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Posts from the ‘Tax’ Category

Jan 8

Doing the Perm / Term Squirm Part 2: An Introduction to Permanent Life Insurance

If you’ve read my first article in this series, you probably know more than you really want to know about term life insurance. It’s now time to talk about the other side of the equation: permanent coverage. To recap, while term insurance is a simple tool with a few add-on features, permanent life insurance is like a swiss army knife that can do pretty much everything except make your bed and laugh at your jokes. Of course, whether this is worth the extra costs that can go along with these features and whether it is the best tool for your situation is an entirely different question. Sometimes, permanent life insurance can be a game changer. Sometimes, it can do a pretty good job but there might be other products or solutions that do an even better one. Sometimes, the wrong permanent policy can even leave you worse off than when you started. This article (and my ensuing) articles are designed to help you make informed insurance choices.

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Nov 19

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Maximizing Your Charitable Donations: Give Like Santa, Save Like Scrooge

Most of us that donate don’t do it for the tax savings. Although there are some tax benefits to funding cancer research or donating to a charity for disadvantaged youth, it’s seldom about the money; we give because we want to make a difference. On the other hand, if our government offers tax relief to reward our charitable intention, it seems to me a little churlish to not take them up on their offer. The rest of this article explains how to do just that.

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May 31

The Smith Manouevre – Cash Damming’s Aggressive Younger Brother

Introduction

Are you someone who enjoys playing the stock market, looking to reduce your taxes and willing to take some risks? If you have answered yes to all of the above, the Smith Manouevre might be the thing for you. This strategy takes advantage of the equity in your home, cheap, deductible interest and how dividends and capital gains are taxed to build a tax-efficient investment portfolio that hopefully puts you well down the road to financial independence.

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May 14

Cash Damming – Robbing Peter To Pay Paul (And Writing It Off, Too!)

Introduction

In my last blog, I laid out the principles behind deductible interest, along with a few suggestions on how to organize your affairs so that you can increase the size of your tax refund to pay down your debts sooner. It is now time to up the ante and discuss some of the more advanced techniques available. Today, I’ll focus on a technique that is primarily used by unincorporated business owners: cash damming.

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