Is It Smarter To Pay Cash Or Have A Car Payment In Retirement?

When you think about successful stocks, you probably think about big technology companies or businesses that seem to be in the news every day. But one of the most consistent companies in the stock market does something much less exciting. It provides water. American States Water recently increased its dividend by 8.2 percent. That marks the 72nd year in a row the company has given shareholders a larger annual dividend. The company has paid dividends every year since 1931. A dividend is money a company pays to people who own its stock. If you own shares, you may receive a payment every three months. It can provide income without requiring you to sell your investment. American States Water now pays about $2.18 per share annually. Its dividend has grown at an average annual rate of about 8.7 percent over the past decade. The stock currently has a dividend yield of around 2.5 percent. So how has a water company kept this going for so long? Water is something people need regardless of what is happening with the economy. American States Water operates regulated water and electric utilities. It also provides water services to military installations through long term government contracts. That does not mean the stock is guaranteed to go up or that its dividend will always increase. Utility companies spend heavily on pipes, treatment systems and other infrastructure. They can also be affected by debt, interest rates and decisions from government regulators. The larger lesson is not that everyone should rush out and buy this particular stock. It is that investing does not always have to be exciting. A business that provides an essential service, earns steady income and regularly shares some of that money with investors can quietly build wealth over time. Sometimes the companies getting the least attention are the ones doing the same important job year after year.

Thinking about buying a house? You are probably watching mortgage rates almost as closely as the price of the house itself. And right now, those rates are keeping a lot of people from making a move. Existing home sales fell 1.7 percent in July compared with June, according to new housing data released this week. That puts sales at an annual pace of about 4.06 million homes. That is the second straight monthly decline. The biggest problem is pretty simple. Buying a house is still expensive. Mortgage rates moved higher during July and recently reached around 6.7 percent for a 30 year mortgage. When rates rise, even a little, the monthly payment on a house can change enough to push some families out of the market. But here is the interesting part. Fewer sales have not necessarily meant cheaper houses. The median price of an existing home in July was about $434,100. That is 2 percent higher than a year ago and not far from the record set in June. There are also fewer homes available. About 1.54 million homes were on the market at the end of July, slightly fewer than both the previous month and a year ago. That creates an unusual situation. Buyers are struggling with high prices and high interest rates. At the same time, many homeowners who already have mortgages at much lower rates have little reason to sell their house and take on a new mortgage near 7 percent. So both sides are waiting. First time buyers may be feeling this the most. They represented only 29 percent of July home sales. Historically, that number has been closer to 40 percent. For anyone thinking about buying a home, the number to keep watching may not be home prices. It may be mortgage rates. A meaningful drop in rates could make monthly payments more manageable and bring more buyers back into the market. It could also convince more current homeowners that it is finally time to sell. Until then, the housing market may continue to feel like what it has become for many families. A waiting game.

E ven though the higher standard deduction limits make charitable deductions harder to find, there are still great options to find tax breaks within your charitable giving. Here are five tips to use charitable tax breaks: Qualified charitable distributions. If you’re age 70½ or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 (or a total of $200,000 for joint filers) directly from your IRA to a qualified charitable organization without paying any tax. Because distributions done this way are not subject to federal tax, it's like contributing with pre-tax dollars. Plus, your contribution counts as a required minimum distribution for tax purposes. Appreciated securities. Donate appreciated property (like securities) to a qualified charity and you can deduct the current fair market value (FMV) of the property if you’ve owned them longer than a year. For example, if you acquired stock three years ago for $7,500 and it’s now worth $10,000, you can donate it and deduct the entire $10,000 FMV if you itemize your deductions. There’s no capital gains tax on the $2,500 appreciation in value – ever! This is a great strategy if you are close to or over the itemized deduction threshold in a given year. Bunching donations. Under current tax law, the standard deduction is more than double the historic rates, effectively lowering the amount of taxpayers who will itemize their deductions. As a result, it now makes sense to “bunch” large gifts of property, like securities (see #2), in a tax year in which you expect to itemize. Conversely, if you don’t anticipate itemizing in the current tax year, you may consider postponing donations into the next year. The idea is to get the most tax deductions possible over a multiyear period. Leverage the new charitable deduction rule. Beginning in 2026, you can now directly deduct charitable contributions without itemizing. The amount is $1,000 ($2,000 for a married filing joint tax return). Consider a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). This idea is to be used in conjunction with tips 2 and 3. With this idea, you create a Donor Advise Fund. You then donate appreciated assets (stocks) into the fund (tip 2). You donate enough in one year to exceed the standard deduction for that year (tip 3). You then donate your funds out of the DAF over the years. While the money is no longer yours, you still control what qualified charities receive the money. Note: You cannot use a DAF to qualify for the new, non-itemized charitable giving rule outlined in tip 4.  With each of these ideas, it's essential to follow the rules when donating. If not, your good intentions may not be deemed a qualified donation for tax purposes. Ask for help if you'd like to review your situation.

