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The Great and Wondrous Tales of Frugal Man – Stop Renting Your Modem
[This issue of Frugal Man about renting your cable modem may contain affiliate links at no cost to you] It’s an affordable bird, it’s a reasonably priced plane, it’s FRUGAL MAN! Hey everyone, I’m Frugal Man. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure my renown has reached your ears already but just in case it hasn’t, allow myself to introduce….myself. I am Frugal Man, the economical super hero. I am spartan, prudent, thrifty and prudent. That’s double the prudence baby! My enemies may call me cheap but they’re just jealous of my perfectly chiseled features. They also won’t forget my perfect physique and my world famous ability to save money; it’s enough…
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Disney+ and the Deluge of Streaming Services
Disney+ is the latest streaming offering from one of the largest publishers of content in the world. During Disney’s 2019 investor day, Disney announced a November 12 launch date for their new product. Priced attractively at 6.99/month or 69.99/year, Disney+ is yet another service trying to take a cut of the big streaming pie. Streaming services took the world by storm with Netflix’s original offering. At the time, Netflix was an all you can eat buffet where viewers could get a ton of content for one low price. No longer did we have to pay $120 for a package that included tons of crap we didn’t want. We could pay…
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A Simple Explanation of Tax Withholding, Tax Returns and Tax Refunds
Taxes are a complicated thing. People still often confuse the various terms that come up when discussing them. As such, here's a simple(ish) explanation of the three most common terms that are confusing. I use the term -ish because taxes are never that simple.
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A Simple Explanation of How Tax Brackets Work
There was a post I saw on Reddit this week. It was about a co-worker who turned down a $2,000 bonus because it put him into the next tax bracket. It spoke of a man who wouldn’t back down in his belief that he did the right thing. More importantly, it spoke to a gross misunderstanding as to how our tax brackets work. It’s a common mistake and I see it all the time. You’ll often even hear it in political discourse when someone suggests a higher tax rate on the rich. That mistake comes from a misconception of how tax brackets work. Let’s take a look at the 2019…
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401k and IRA contributions limits for 2019 are going up!
Our good pal, the IRS has issued guidance on contribution limits for 2019. The news is good for those already maxing out their tax-advantaged space or planning to do so next year. According to the IRS news release, 401k, 403b and most 457 plans are changing from an $18,500 max to $19,000 next year. That’s the second bump in a row after the IRS raised it $500 last year. The 2.7% bump in contribution limits is right in line with inflation. On the IRA front, the $5500 limit rises to $6000. It’s the first bump since 2013 which explains why the bump is larger at 9%. The IRS is just…
