Taxes
Time To Clear up the Confusion Over the Gift Tax Law
 There are many confusing tax laws, but the one that seems to generate the most misunderstanding is the gift tax law. Everyone seems to be aware that people can give up to $13,000 (this amount is periodically adjusted for inflation) a year with no tax consequences - but beyond that it's fuzzy. A client asked me today if she would have to pay tax on a $100,000 gift her parents were planning to give her to buy a house. The answer is no.
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Couples & Money
10 Ways to Save Money and Not Feel Deprived
When did dining-out, facials, manicures, pedicures, personal trainers, pricey haircuts, books, magazines, CD's, iPhones and expensive annual vacations become necessities? How did we get here?
This fee-only financial planner contemplates this question as client after client comes in with cash flow issues — agonizing over credit card statements, wondering how they can keep up with an avalanche of bills.
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Real Estate
House Buying in the Bay Area
I really admire the conscientious way you bought your first house,” said I. “That's because we're really cheap!” said they, almost in unison. Meet Jim and Annette. They're in their late 30's and lucky. They both watch their pennies. If only all my clients would... well, never mind.
While many of Jim's and Annette's friends bought houses in the last few years, they held back. The market was too frothy and unaffordable, they thought. At the time, life was a cramped one bedroom apartment in North Berkeley. But of course things change. Soon enough real estate prices crashed, and taking the leap made more sense. They started out on their own, found some neighborhoods they liked and found some houses in their price range: no more than $525,000.
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Books
I Will Teach You to be Rich
Until a few months ago, I hadn't heard of Ramit Sethi (pronounced Ra-meet, Say-tee) and his blog www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com or his book of the same name. Then one day while I perused the book section at Costco, there it was - boasting a bright orange and yellow cover with black print. It practically screamed out at me. “I WILL TEACH YOU TO BE RICH.” My first thought was, “that sure is an obnoxious title.” But being the personal finance junkie that I am, I chucked it into my cart in hopes that I would learn something new and share it with my clients. Read More
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Mortgages
Making Home Affordable
Lots of women know their hair stylist almost as well as they know their closest friends. That’s why we don’t dread haircuts the way men do – we actually look forward to the 1-2 hours when a friendly person will make us beautiful with the added bonus of a good heart-to-heart. No staring glumly at the mirror until it’s done for us! Topics of conversation in a hair salon run from love life to clothes, movies to food, and of course, my personal favorite, money.
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