Every time a big tech company talks about AI, one number seems to grab all the headlines. Spending. Google's parent company, Alphabet, is pouring an enormous amount of money into new data centers, servers, and AI infrastructure. But here's what is surprising. The company is making money even faster than it is spending it. Alphabet reports earnings after the market closes today, and investors will be watching one question more than any other. Can profits continue to grow while AI spending keeps accelerating? So far, the answer has been yes. In the first quarter, Alphabet's revenue increased 22 percent while operating income jumped 30 percent. Its operating margin reached its highest level in five years, helped by strong growth in both Google Search and Google Cloud. Cloud revenue alone jumped 63 percent, giving the company another major source of profits beyond advertising. At the same time, the price tag for AI keeps getting bigger. Alphabet spent nearly $36 billion last quarter building AI infrastructure, and Wall Street expects that number to climb to around $44 billion this quarter. The company has already said it could spend as much as $190 billion this year, with even higher spending expected next year. Why does this matter to everyday investors? Because AI is becoming one of the biggest bets in business history. These companies are investing now with the expectation that AI products will generate years of future revenue. If that happens, today's spending could look like a smart investment. If not, investors may begin questioning whether the costs have become too high. Reuters recently reported that AI spending across the biggest technology companies is expected to outpace growth in free cash flow over the next few years, making future earnings even more important. The latest earnings report won't just tell us how Google performed over the last three months. It will also give investors another clue about whether the AI boom is paying off or whether the bill is finally starting to catch up.

Graduate students planning to borrow federal student loans should be aware of important changes that took effect on July 1. A last minute court ruling also changed who qualifies for higher borrowing limits, creating uncertainty for some degree programs. For years, many graduate students relied on Graduate PLUS Loans to help cover the full cost of attendance. Under the new rules, those loans are no longer available for new borrowers. Instead, most graduate students will use Direct Unsubsidized Loans, which have annual and lifetime borrowing limits. For most graduate degree programs, federal borrowing is now limited to $20,500 per year, with a lifetime cap of $100,000. Students enrolled in qualifying professional degree programs can borrow up to $50,000 per year, with a lifetime limit of $200,000. Just before the new limits went into effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Education's narrow definition of what qualifies as a professional degree. As a result, students enrolled in several programs, including nursing, psychology, and divinity, remain eligible for the higher borrowing limits while the case moves through the courts. Theology programs, however, fall under the lower borrowing limits based on the current guidance. Because this ruling is temporary, eligibility could change again depending on the outcome of the legal challenge. For students beginning graduate school, these changes may affect how they pay for their education. Those whose programs qualify for the higher borrowing limits may have additional access to federal funding. Others may need to explore scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition assistance, payment plans, or private student loans to help bridge the gap between federal loan limits and the total cost of attendance. If you are planning to start graduate school or are considering returning for an advanced degree, now is a good time to review your financial aid package carefully. Contact your school's financial aid office to confirm how these changes apply to your specific program and discuss your options before borrowing.  As federal student loan policies continue to evolve, staying informed can help you make better financial decisions and avoid unexpected funding challenges.

