- RT @ramseyshow: RT @E_C_S_T_E_R_I_: "Stupid has a gravitational pull." -D Ramsey as heard n NPR. I know many who have not escaped its orbit. #
- @BudgetsAreSexy KISS is playing the MINUTE state fair in August. in reply to BudgetsAreSexy #
- 3 year old is "reading" to her sister: Goldilocks, complete with the voices I use. #
- RT @marcandangel: 40 Useful Sites To Learn New Skills http://bit.ly/b1tseW #
- Babies bounce! https://liverealnow.net/hKmc #
- While trying to pay for dinner recently, I was asked if other businesses accepted my $2 bills. #
- Lol RT @zappos: Art. on front page of USA Today is titled "Twitter Power". I diligently read the first 140 characters. http://bit.ly/9csCIG #
- Sweet! I am the number 1 hit on Ask.com for "I hate birthday parties" #
- RT @FinEngr: Money Hackers Carnival #117 Wedding & Marriage Edition http://bit.ly/cTO4FU #
- Nobody, but nobody walks sexy wearing flipflops. #
- @MonroeOnABudget Sandals are ok. Flipflops ruin a good sway. 🙂 in reply to MonroeOnABudget #
- RT @untemplater: RT @zappos: "Do one thing every day that scares you." -Eleanor Roosevelt #
Shattering Taboos
ta·boo
-adjective
1. proscribed by society as improper or unacceptable: taboo words.
There is a societal prohibition against talking about money, especially actual money. Talking about a deal, or the hypothetical bundle you lost on the Super Bowl is ok, but discussing how much money you make, or how much you have saved for retirement is almost as bad as talking about sex. In many social circles, it’s far worse.
Money is one of the primary causes of divorce, second only to infidelity. It can cause myriad problems, including anxiety, depression, paranoia, impotence, impulse spending, gambling, social isolation, suicide, and murder. Yet even therapists hesitate to discuss finance with their patients.
Occasionally to the chagrin of my family and friends, I’ve almost completely destroyed that taboo in myself. After spending a year and a half writing about everything I do financially, I’ve found myself with very little hesitation to talk about my finances in real life. I don’t mind discussing my credit card debt, my projections on paying off my mortgage, or almost anything else, with the exception of my salary. I’ve never seen anything good come from coworkers comparing paystubs. Somebody always gets hurt feelings.
Aside from that one exception, I think it’s healthy to talk about money. How many kids launch into adulthood financially clueless because their parents wouldn’t talk about money? How many marriages could be saved if couples would talk about their financial problems before they became financial disasters?
How can you go about breaking down the mental barrier to talking about money? Starting a personal finance blog and writing three to four times per week for a couple of years isn’t a practical solution for everyone.
Start small.
Mention the fact that you have a credit card balance(assuming you do) when you are talking to a friend. Suggest a coworker appeal his property taxes, or offer a couple of tips to help your cousin negotiate her rent.
Most importantly, start having these conversations with your spouse/significant other/life partner. If you can plan to spend the rest of your life with someone, you can certainly plan to discuss one of the most important topics in your life with her. If you can’t, are you really a good fit?
Try it. Break down that taboo. Your life will be better for it.
Are you afraid to talk about money?
All About Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans
This is a guest post.
If you’ve previously heard of tax-sheltered annuity plans but are unsure of what they are, let this guide help you. Here’s what you need to know about tax-sheltered annuity plans.
What is it?
First things first, what are tax-sheltered annuity plans? A tax-sheltered annuity plan, or a 403(b) plan, is a retirement plan for some employees of various institutions to participate. This plan allows employees to contribute a portion of their salary to the plan. The employer may also contribute to the employee’s plan.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible Code Section 501(c)(3) employees tax-exempt organizations may participate, an employee of a public school, a state college, or a university, and eligible employees of churches. Employees of public school systems organized by Indian tribal governments, Ministers employed by Code Section (501)(c)(3) organizations, and self-employed ministers may also participate. Ministers must be employed by organizations that are not Code Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, and they must function as ministers in their day-to-day professional responsibilities with their employers.
What are the Benefits of a 403(b) plan?
In a 403(b) plan, contributions are tax deductible. Taxes are paid on distributions in retirement, which is when a lot of people are in a lower tax bracket. As mentioned earlier, employers can match 403(b) contributions on a pretax basis. Loans can be taken against a 403(b) plan, which will help in certain situations, like buying your first home.
What types of contributions can be made?
In a 403(b) plan, you can have several types of contributions:
- Elective Deferrals – These are contributions made by the employee under a salary reduction agreement. This allows an employer to withhold a certain amount of money from an employee’s salary to deposit it in their 403(b) account.
