not fair....
by Leif Jensen | Jun 18, 2025 | Rant |
What do you do when you have a spam call? For me it depends on who the caller states they are. If they say they are the IRS I have lots of fun, I insist that I paid my taxes, and that they are discriminating from me. One time I called them so much, they stopped...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 16, 2025 | Rant |
I am fascinated with the tv series “How________ Built America. I have ordered more books based on these entrepreneurs that I may never catch up. I also get a number of blog ides from the shows and the books. The show has also made me change some of my investment...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2025 | Rant |
As American ages upward, so does our workforce. Yet, it seems that there is still a lot of age bias in existence. When people lose good jobs in their 50s, it’s common for them to struggle in their 60s and in retirement, says Lisa Berkman, a professor of public policy...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2025 | Economy |
It has been awhile since I reported on the unemployment rate. Things were perceived as better, or at least not really that bad. We are now in the “bad” category in my mind. The economy is waffling, mostly because the President keeps going back and forth...
