Category: Finance

Benjamin Franklin said it best when he coined the phrase, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Many business owners take years to understand that taxes are one of their biggest costs, and it really doesn’t take a lot of effort to make sure you aren’t missing something on your taxes. Before setting forth my list of the top 75 deductions/strategies, allow me to make an important point: You are the captain of your own ship. You don’t have to be an accountant to manage your accountant. Make sure you have…

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Today, April 16, is Equal Pay Day, marking the point in the year — 15 weeks-plus! — that women have had to work in 2019 in order to earn, on top of their 2018 salaries, what their male colleagues earned by Dec. 31. Now, a newly released study, The State of Wage Inequality in the Workplace, from job-match platform Hired, shows how far we have to go to bridge the gender pay gap. As the study’s subtitle says, summarizing the findings: “Data reveals the wage gap is finally narrowing — but we’re not there yet.” Hired’s…

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The initial public offering of Lyft, the second-biggest ride-hailing company in the U.S., found a receptive market and helped boost the major stock indexes today. Shares for the unicorn (a private company valued at more than $1 billion) priced at the top end of its expected range and jumped 8.7 percent on its first day of trading. The shares were up more than 20 percent before falling in the afternoon. The Lyft lift and renewed optimism on the U.S.-China trade talks helped the stock indexes close out their best first quarter…

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My 95-year-old mother-in-law is one person I never suspected would run out of money, but that’s exactly what’s happening. When her husband died, she received a life insurance settlement, and she’s received a nice pension payout every year since, taking care to preserve that pension by living a frugal lifestyle. Still, the assisted-living facility where she lives raises the rent every year — more than the increases in her pension and social security. And, something else: She’s living longer than everyone expected. In fact, she’s still going strong and could easily…

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With the tax-filing deadline just days away, entrepreneurs would be wise to ask their tax preparers six key questions. Because the 2018 tax year is the first year the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has applied to returns, there are new forms, new rules, new elections and new software that can significantly impact your income. In short: This tax-filing season is a very different animal than previous ones because there are so many more decisions to make. So, be sure to ask your tax preparer’s advice on both the 2018 returns you’re…

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