Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)Question: I’m 63, married, and have been retired for about eight months. I have a pension, collect Social Security and we have $1.5 million saved in our retirement account. My wife is also retired. We live a comfortable life, dining out regularly and taking two vacations a year. We are both happy, but I’m afraid that won’t last because of my wife’s spending habits. She is a sharp woman, and I love her dearly, but her shopping has been out of control lately.My wife’s weakness is spending money on the little things. A pair of new shoes…

(Image credit: Getty Images)When you make money in a taxable account, Uncle Sam will eventually claim a portion of it. The rate you pay depends on how that return is classified. Capital gains, for example, are divided into short term and long term.Dividends are also split into qualified and non-qualified. The highest tax burden typically falls on ordinary income, which includes interest payments from bonds and distributions from real estate investment trusts (REITs)If you want to keep more money compounding in your portfolio, it may serve you better to focus less on chasing the highest returns and more on what…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Is your stock-bond mix driven primarily by your age? If so, it may be worth reconsidering.Most investors are taught that age determines asset mix. Formulas such as “100 minus your age” (or the newer cousin “120 minus your age”) promise a quick answer to how much you should have in stocks vs bonds. Using 100 minus age, if someone is 55 years old, they should have 45% in stocks and 55% in bonds.In my experience, individuals of similar age, income and wealth often face very different financial realities and constraints.Article continues below From just $107.88 $24.99 for…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Here is a question worth considering if you sold an appreciated asset in 2025: Could you benefit from moving that capital gain out of your 2025 tax year entirely?Recent legislation made Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) tax incentives a permanent feature of the U.S. tax code; taxpayers can defer a capital gain by reinvesting it into a QOF within 180 days of the deemed realization date.The regulations governing when the eligibility window begins are often more flexible than taxpayers and financial advisers realize.Article continues below From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Coca-Cola is making AI-generated commercials, and an entirely AI-generated folk band has passed 1 million listeners on Spotify… It’s safe to say artificial intelligence has exploded into the mainstream and evolved at a breakneck pace.Unfortunately, scammers have taken note, found ways to make this tool their own and made retirees their prime target. The “phantom hacker” scam, for example, has drained more than $1 billion from victims since 2024.In this article, I highlight some of the newest tactics scammers are deploying and how AI is making this situation more difficult. I also offer three tips to help…

Key Takeaways Venmo is a peer-to-peer payment app for quick money transfers.Most Venmo transactions are free, but credit card usage incurs fees.Users face security risks; privacy settings should be adjusted.Avoid keeping large balances in the Venmo app for safety. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Venmo Overview Venmo is a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app that lets users send and receive money quickly and easily. Most transactions are free, though using a credit card may incur fees. But Venmo carries security risks, so it’s important to take precautions, like changing your settings to private. This article…

Key Takeaways Equity financing doesn’t require repayment and offers increased working capital.Debt financing raises funds without owners giving up equity.The right financing choice depends on the company’s goals and financial position.Each financing type has unique advantages and drawbacks. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Comparing Equity and Debt Financing: A Comprehensive Overview Businesses raise capital mainly through equity financing and debt financing, often using a mix of both depending on their cash flow needs and how much control the owners want to keep. Equity financing doesn’t require repayment and can provide added working capital, while…

Key Takeaways Avoidance and retention are strategies to manage personal health risks.Transferring risk involves using insurance to manage financial burdens.Risk management in healthcare improves outcomes and decreases costs.Sharing risks with employer benefits can lower individual insurance costs.Prevention and early detection are essential loss prevention strategies. Risk management is an important and useful concept in everyday life and health. Risk management strategies commonly used in finance can apply to health. The five main risk management methods are avoidance, retention, sharing, transferring, and loss prevention. Avoidance means not participating in activities that could harm you; in the case of health, quitting smoking…

March 10 (Reuters) – Microsoft filed on Tuesday a brief in support of Anthropic’s lawsuit asking the court to temporarily block the U.S. Department of Defense’s ‌designation of the AI startup as a supply-chain risk. In an amicus brief filing ‌in a federal court in San Francisco, Microsoft backed Anthropic’s request for a temporary restraining order against the ​Pentagon order, arguing that its determination should be paused while the court considers the case. Microsoft, which integrates the AI lab’s products and services into technology it provides to the U.S. military, said that it was directly impacted by the DOD designation.…

Oil swings from near $120 to $81 within hours amid war-driven volatility. US stocks rebound after early losses as Trump signals possible end to conflict. Heavily sold stocks draw attention as potential rebound plays if sentiment improves. Monday saw heavy activity in the markets. prices showed extreme volatility. At the start of trading, oil jumped close to $120. Soon after, prices went through one of the fastest corrections ever recorded. Oil dropped to an intraday low of $81.25, a fall of about 32% within a few hours. Against this backdrop, US stock indices opened sharply lower. The fell to 6,636.06,…