Earlier this month the IRS clarified the rules on the 20 percent deduction on qualified business income from pass-through entities that include sole proprietorships to S corporations.  The 199A deduction, commonly referred to as the qualified business income deduction, was a welcome (and vague) part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Congress passed in December 2017.  The deduction was designed for businesses owners who pay their taxes on...

Late last year, the S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI Inc., provider of research-based indexes and analytics, announced the Telecommunication Services Sector will be changed to Communication Services and will evolve to include companies that facilitate communication and offer information through various media. The changes, expected to take place September 28th, 2018, will move the weighting of the sectors and could increase your existing...

Chances are you use a Square product regularly, whether it is paying for your cup of coffee, craft beer, haircut, or use one in your own business. This financial technology company has grown rapidly along with mobile device sales over the last eight years and the stock (NYSE: SQ) is up 180% in just the last 12 months. We have enjoyed 56% of this gain here and with strong expecations and new products hitting the market, we can only expect more...

It’s starting to feel like 1999 again. Not in the ‘Party like it’s...’ kind of way, but in the ‘stock bubble’ kind of way. It’s called a Melt-Up, and it happens at the end of the bull market when everyone on your block and their yellow dog is suddenly buying or talking about stocks. It’s the herding in of otherwise wouldn’t be investors who are afraid they are going to miss out on the market’s rapid rise. It’s what happens right before the...

Recent legalization across Canada and parts of the U.S. has sparked growth and stabilization for several cannabis-related companies. Today we look through the smoke and beyond the hype at two top players to consider for your portfolio this year. Over the past several years there has certainly been a lot of noise coming from the media and investment writers with headlines like ‘Pot stocks are making people rich’ and articles about ‘marijuanna...

In good times and bad, people love a bargain. Today we have an opportunity to own a company who provides bargains at a bargain –with the possibly of 40% growth in stock price while earning a dividend of 6.2% along the way. Understand, I’m not someone who loves shopping, and evidence of what some call the retail armageddon is clear. Thousands of stores are closing every year, bankruptcies for retailers are at an all time high, and ecommerce hit...

If you missed out on the 196% gain on Bluebird Bio (BLUE), the 81% gain on Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) or the 28% gain on Apple Inc. (AAPL) over the last 12 months don't despair, today we sit before another exciting opportunity at huge gains. Despite it’s sometimes volatile markets, China is on the move, and a great place to park your money for the next four years to capture gains like those above. Last week, after the American media and financial...

Long gone are the days when most of us found love at the local night club, dive bar, or church event. More people are finding love online than ever before; more than 60% of the under 30 crowd have or are using an online dating app or site. One in three relationships begin online and that number is growing all the time. We shop for everything else online, why not love? It’s certainly more expedient than going on date after date only to find you...

Selling your real estate, stocks, and securities for a capital gain is a wonderful thing, after all making a profit is the whole point. But before Uncle Same comes to take his cut you may want to use a little strategy to avoid paying more tax than you want to. Yes, you can lower you tax bill, but it will require knowing how to better time purchases, sales, and understand tax rules. Long-term and Short-term capital gains When you sell an...

Increasing cashflow. Excellent management. Strong demand for products. Dividend payer. This one checks all the boxes of an investment worth getting in for the long term, and it’s ‘on sale’ with the stock price currently well below valuation. This is Lam Research (Nasdaq: LRCX). Yes, the stock price has skyrocketed over the last 8 years, but it’s still a bargain. Here’s why. Cash flow has increased every year for the last 6 years $5.7 billion in...

If you have been banking your airline miles to save for a special trip or to use them towards upgrading to first class, this could be a great time to book your award travel. The first reason is availability. The number of award seats has gone up in 2019 across most airlines –especially with United and Alaska Airlines. The second reason is price. The number of miles needed to book a flight has actually decreased over the last five...

Before you say something like ‘I wouldn’t move there if they paid me’ consider this; some US cities are literally offering to pay you. If you have ever thought about making a move to a more affordable city to make a new start, now might be the time. Living in a large city like Los Angeles certainly has its perks and opportunities, but it also comes at a high cost. LA, as an example, has a cost of living 48% above the US average, and the median...

What percentage of your retirement income will be from Social Security? It’s a question most of us haven’t thought about, but chances are if you have, you certainly factor in Social Security as a large contributor to your monthly retirement and with good reason; you’ve paid into it your whole life and are entitled to it. Here's the scary part: the Social Security Program in it’s current state will not be able to meet it’s requirements within 15...

There are more options and tools than ever to help you time when to buy your airline tickets at the lowest price (as we have written about before). Now there’s a service that allows travelers to track the price of their booked flights and receive alerts when the price drops, so they can re-book their seat and save. Yapa, a free service that’s been tracking airfare since 2007, let’s users track airfares on desired flights and sends alerts for...

Summer and summer vacations are just around the corner. While roughly 50% of us say vacations are ‘extremely important’ over 50% of Americans leave unused vacation time on the table at the end of the year. Don’t be one of them! Taking time to rest and renew is important for our health, so here's 5 travel apps that can save you money and time when traveling. HotelTonight I’ve been using HotelTonight for 5+ years and have saved a ton of money...

Oh, Costco. How we have a love hate relationship with you. We love the high quality selection, the savings, and of course the free samples throughout the warehouse. We hate the crowded parking lots, long lines, and the fact we can’t leave there without spending at least $100, and entering another small line to have you highlight our receipts. While these are things we know about Costco, today we will share some fairly unknowns about the big box...

The easiest way to make more money is by saving more money off bills you are already paying. It’s maddening to open your cable or internet bill only to find out they have raised the rate on you for no reason. Now there’s an automated service that will negotiate a lower monthly payment on your cable, internet or cell phone bill on your behalf. That’s right: you don’t have to call anyone or navigate through a phone tree system to beg for a rate...

Despite the national unemployment rate hovering just around 4%, we live in an age where one income just isn’t enough to cut the mustard. Second jobs and side hustles are common, but by leveraging the internet and your work experience you might find freelancing in your downtime at home to be more rewarding. More of your neighbors are freelancing than you might guess. Freelancers Union recently released a study that estimates 57.3 million...