Your Safe Money Show Improve your credit score 2 26 22

Your Safe Money Show topics for February 26th

I am Robin Riley producer of Your Safe Money Show, and coming up on this Saturday's (February 26th) show Todd Sjoberg (your host) will explain how snowbirds can be taxed as Florida residents. He’ll also have questions to ask your aging parents about their finances. And everyone can benefit by having the best credit score possible. We'll have tips to improve your score. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at our podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Best time to buy gas

 I wanted to share a recent study done by GasBuddy, they found that in 2021 Thursday was “the most expensive day of the week by far” to fill up your vehicle in 28 states. Studies in previous years found the weekend days to be the costliest. The next most costly day is Wednesday. By contrast, Monday is the best day to fill up if you are looking for a bargain. The first day of the week consistently offered the cheapest prices in 17 states last year. Monday also took the same honor in GasBuddy’s 2017, 2018 and 2019 studies. Hard to believe but Friday is also a great day to find cheap gas. As recently as 2019, Friday was among the most expensive days to fill up, but that changed in 2021. Though there is variation in daily gas prices across different states, the consensus is that filling up at the beginning or end of the work week, on Monday or Friday, is the best way to save money. Following Monday, Sunday is the cheapest day to fill-up.

Your Safe Money Show Brushing Scams 2 19 22

Closed Presidents Day

 Sjoberg & Holmstrom Financial Services will be closed for Presidents Day. You can leave a message at 320-679-5183.

February 19th highlights for Your Safe Money Show

 For our Saturday February 19th Your Safe Money Show our topics included how to save money as consumer prices keep rising. If you're retiring early there's a new IRS rule that could mean more money in your pocket. And if you receive an unexpected package it could be a "brushing" scam. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at our podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Social Security

 

Getting a replacement Social Security card

 Up until recently, in Minnesota, if you needed to replace your Social Security card you had to mail them documentation or go to a Social Security office but not anymore. Minnesota is now a state where you can ask for a card online. Getting a replacement Social Security number (SSN) card has never been easier. As long as you’re only requesting a replacement card, and no other changes, you can use ssa.gov free online services from anywhere. All you need to do is log in to or create your personal my Social Security account.

Keep in mind that in many cases, even if you lost your card, you may not need a replacement. In most cases, simply knowing your SSN is enough. But if you do need a replacement, they make it easy. Again go to ssa.gov to sign up if you don't have an account already. If you have questions call 320-679-5183.

Your Safe Money Show Garnishing Social Security benefits for student loa...

Highlights for February 12th Your Safe Money Show

 I am Todd's producer (Robin Riley) for Your Safe Money Show, and coming up on our Saturday February 12th edition, Todd talks about “saving” for retirement but he also makes the distribution of your money a top priority and he has strategies to help you with that. A listener was curious about whether your Social Security benefits can be garnished if you have outstanding student loans, Todd will explain. And when it comes to spousal benefits and Social Security, how can you maximize your benefits? He will also break that down for you as well. Listen at Nice 95.5 FM KBEK at 8 a.m. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at our podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Tax filing information

 I have some tax date information for you. The deadline for filing 2021 federal income tax returns for most taxpayers is April 18. The filing deadline this year is Monday, April 18, because Washington, D.C., observes Emancipation Day on Friday, April 15. By law, the IRS is required to treat D.C. holidays as if they were national holidays for tax-filing purposes. Emancipation Day commemorates the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a measure to free enslaved people in D.C. (Adding to the complexity, the actual date of Emancipation Day is April 16, but since it falls on a Saturday this year the holiday is celebrated a day early.) Don’t blow the deadline. The penalty for late filing is 5 percent of the amount due each month, and the penalty for failure to pay is 0.5 percent a month, and maxes out at 25 percent a year. Interest also accrues, at a current rate of 3 percent.

If you must file late, you can get an automatic extension by filing IRS Form 4868. The automatic extension typically gives you until Oct. 15 to file your return, but since Oct. 15 falls on a Saturday this year, the extended deadline is actually Oct. 17. However, an extension to file doesn’t grant an extension to pay. You must still pay any taxes owed by April 18 or face penalties for late payment. If you’re owed a refund and file late, the IRS won’t levy a penalty, but you won’t get your refund until you file. If you don’t claim a refund within three years, you’ll lose the money.

IRS facial recognition update

 Here's an update on the IRS facial recognition story we shared on Saturday's Your Safe Money Show.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to stop using facial recognition software to identify taxpayers seeking access to their accounts on the agency’s website amid concerns over privacy and data security. The IRS was already coping with a daunting tax season, faced with backlogs of old tax returns, staffing shortages and the additional complexity of paying stimulus and child tax credits. Now the agency must also change how it verifies the identity of taxpayers. The IRS said Monday that it would “transition away” from using a third-party service for facial recognition to help authenticate people creating online accounts. The transition will occur over the coming weeks to prevent additional disruptions to the tax filing season, which ends April 18.

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February 5th Your Safe Money Show topics

 For our February 5th edition of Your Safe Money Show we'll look at travel insurance during this time of Covid. Also when you retire what should you do with your 401(k). And the IRS will be using software from a private company that uses facial recognition to get into your account. There are some privacy concerns with this technology. Listen at 8 a.m. Saturday's at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at our podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Go to yoursafemoneyshow.com to use our Color of Money risk analysis tool

 

Life expectancy tables

 Here is a rare bit of good news from the IRS: Retirees may have smaller required minimum distributions for 2022, thanks to a change in the federal agency’s life expectancy tables. RMDs — which apply to certain types of retirement accounts — are mandatory annual withdrawals that retirees make beginning in the year when they turn 72. The amount you must withdraw each year is generally determined by dividing the previous year-end balance of each qualifying account by a ‘life expectancy factor’ as defined by the IRS. That life expectancy factor comes from IRS charts that are often referred to as life expectancy tables. Recently, these tables were updated to account for longer lifespans, with the changes affecting RMDs for 2022 and later. In the old tables, life expectancy at birth was 82.4 years. The updated tables bump that up to 84.6 years. These are the first updates to the life expectancy tables in two decades. The updates mean RMDs now are expected to be spread out over a longer period. As a result, each annual RMD withdrawal will be slightly reduced — which is good news for retirees’ taxes. RMDs generally are taxable income. So, smaller RMDs mean potentially lower taxes for retirees. If you are looking for this information, an easier but informal way to get an idea of the amount of a particular RMD withdrawal is to use an RMD calculator like the one offered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor.gov website.