One of the more surprising financial stories making headlines this week comes from Jeff Bezos. The billionaire entrepreneur is arguing that the bottom half of American earners should pay zero federal income tax. At first glance, that may sound like an idea you would expect from a politician rather than one of the world's wealthiest business leaders. But Bezos says many working Americans are struggling with housing costs, groceries, and everyday expenses, and believes eliminating their federal income tax burden would give them a better chance to get ahead. The idea is simple. Instead of lowering taxes for lower income workers, he wants to eliminate federal income taxes altogether for roughly the bottom 50 percent of earners. According to tax data cited in recent reports, that group currently contributes only a small percentage of total federal income tax revenue. For the average person, the immediate question is obvious: How much money are we talking about? The answer depends on income, family size, deductions, and credits. Many lower income households already owe little or no federal income tax because of existing deductions and tax credits. Because of that, analysts say the biggest benefits would likely go to middle income households rather than the very lowest earners. A similar proposal currently being discussed in Congress would eliminate federal income taxes for many individuals earning less than $46,000 and married couples earning less than $92,000, while also reducing taxes for many middle income families. Of course, the challenge is paying for it. Reducing or eliminating taxes means the federal government would collect less revenue. Some lawmakers have suggested offsetting the cost by increasing taxes on households earning more than $1 million per year. Others argue the focus should be on reducing government spending instead. What makes this story important is not whether the proposal ultimately becomes law. The chances of any major tax overhaul making it through Congress remain uncertain. The bigger story is that conversations about who pays taxes, how much they pay, and whether the tax system should be reshaped are becoming more common across the political spectrum. For many Americans, especially those feeling squeezed by higher living costs, the idea of keeping more of each paycheck is easy to understand.  Whether that happens through tax cuts, spending reforms, or some combination of both will likely remain part of the national debate for years to come.

Now that your tax return has been filed, it is a good time to ensure you have proper documentation to substantiate your tax deductions, in the instance you are examined by the tax authorities. This is important as many banks start deleting online documentation that is more than a year old. Background The use of paper checks is changing dramatically over the past ten years. This shift has greatly reduced the ability to have a canceled check as proof when the auditor comes calling. This is due to more people using credit cards, digital currency, and the advent of online bill paying services. With online bill paying, your only receipt is often just an entry in your checking account. And current laws allow banks to digitally capture checks and then destroy the paper copy without returning it to you. So what do you do if you need proof that you paid for a tax deductible item? Know what the Tax Authorities are looking for Proof of a deduction typically requires two things: An invoice or proof of the transaction. This comes from the organization your activity is related to like a church or charitable organization and is dated and detailed enough to show what the transaction entailed. Proof of payment. This is where the check or detailed proof of payment is required. Some Tips Know your bank. Understand what your bank keeps and for how long. This includes digital statements and digital copies of checks (both front and back). Understand if there are any fees charged if you need to request copies of payments. Retain copies of all bank statements. Review your records to ensure you have copies of all monthly bank statements. This is often the starting point for an IRS agent that wants proof of payment, so it should be yours as well. These copies may be in either paper or digital format. Download online copies of your statements and place them in a password protected file. Collect copies of tax-related proof of payment. Go through your statements and mark the payments that will, in all likelihood, be used as a tax deduction. Make sure you have copies of the front and back of each of these payments. If you do this work now, the copies are often still available online for no fee. Even online bill payments often have a digital copy that can be used. Get independent acknowledgements. If you have larger payments you should also make sure you have independent acknowledgement from the merchant or organization to substantiate the deduction. This is true for charitable contributions of $250 or more, and any business or medical expenses.  While having the traditional proof of an expenditure is now harder to come by, the IRS and State tax authroties understand that and are aware technologies are changing the type of substantiation available for them to review. Retain documentation throughout the year that will support your transaction. This will save you a lot of headaches should you ever need to prove your deductions.

