social security payment

At least once  a year, if not more, you visit the dentist and doctor to make sure everything’s working properly – why not give your finances the same opportunity? As we approach the busy holiday season, it’s easy to let attention slip from personal finance. If you find yourself barreling toward the end of 2009 [...]

Chances are, you are already planning your holiday shopping. You might even be looking ahead toward Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With retailers still trying to lure customers into spending, this year offers the potential for some great deals on the biggest shopping days of the year. Here are some shopping tips that can help [...]

If you’re self employed, you’re responsible for keeping track of your own taxes, as well as making payments on time. This also involves being on top of your paperwork, filing your tax return on time and keeping hold of receipts and invoices in case you’re asked to prove certain aspects of your tax return. This [...]

It’s a great feeling to be your own boss and make money at it. At least, until you discover that you are now responsible for paying self-employment tax and may be required to make estimated tax payments. I have been paying self-employment tax over the last few years; however, I have not made an estimated [...]

Defining a good goal is hard enough in itself, but people still fail even with well thought out SMART goals. Why? The answer is simple: they fail to turn these goals into actions. Generally, a goal is broad and hard to identify practical ways to achieve it. To transform your goals into practical actions is [...]

“When should I take Social Security?” is the first question everyone faces when contemplating retirement. More than 50% of all men and women start taking benefits at 62. By age 66, well over 90% of all men and women are taking benefits according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
The Break Even Approach
The [...]

Reverse mortgages are one way senior homeowners who are 62 years and older may be able to tap the home equity.  A reverse mortgage gives the homeowner money they need without having to leave the house and without having to repay the loan until the owner dies, the home is sold, or the house is [...]

Unlike my regular job, where my employer withhold a portion of my salary to pay various taxes — i.e., Federal, State, City, Social Security, and Medicare — there’s no tax withholding for my self-employment income.  To avoid any penalty, I have to pay self-employment tax and make estimated tax payments four times a year.  However, [...]

Last week, I wrote about Social Security, specifically about some of the useful information I culled from the Social Security Statement for my mom. There was an interesting comment from a reader, ToughMoneyLove, regarding the benefit of delaying your retirement because the Social Security Administration gives you 8% bump in benefits each year. Here’s that [...]

On Friday, I received my Social Security Statement and looked closely at it for the first time. Although, I have been getting these statements for years, I have never paid too much attention to them until now. The reason? My mom is turning 65 this year, and I need to figure out her options.

Some Facts [...]