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Posted
Jun 29 2009, 11:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Like Kay Bell at Don't Mess With Taxes, we've never seen that show about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight progeny. And, like Kay, that doesn't mean we've been able to avoid the news that their marriage is in trouble.
"So," tax geek Kay writes, "it seems as good a time as any to offer some tax tips, eight to be exact in keeping with the show's title ("Jon & Kate Plus 8"), to folks who are severing their marital ties."
Here's an important one: Timing is everything.
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Posted
Dec 04 2008, 06:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Nora Dunn at partner blog Wise Bread. My, how life changes when you close one chapter of your life and open a new one. Severing a conjoined life and combined finances as a result of divorce is painful through and through. The jump to a single-income lifestyle paves the way to feeling a cash crunch, and if children are involved it is even more pronounced. Even if the breakup is liberating, there is still some mopping up to do after the storm. Here are seven things you can do to set your new life up on the right foot.
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Posted
Nov 19 2008, 07:58 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Two thousand dollars fell into my lap recently. A publisher that five years ago used one of my articles in a high school literature book wanted to renegotiate the contract because the textbook is being updated.
I was shocked, and delighted. And conflicted: What should I do with the money? Read More...
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Posted
Nov 07 2008, 05:43 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Not only is the economy taking a toll on marriages, but it's also affecting how people are timing their divorce. To explain, we present this possible scenario: His financial woes have strained the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Investment Banker. She wants a divorce settlement right now based on his earnings history. His attorney advises him to wait until next year, when his tax return will prove he isn't worth nearly as much. Such strategies "only come to the forefront during hard times," New York divorce lawyer Mitchell Devack told The New York Times.
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Posted
Oct 24 2008, 09:07 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When the phone rings in the wee hours, my immediate reaction is "Who died?" This time, though, the caller was a panicky tenant. He was vacationing in a different state, his car had been towed and he couldn't claim it from the impound yard without proof of ownership. A friend would come by to get the title; could I possibly let him in?
Apartment-house managers get the best phone calls.
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Posted
Oct 08 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Not that long ago I had about $130 to my name. I was struggling to balance a handful of part-time jobs with re-entry into college after 30 years away from higher ed.
Going back to school terrified me. But my life was already turned upside down: I'd left a long-term marriage and run through most of my savings to support myself while I dealt with health problems and also to help support my adult daughter, who is disabled. Why not throw college into the mix? As scared as I was, I knew if I didn't do it then I'd never do it.
Fast-forward to now. I managed to get through both logic and algebra, was accepted to the University of Washington on full scholarship, was awarded short-term alimony and was hired part time to write for this blog. I paid off all my divorce debt, started a Roth IRA, and have been able to help family members who are in financial trouble.
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Posted
Sep 29 2008, 07:54 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I've been very nervous about money lately. Who hasn't? But my jitters aren't solely the result of the recent Wall Street turmoil and bailout babble. For me, and maybe for you, financial angst has been building for a while. Talk of a bailout is merely the insult that tops a series of injuries.
Here's my list: Last week my bank, Washington Mutual, failed. The apartment building I manage is about to be sold, so my job is up in the air. My monthly health insurance premium rose a startling $119 overnight. I had to write a check for quarterly income taxes. The alimony ends in six months. A credit card statement for almost $3,000 arrived in Friday's mail, and it's due three days before payday. The money left over from my educational grant was 75% lower than I'd expected.
Bills are showing up for my colonoscopy (can't skip this since there's a major family history of colon cancer) plus the three doctor visits and numerous tests it took to deal with a recent, unrelated health problem -- and I have a $1,500 deductible. Underlying it all is the fact that I'm almost 51 years old and I haven't had a "real" job since November 2002.
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Posted
Sep 18 2008, 11:46 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Yesterday I spent 90 blissful minutes being rubbed the right way for a change. A licensed massage therapist dissolved painful knots in my neck and shoulders and loosened muscles that I'd strained while picking fruit.
Thanks to a student discount, the hour and a half cost $77, money that comes out of the "treats" section of my spending plan. Other people do dinners out, concerts, DVD subscription services, basketball games, fine wine. I do bodywork.
Even so, I hesitated to write about it because I was afraid that "massage" would sound elitist.
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Posted
Jun 10 2008, 12:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Sure, it's sad that TV icon Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure on his $6 million Beverly Hills mansion. But "PT" at Prime Time Money is irritated by the way McMahon has gone public with his housing woes. Ed has said he hopes his story will help others who are about to lose their homes. "In my opinion, a millionaire, who could get any type of mortgage he wanted, has no business being the spokesperson for the foreclosure issues facing the few who really got duped," PT writes. "... I'm convinced he's simply hyping this to get the house sold."
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Posted
May 03 2008, 05:47 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Former baseball star Jose Canseco is walking away from his 7,300-square-foot mansion in a Los Angeles suburb. But did you know he's only the latest celebrity who has faced foreclosure? In fact, the Los Angeles Times blog L.A. Land has an occasional feature called "Celebrity Foreclosures," and so far has written about such notables as Canseco and Marion Jones. The most recent installment includes suggested headlines about Canseco like "Jose walks" and "Canseco took a walk, but was called out at home."
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