Bigger Insights Finance

Asset Location (AKA Asset Placement) is a strategy for organizing your assets in an optimal way that helps you meet your financial goals. In the previous episode, we focused on asset location strategies for reducing taxes and simplifying your tax return. In this episode, we focus on asset location considerations for allocating capital between your taxable and tax-favored accounts (TFA) such as 401(k), IRA, and HSA...

Asset Location (AKA Asset Placement) is a strategy for organizing your assets in such a way as to reduce tax burden, simplify your tax return, and manage risk. We discuss our Asset Location strategies, which includes specifics about tax treatment for growth stocks, dividend stocks, taxable bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), precious metals (gold, silver), and commodities. We also detail considerations for foreign tax credit, master limited partnerships (MLPs), and Schedule K-1...

Most everyone will agree that you shouldn’t buy things that you can’t afford, yet so many do. Why is that? It seems to us that one of the reasons for this is because many don’t know what it means to be able to afford something. Spoiler alert – it doesn’t mean you have enough money in the bank or have just enough income to cover it...

1 out of 3 US adults have an estate plan. 3 out of 3 need one. Revocable living trusts are powerful, flexible estate planning instruments which all adults should seriously consider, especially if there are children or significant assets involved. In this episode, we detail the advantages and disadvantages of living trusts. We also discuss the risks and headaches of dying either with only a last will or no estate plan at all (intestate), which furthers the case for having a living trust...

A Roth IRA is funded with after-tax dollars, but distributions are tax-free in retirement. Everyone knows that, but Roth IRAs have special properties and use cases that rarely get mentioned. We explain what the general and special benefits of a Roth IRA are, as well as under what circumstances you may want to invest in a Roth IRA. Some of the items discussed include tax-free and penalty-free distributions, protecting your assets from taxes and inflation, and required minimum distributions (RMD)...

One of the biggest macroeconomic debates of today is whether we'll experience inflation or deflation over the coming years. If you survey 50 economists, you'll come up with 50 different answers. However, after much research, our opinion is that the 2020s decade will likely be inflationary in terms of the purchasing power of the US dollar (USD) within the United States. We explain our reasons why, supported by data, as well as deflationary risks that consumers and investors should be mindful of...

Bitcoin has a lot going for it. It has a very robust network, is rather decentralized, can’t be duplicated, etc. We’ve all heard the sales pitch. However, Bitcoin has a fundamental flaw that no one’s talking about. When it comes to privacy, frankly, we’re a little concerned. It’s no longer a secret that Bitcoin isn’t very good for privacy, but we’re convinced that Bitcoin’s transparent, public ledger will prove to be a bigger liability for investors than most realize...

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are very powerful in that they can save you a lot on your taxes, but there are many pitfalls/risks that HSA participants should be mindful of. This is Part 2 of 2 episodes detailing 11 HSA Pitfalls to Avoid. If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1, go listen to that first. In this episode, we discuss the 5 remaining of the 11 pitfalls, including: 1. Employer mistakes, 2. Not reconciling expenses, 3. Not keeping good records 4...

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are very powerful in that they can save you a lot on your taxes, but there are many pitfalls/risks that HSA participants should be mindful of. This is Part 1 of 2 episodes detailing 11 HSA pitfalls to avoid. In this episode, we discuss 6 of the 11 pitfalls, including: 1. Not shoeboxing expenses, 2. Missing qualified expenses, 3. Disqualified expenses, 4. Personal vs. payroll contributions, 5. Over-contributing, and 6. Under-contributing...

Tax Day is almost here, which is April 18, 2023. If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard Janet Yellen warning about the US Treasury running on fumes. According to Joe Biden, paying taxes is patriotic. So if you’re feeling like a patriot, and want to throw Janet a lifeline, you may be wondering what the best way is to pay your taxes to the IRS...