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One money move at a time, short enough to read in two minutes. Pick one and act on it today.
If you owe the IRS more than you can pay, file your return on time anyway. Filing late adds a penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax for each of the first five months, while paying late adds 0.5% a month. Then apply for an IRS payment plan and pay off the balance over time.
A traditional IRA can cut your taxes now and taxes withdrawals later. A Roth taxes the money going in, and qualified withdrawals come out tax-free. Choose the Roth if you expect a higher tax rate in retirement than today, and the traditional IRA if you expect a lower one.
After Disney’s price hike, the Disney+ and Hulu bundle costs just 50 cents a month more than one app, with ads or without. If you pay for one app, switch to the bundle on the same ad plan. If you pay for both ad-free apps separately, the ad-free bundle saves you $20.99 a month.
Run your shared bills and goals through one joint account with your partner, and keep a personal account each for spending neither of you has to explain. Fund the joint account with the same percentage of each paycheck, so the split stays fair when one of you earns more.
Standard homeowners and renters policies don’t cover flood damage. A new policy from the federal flood insurance program doesn’t take effect until 30 days after purchase, unless you buy it while taking out or refinancing a mortgage. Get a flood quote this week, so the policy is already in force when the next big storm arrives.
Applying with several lenders for the same mortgage, auto loan, or student loan costs your credit score no more than applying with one, as long as you apply within a short window. Scoring models count those inquiries as one. Line up every lender before you apply, then send every application within 14 days of the first.
If a new federal deduction for tips, overtime, seniors, or car loan interest applies to you and your W-4 hasn’t changed, you’re having too much tax withheld, unless other income has too little withheld. Run the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator in October and give your employer a new W-4, so the fix reaches this year’s last paychecks.
Holiday fares have historically bottomed out about five weeks before Thanksgiving and seven before Christmas, and this year they’re climbing. Set a price alert today, book Thanksgiving by mid-October and Christmas and New Year’s by the end of October, and take the first fare you can live with.
Leave a portfolio alone and rising stocks will quietly raise its risk. Pick one date a year to compare your mix with its target, and rebalance whenever an asset class has drifted 5 percentage points or more. Rebalancing won’t raise your return, but it keeps your risk where you set it.
A number you can back with data is harder to wave off than one based on what you think you’re worth. Before any salary talk, pull the pay range for your job and metro area from government wage data and from current job postings, then ask for the number your experience earns within that range.
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