- Nonelective Employer Contributions – These are any contributions to the 403(b) plan that were not made under a salary reduction agreement, which include matching contributions, discretionary contributions, and certain mandatory contributions that were made by the employer. The employee will pay income tax on all of these contributions, but only when they’re withdrawn.
- After-Tax Contributions – These are contributions made by an employee, which are reported as compensation in the year they were contributed and are included in the employee’s gross income for income tax purposes.
- Designated Roth contributions – These are elective deferrals that the employees elects to include in their gross income. The plan must keep separate accounting records for all contributions and for all gains and losses in the designated Roth account.
Can Employees Exclude Employees From Contributing?
Absolutely. The 403(b) plan must allow allow employees to make elective deferrals under the plan, but under the universal availability rule, if the employer permits one employee to defer salary by contributing it to a 403(b) plan, they must extend the offer to all of their employees. The only exceptions are employees who would contribute less than $200 annually, those employees who work less than 20 hours a week, employees who participate in a 401(k) or 457(b) plan, or students performing services that are described in Code Section 3121(b)(10).
So When Can Employees Get the Dollars?
Employees may withdraw from the 403(b) plan when the reach the age of 59 and a half, have a severance from employment, have a financial hardship, or become disabled. Money can also be taken out if an employee passes away. The employee will have to pay taxes on the amount of the distribution that was not from designated Roth or after-tax contributions, and they may have to pay an additional ten percent early distribution tax.
Are There Rules for In-Service Transfers or Exchanges?
Yes. Contract exchanges with a non-payroll slot vendor are permitted only if the plan permits it, the accumulated benefit after the exchange is, at the very least, the same as before the exchange, if the employer and the non-payroll slot vendor agree to share information regarding the plan’s terms, if any pre-exchange benefit restrictions are maintained after the exchange, and if the vendor complies with the terms outlined in the plan.
How Much Can be Contributed Annually? Does the Employee Have to be Current?
As of 2013, the maximum combined amount that an employer and an employee can contribute to a 403(b) plan is $51,000. That number may go up, depending on the annual cost-of-living.
If the plan allows, an employer can contribute up to the annual limits for an employee’s account for up to five years after the date of severance. No portion of the contributions can come from money that was due to be paid to the former employee, and these contributions must cease if the employee passes away.
There’s much more to learn about a 403(b) plan, but these are the basics. Does your company have a 403(b) plan?
Diana Nyad: Never Give Up
Diana Nyad, a 64-year-old endurance swimmer, became the first person to swim the 110 mile distance from Cuba to Key West Florida. Certainly, the environmental factors were in her favor as the sea life did not bother her,
the currents stayed friendly, and no storms approached. She swam for over fifty-two hours straight before reaching the coast of Florida.
After her long, treacherous journey across the ocean, her words of advice to others were “I have three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.” Surely, just as a physical sport requires will-power and endurance not to “throw in the towel” or give up, life also requires this same type of endurance.
We are all running an endurance race of life in which we must preserver when trials arise. In order to succeed in this, we must never look back at past failures, but rather press forward to the reward. Just as people running a foot face are running with intense focus on the goal (to cross the finish line and win the metal), people with purpose are also running this race of life, in which they are looking forward to a reward beyond our human comprehension.
In addition, just as Diana Nyad said that one is never too old to chase his or her dreams, a person should never look at age as a determinant of wisdom or faith in life. This is undoubtedly true in regards to children and their innocent, child-like faith that is unpolluted by experience and unspotted by the knowledge of the evilness that exists all around us in this world.
On the other hand, the older people should not possess a mind-set that limits their ability to stay active in life. As soon as a person determines in his or her head or listens to outside voices telling him or her that he or she cannot do something because of advanced age, he or she has a tendency to live out these thoughts and these thoughts create feelings of defeat. Ultimately, people should keep a child-like faith with an optimistic, determined thought pattern in life. This will surely create better overall mental health and therefore more productivity.
Just as Diana Nyad pointed out that her endurance swim could not have been successfully accomplished without a team, people need positive fellowship in life. When a person is discouraged, having somebody to embrace him or her in a hug and simply offer words of encouragement can greatly leave a positive impact on the soul. When one person is strong in an area, the next person is possibly weak in that same area. We are all unique and have different strengths that we can bring to the community. If everybody shared their time and gifts with their neighbor, this life would be much simpler.
Unfortunately, many “sharks” exist amongst people that are looking for somebody to gnash with their teeth, torture, and devour. It is often said that a shark can “smell fear” and thus responds in a negative matter to fear. Diana Nyad did not focus on the sharks, therefore did not display fear nor was she approached by any dangerous predators. Instead, she focused on the shore, not looking to her right or left. In life, if we do not pay the “sharks” any attention, they will most likely not notice or approach us.
