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Happy Hour: The Return Of Price Per User

February 21, 2014

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Jon

Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.

Welcome Back Price Per User

An old pricing model is back in fashion. It’s found in tech circles were buyers wear blinders to real valuation metrics. Who needs earnings or revenues when you have users!

Price per user is nothing new. The dotcom boom was the first iteration. It’s built on the prospect of turning users into dollars eventually. For now, user growth and engagement matter and the price per user is rising. Continue Reading…
Understanding Tax Form 1099-INT

February 18, 2014

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Jon

Investors should keep an eye out for some extra tax forms each year. When you deal with interest income, form 1099-INT is the form you need to get your tax return done.

This form isn’t limited to investors either. Anyone earning interest on savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs, or bonds is a potential candidate.

However, it won’t report earnings from mutual funds invested in bonds. Mutual fund earnings are reported on 1099-DIV for dividends and distributions.

This can be confusing without some good tax software or an accountant to help sort it out. It’s also why TurboTax comes in handy when I do my tax returns every year because it sorts out all the tax forms for me. Continue Reading…
Happy Hour: The Holiday Premium

February 14, 2014

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Jon

Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.

The Holiday Premium

While you’re lavishing your partner with cards, candy, flowers, and dinner today, understand you could have gotten it all for less tomorrow. Ah…the price of love.

This is nothing new. Holidays are big business. And businesses take advantage of our willingness to conform. Continue Reading…
Breaking Down Form 1099-DIV

February 13, 2014

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Jon

Investors with taxable accounts have a bigger pile of tax forms to deal with every year. Form 1099-DIV is one form you get when your investments pay out dividends and distributions. If you’re like me, it means you spend a little more quality time with tax software each year. Or, maybe you pass it off to your accountant. But do you really understand what is reported in each box of a 1099-DIV? Do you know how it affects your taxes or your investments?

Unfortunately, not all dividends and distributions are taxed the same. And it’s not always easy to figure out. I use TurboTax for help when I get stuck. Regardless, you should still understand what is reported on the 1099-DIV, the tax consequences of each box, and how it might affect your investments. In turn, it might even help you build a more tax efficient investment strategy and lower your taxes in the long run. Continue Reading…
Tax Benefits of Qualified Dividends

February 11, 2014

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Jon

Dividends tend to get lumped as one single form of investment income. But the IRS doesn’t see it that way, dividing the tax on dividends into two types: ordinary and qualified dividends. This is good to know around tax time. But it’s just as important when choosing investments for a taxable account, since taxes are another cost that eat into your returns.

Ordinary Dividends

First, all dividends are considered ordinary dividends. The problem, of course, is how we loosely use the term dividends to describe any type of payout from stocks, mutual funds, savings accounts, or other investments. Sometimes that “dividend” is actually interest income or a capital gains distribution. Continue Reading…
Happy Hour: Time to Rethink Business News?

February 7, 2014

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Jon

Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.

Time To Rethink Business News?

There’s a fine line between making the news and reporting it. The role business news plays or should play gets questioned often. Who does it cater to, really? Continue Reading…

Happy Hour: The Return Of Price Per User

Welcome Back Price Per User

Understanding Tax Form 1099-INT

Happy Hour: The Holiday Premium

The Holiday Premium

Breaking Down Form 1099-DIV

Tax Benefits of Qualified Dividends

Ordinary Dividends

Happy Hour: Time to Rethink Business News?

Time To Rethink Business News?