Michael

Name: 360 Wealth Consulting, LLC
Price range: $$$

About Michael

Posts by Michael Shelton:

Choosing right come tax time

Small business owners and individuals often struggle to find the right professionals. I know I’ve made mistakes with service provides for the business as well as trade specialists at my home. It makes sense. You hire people to do things you don’t do. It can be tough to know who’s right or wrong for your needs. Fortunately, there are easy ways to identify a good tax preparer. It’s not just the return preparation fee or mistakes made on current year reporting you need to consider. With the rapid changes in tax law we’ve seen over the past few years, you’ll pay dearly for mistakes made three years back automatically, and six years in cases where substantial errors are found. When price is the pitch, you get what you pay for You’ve probably heard local firm claims they’re cheaper than the big guys. I’ve learned the hard way to be wary […]

Act now to reduce tax liability on healthcare

December 15th is the deadline to register with Healthcare.gov. Don’t roll your eyes thinking this doesn’t apply to you. I’ve had clients paying close to $2,000 a month for health insurance unnecessarily. Because they bought their policy through a broker, they can’t get any of it back. Selecting a plan through healthcare.gov is the only way you can get premium tax credits and subsidies. Most who think they don’t qualify are mistaken. The deadline for healthcare.gov participation is tomorrow, December 15th. Think long and hard before you dismiss this as a wise option. It may cost you more than your annual mortgage payment. Here’s the thing – what you get through healthcare.gov is the exact same insurance you get off the street. This isn’t welfare. You’re paying taxes to support premium tax credits and subsidies. It’s crazy not to capitalize on money your government is collecting from you to support […]

Taking a small loss for a bigger win

Taking a small loss for a bigger win It’s not always a bad thing to lose money. Smart investors try to be strategic about how they do it, though. The IRS lets you offset up to $3000 of your income annually with capital gains losses. This can be applied to future years too. Just look at last year’s tax return to see what you carried forward. While losing money on an investment is disappointing, you might find taking a small loss for a bigger win makes sense come tax time. Of course, that requires some smart planning. Tax code changes are still hurting some Changes made with the 2018 federal tax code are still costing people money because individuals, and some professional providers too, don’t understand how much these can affect taxes owed. Think about this – if your joint return in 2018 showed $77,401 in capital gains, you jumped […]

Making your home a better asset

There’s been a big uptick in purchases at home improvement stores. Stocks are rising and revenues climbing at some of these retailers during a time most other businesses are struggling. It’s no wonder. People are spending more time at home, looking for something to do, and fixating on home issues. According to Baron’s, “. . . home improvement spending rallied 16.4% year over year in May, with the adjusted figure coming in up 5.2% for the three months ending in April.” Home Depot and Lowe’s “comparable sales climbed 6.4% and 11.2%, respectively during this time.” Yes, as we’ve been hunkering down, we’ve been tinkering with our living spaces. Retirement planning with real estate Typically, people think about 401ks and other traditional retirement savings vehicles when they calculate assets. As you plan your investment strategies and review your net worth, don’t forget to include real estate. What’s also important to consider, […]

It’s normal to feel anxious about uncertainty

Times like these tend to make us reassess everything, including investment risk tolerance. Big market pullbacks are scary. The recent one was compounded by liquidity issues as people had trouble getting their money when they really needed it. It’s no wonder some are reconsidering mattress cash stashes. This pandemic has forced us all to reflect on what it’s like to go without pay. Whether you’re still gainfully employed or on the unemployment rolls, you can’t help but wonder how you might do things differently in the future. That’s not a bad thing. Experian reported 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. That was before an additional 30+ million people filed for unemployment. With Americans shouldering an average credit card debt of $5,700, according to the Federal Reserve, situations like these make it tough to dig out. Changing money habits These numbers are grim, and don’t account for what’s happened since […]