by Leif Jensen | Aug 1, 2023 | General |
How many of you are using AI regularly? Do you Alexia? Play chess online? How about Amazon shopping recommendations? All utilize AI, so you have been using AI without even knowing it. Chat GPT newest iteration of AI. ChatGPT is a large language model-based chatbot...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 31, 2023 | Running a Business |
I was on a webinar regarding risk and the issue of a cyber insurance policy was given. So, I contacted my agent to see what kind of coverage I had. Apparently, I only have an endorsement that is very limited in scope on my main package that covers data breach...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 26, 2023 | Taxes |
What happens when you distribute Trust assets and don’t pay the taxes? You guessed it… The IRS can go after heirs and trust beneficiaries for unpaid estate taxes. It doesn’t matter that they received property years after the decedent’s death, an appeals court...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 25, 2023 | Rant |
A woman wins her home-seizure case before the Supreme Court. Failing to pay home property taxes for several years can result in the county where you live confiscating the property and selling it at auction. But who is entitled to the excess amount if the sales...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 24, 2023 | Retirement, Running a Business |
The deadline to have a retirement plan has either passed or coming due shortly for IL businesses. Employer registration deadlines State law now requires every Illinois employer with five or more employees to offer their own retirement program or facilitate Secure...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 19, 2023 | Taxes |
Professional gamblers have different rules than recreational gamblers. Some gamblers can file Schedule C if their gambling activity is extensive enough to rise to the level of a trade or business. This is a difficult hill to climb, as shown in a recent case (Mercier,...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 18, 2023 | Taxes |
Everybody knows or should know that you make, earn, win or steal money; you will owe the IRS a percentage of those funds. So here are some tax rules for recreational gamblers: Whether you are playing the slots, betting on sports or buying lottery tickets, IRS wants a...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 17, 2023 | Rant |
I have been hearing more and more about Generative AI. So, I watched a webinar to get a better understanding. One I never received my CPE for the webinar, but even worse I never got a decent definition of Generative AI. So, I went to the internet and found the...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 12, 2023 | Rant |
I was wasting some time and had on a section of an Arnold Schwarzenegger biography. He seemingly moved to the US in 1968 and as soon as possible he was investing in small rental properties. While he lived in a small sparse unit, every dollar he could he keep...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 11, 2023 | Taxes |
Can you gift an I bond before it matures and avoid an income tax hit? No. Like most people, you’ve likely been deferring reporting for federal income tax purposes the interest that you earned on the savings bond. Gifting away EE or I bonds to someone else before those...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 10, 2023 | Rant |
As crypto currencies become more unstable, the IRS continues to increase their scrutiny. Virtual currency under the IRS continues to be treated as a stock purchase, but the basis reporting is required to be done by the individual. We have seen more holding companies...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 5, 2023 | Rant |
The IRS is addressing the increasingly popular way of paying college athletes. Guess it is never too early to start the “brand”… Since the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes can be compensated for their name, image and likeness, college boosters have started to...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 3, 2023 | Rant |
Working with a budget is a bit like trying to lose weight, both require a plan and the ability to maintain that plan in spite of the obstacles. Years ago, I kept my household to a tight budget, both my wife and I were wage slaves and cash was always tight. It seemed...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 28, 2023 | Rant |
It seems that my whole adult life they have been talking about the Social Security funds running out. I laugh at that, because if it was real money and that money was invested it would never have run out. The damned politicians looked at it as a pork barrel to stick...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 27, 2023 | Rant |
Surprise! Cutting spending is unpopular, everyone wants more than their fair share of the pie.. Raising taxes is also an unpopular move for politicians. Members of both parties would like to spend more (granted on different things), not less.; social programs for the...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2023 | Investing |
For those of you who are unaware passive income is unearned income generated from investments, properties or side hustles. It’s a steady flow of cash not earned from active work, such as traditional employment or full-time entrepreneurship. There are a few...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 20, 2023 | Rant |
I have voted in almost every election since I was 18. I know I missed one, mainly because I too ill to go out and vote. I may have missed more, but I am out there for primaries and the lovely non-advertised District elections. But with the upcoming presidential...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 19, 2023 | Running a Business |
Franchises were slapped hard by the pandemic; it is expected that franchises will have only a modest 2023. The industry recovered most of its losses from the pandemic in 2021, but growth slowed in 2022, as franchises faced several headwinds, such as inflation and...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2023 | Banking |
I had a client asking me what happens when a bank fails, and you have a loan with them. If your bank fails, you still owe whatever outstanding loan balances you have. You’ll simply continue to make your loan payments to a new bank or FDIC-run intermediary. This...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 13, 2023 | Banking |
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation that supplies deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was created by the Banking Act of 1933, enacted during the Great...