In an effort to keep taxpayers from transferring wealth from one generation to the next tax free, there are specific limits to the amount of gifts one may give to any one person each year. Amounts in excess of this limit are subject to filing an annual gift tax form. For most of us, this is not something we need to worry about, but if handled incorrectly it can create quite a surprise when the tax bill is due. The Gift Giving Rule You may give up to $19,000 to any individual (donee) within the calendar year 2026 and avoid any gift tax filing requirements. If married, you and your spouse may transfer up to $38,000 per donee. If you provide a gift to your spouse who is not a U.S. citizen, the annual exclusion amount is $175,000 for 2026. Gift Tax Reporting Amounts given in excess of this annual amount are subject to potential gift tax reporting. The amount of tax is currently unified with estate taxes with a maximum rate of 40%. The donor of the gift is responsible for paying any associated tax. When you exceed the annual gift giving amount, this triggers the need to file a gift tax form with your individual tax return. The excess gift amounts are rolled against your lifetime unified credit. If your lifetime gifts do not exceed the credit you may not have additional taxes owed. Here are some instances when a gift tax return may occur and ways to manage the problem: Gifts for college . Grandparents like to help out with the tremendous expense of funding a college degree and amounts donated can quickly surpass the annual gift threshold. To avoid the gift tax problem consider making payments directly to the college as this form of payment can be excluded from the annual gift giving limit AS LONG AS the funds are not used to pay for books, room or board on behalf of the donee. Be careful with 529 plan funding. If your children are anticipating going to college, many consider creating a 529 college savings plan. You may then fund the savings plan for, have someone else fund it, or on behalf of your child. However, remember the deposits into 529 accounts are considered a gift and are subject to the annual gift giving limits. Gifts to cover medical expenses. It’s very easy to mount up a large medical bill. While you may want to step in and help out by giving money to the individual with the medical bills, you may be creating a gift tax obligation. The better option may be to make payments directly to health care providers for medical services on behalf of the patient to avoid gift tax exposure. Gifts to help make a down payment. It is becoming more common to have family members help their kids with the down payment on a first home. This can be tricky. Lenders will look for event deposits in bank accounts and ask the prospective buyers to substantiate the source of funds. Providing the funds as a loan may disqualify the couple from taking on a mortgage. Even worse, if the purchasing couple claims the funds are a gift, this action may create a gift tax obligation to the person providing the funds. Gift of real estate . If you give property to a relative for little or nothing in return, this generates the need to file a gift tax form as well. Recent IRS studies suggest more than 50% of taxpayers fail to declare property transfers as gifts. Other things to consider You may provide gifts to or receive gifts from ANYONE. There are no limits or restrictions on who you may give a gift to or who may provide a gift to you. Creative gift giving can be a useful tool to help someone in need without creating a tax obligation. Do not give a lump sum gift for the maximum amount. If you provide a gift for the maximum allowable to an individual, you may not provide any other gifts to this person during the year, or else the event will be deemed excess gift giving and require filing a gift tax form. For example, a grandmother gives $19,000 to her granddaughter for college. She also pays for a vacation trip to send the family to Disney World and provides a wonderful birthday gift. The additional gifts are technically in excess of the annual limit and would present a gift tax event. The IRS is paying attention to the massive non-compliance in the timely filing of annual gift tax forms. So much so, that it's actively researching property transfers in key states to ensure the gift tax filing is taking place. What this means for you You may never encounter a need for this tip, but if you do AND you are unaware of this tax law, your tax life can get complicated quickly. Your main takeaway? Identifying when to ask about filing the gift tax form.

For people trying to make the most of their savings right now, something important is quietly happening in the banking world. Some savings account and CD rates are moving higher again, even while many expected rates to slowly fall this year. That may not sound exciting at first, but for everyday families, it can make a real difference. After years where savings accounts barely earned anything, banks are now competing harder for deposits. Some high yield savings accounts are paying more than 4 percent, while certain certificates of deposit are offering even higher returns for people willing to lock their money away for a set period of time. The reason this matters is simple. Inflation may not feel as intense as it did a couple years ago, but prices are still higher than many families are comfortable with. Groceries, insurance, utilities, and everyday expenses continue putting pressure on monthly budgets. Earning more interest on savings can help offset some of that pressure without taking on investment risk. Financial analysts say many people are still leaving money in traditional checking or savings accounts earning almost nothing. In some cases, banks are paying less than one tenth of one percent while online banks and other institutions are offering dramatically higher returns. For someone with ten thousand dollars in savings, the difference can be hundreds of dollars a year just by moving the money to a better account. That is money earned without changing spending habits or taking major financial risks. The article also points to an interesting shift happening right now. CD rates had been slowly slipping earlier this year, but some have recently ticked upward again. That suggests banks still want deposits and are willing to pay more to attract customers. It also shows how uncertain the economy still feels, even as inflation cools and interest rate conversations continue in Washington. For regular people, this is one of those moments where paying attention can actually pay off. Many families spend hours trying to cut small expenses while large amounts of savings sit untouched in low earning accounts. This is also part of a bigger change in how people think about money after the past few years. More households are focusing on emergency savings, financial stability, and creating breathing room instead of chasing fast growth. Higher savings rates reward that kind of thinking. The key takeaway is not that everyone should rush into complicated financial products. It is simply that cash sitting in the right place can finally work a little harder again.