We can learn much from Diana Nyad’s example of her “Never Give Up” endurance swim.
WWE: Money in the Bank, or all Hype?
Most people will never realize what it’s like to lose $350 million in a single day, but if you’re Vince McMahon you know the feeling all too well. However, before you start collecting money to give to the WWE CEO, let’s remember that despite that setback he’s still worth a cool $750 million. So while he got knocked out of the billionaire’s club, he’s still a full-fledged member of the multi-millionaire’s club.
World Wrestling Entertainment, thinking anything it does is money in the bank, has been busy lately securing television deals for its various programs such as Raw and Smackdown. While Mr. McMahon got the deals finalized with networks owned by NBCUniversal, the price he got was considered by analysts to be far lower than what he was looking for. As a result, WWE stock prices plunged nearly 43 percent in a single day, costing Vince his billionaire club card.
However, despite the rough financial spot in the road, don’t think the WWE is ready to tap out anytime soon. The WWE Network, an on-demand streaming service launched by the company earlier this year, is already approaching one million subscribers. Despite what will probably be an initial loss of $50 million for the fledgling network, McMahon and other WWE executives believe the network will eventually become a money-maker for the company.
So while Triple H, the Rock and John Cena have helped make the WWE what it is today, there are many other superstars who are helping take the company to even greater heights. In recent years, perhaps none are more well-known and liked than the company’s Divas. Whoever said sex sells sure knew what they were talking about, because it seems the wrestling fans simply can’t get enough of the beauties who fight it out every week for glory and gold. With the show Total Divas on the E! Network for the next several years, fans will continue to get their weekly dose of the ring beauties there as well as on the other shows in the WWE camp.
So while it’s not money in the bank that all of the company’s ventures will pan out as hoped, it’s a good bet Mr. McMahon and those associated with the WWE will continue to figure out what fans are wanting and deliver it to them on a regular basis. And whether or not you are a wrestling fan, you’ve got to admit the WWE is a captivating experience in sports entertainment that keeps fans coming back for more each and every week.
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Michael Gergenti: Paying for Paternity
Model Michael Girgenti, filed paperwork in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that he is the father of Kourtney Kardashian’s son, Mason Disick. According to Kardashian’s lawyer, the three-year old boy is the son of
her boyfriend, Scott Disick, who also fathered her daughter, 13-month old Penelope. Girgenti is requesting DNA testing of Kardashian, Disick and the child, and if it is determined Mason is his son, he is demanding joint custody.
Photo Shoot Meeting
According to the lawsuit, Girgenti met Kardashian during a 2009 photo shoot, where they began a texting relationship. Girgenti claims that Kardashian told him that she and Disick were separated. A report in US Weekly states in a bio of Scott Disick that he and Kardashian split up in February 2009 after two years because of rumours he was cheating. The court documents state that in March 2009 Kardashian and Girgenti had unprotected sex, which is nine months prior to the birth of Mason, who was born in December 2009. Kardashian announced her pregnancy in August 2009, claiming that Disick was the father of the baby.
Kardashian Denial
Lawyers for Kardashian claim that Girgenti’s accusations are “preposterous and an outrageous lie.” Kardashian attorney, Tod Wilson, told E! News that Girgenti has been “selling false and fabricated stories to the tabloids for years about Kourtney Kardashian and her son, Mason. “ Wilson also claims that Girgenti has been seeking payment to publish the court pleading, indicating that Girgenti was more interested in payment for reports of his alleged paternity than actually proving that he was Mason’s father. However, the suit filed in court indicates that Girgenti is seriously seeking proof of the child’s paternity.
Girgenti Claims Resemblance
Court documents also claim that Girgenti tried to reach Kardashian after she announced her pregnancy in August 2009, but she did not return his calls. He claimed he began to consider that he was Mason’s father when he saw photos of the child, stating that the boy resembled him more than he did Scott Disick. Girgenti also stated that Mason looks nothing like his younger sister, Penelope, who is Disick’s child. Months prior to filing the lawsuit, Girgenti wrote to Kardashian, requesting a DNA test, claiming that if there was no response, he would pursue legal action to determine Mason’s paternity. In the letter, Girgenti claimed that his intentions were not to “hurt the family you’ve created,” but that “Mason deserves to know the truth.”
A Los Angeles County judge has set a hearing for the case in late August. At the hearing, the judge could dismiss the case or order DNA tests for Girgenti, Kardashian, Disick and the child. In California, unmarried fathers do not have legal rights or responsibilities until legal paternity is established, and naming a father on a birth certificate may not legally establish who a child’s father is. Since Disick and Kardashian were not married at the time of Mason’s birth, Girgenti may have the legal right to demand a DNA test.
