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Financial Exploitation: When Taking Money Amounts to Elder Abuse 03/06/2017 07:00pm • When her husband died suddenly and unexpectedly from a massive heart attack, "Mary" -- who asked that her real name not be used due to the sensitive nature of her story -- was devastated and began spiraling downward. He was only in his late 60s and in relatively good health, she recalls. Mary fell Is 20,000 a Floor or Ceiling for the Dow? 03/05/2017 07:00pm • Much has been written of late regarding the Dow Jones industrial average 20,000 milestone and whether this will mark a near-term top of the market or perhaps the continuation of the eight-year bull market. Some investors are posing this question because they're wondering if they should get completel 8 Ways to Keep Remodeling Costs Under Control 03/05/2017 07:00pm • In 2015, home improvement spending in the U.S. reached $340 billion -- an all-time high that is expected to increase 2 percent per year for several years -- according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. According to a report from the JCHS released last month, two big drivers of this act How to Deduct MBA Tuition on Your Taxes 03/05/2017 07:00pm • With many top-ranked full-time MBA programs costing more than $50,000 in tuition per year, the ability to deduct b-school expenses come tax time offers some students a way to recoup costs. Brandon Yahn, 32, who completed his MBA in 2012 at the University of California--Berkeley's Haas School of Busi Is Retirement Only for the Wealthy? 03/05/2017 07:00pm • We all know that only a lucky few people enjoy an adequate pension anymore. Social Security by itself provides only the bare essentials in retirement. Meanwhile, experts tell us we need $1 million in our retirement accounts to maintain our standard of living after we leave work. So has retirement be 5 Tax Tips for First-Time Homeowners 03/05/2017 07:00pm • Taking the leap into buying a house is exhilarating and exciting, especially for new homeowners. There will be some bumps and roadblocks along the way, but there is a big opportunity to ease the cost of your mortgage by taking advantage of several tax write-offs readily available. Whether you are in 5 Reasons Millennials Aren't Saving for Retirement 03/05/2017 07:00pm • Low salaries and burdensome student loan payments make it difficult for many young people to begin saving for retirement. Younger workers frequently don't have access to workplace retirement benefits and are less likely than their older counterparts to contribute when a 401(k) plan is provided. Less Md. House to vote on sick leave bill 03/03/2017 08:09am • WASHINGTON ��� The Maryland House of Delegates will vote Friday on a hotly-debated bill that would force businesses across the state to offer paid time off to their employees. The legislation would require businesses with 15 or more employees to have a ���sick and safe leave��� policy, offering s 5 Tax Troubles That Only Affect Retirees 03/02/2017 07:00pm • At tax time, everyone is concerned with maximizing deductions and avoiding audits. But not everyone needs to worry about Social Security penalties or retirement fund minimum distributions. If you are retired, make sure you don't let these five tax troubles trip you up. 1. Paying more taxes than n A Charitable Way to Cut Your Estate Tax Obligation While You're Still Alive 03/02/2017 07:00pm • Most of us will never have to worry about estate tax. But if you expect to die with more than $5.49 million in assets, your family could pay out as much as 40 percent of the value of any assets over that amount in federal taxes. To cut the tax bite, many wealthy people have a strategy of sharing the 4 Tax Considerations for CD Investors 03/02/2017 07:00pm • Unless you hold a CD in a retirement account such as an IRA, the interest you earn from CDs will be considered taxable income by the IRS. This is true for both CDs from banks and from credit unions. At credit unions, the interest from accounts including CDs is often called dividends, but it's treat Defeating Retirement Planning Challenges When You're Self-Employed 03/02/2017 07:00pm • An estimated 15 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the U.S. workforce, were self-employed in 2015. According to a TD Ameritrade survey, 55 percent of them are falling behind when it comes to saving for retirement. Without an employer-sponsored plan to fall back on, self-employed people must be Why Working at a Small Business May Mean No Retirement Plan 03/02/2017 07:00pm • Now that traditional pensions have all but disappeared from the private sector, workers often have to rely on employer-sponsored 401(k) plans to save for retirement. However, those at small businesses may not even have that option. While 74 percent of those employed at businesses with 500 or more wo When Should You Take Social Security? 03/02/2017 07:00pm • After years of paying into Social Security, those nearing retirement have some choices to make about when they should begin withdrawing their benefits. To receive full benefits, those born from 1943 to 1954 can take retirement at age is 66. The full-benefit retirement age rises to 67 for those born Tips for Filing Taxes for the First Time 03/02/2017 07:00pm • If you're intimidated about filing your taxes with the Internal Revenue Service for the first time, here's the good news: It's only going to get worse from here. What you're doing now is nothing compared to filing when your life is far more financially complicated, and you have a house, a spouse, ki