Practice Finance

The road to a comfortable retirement is bumpy enough without any of these setbacks getting in the way.

If you use your debit card a lot and you often bank online, take a closer look at a new product called "reward checking accounts."

Randy Newsom, a minor league pitcher in the Cleveland Indians' system, is selling shares of his himself at $20 apiece.

You've got some extra cash each month that you can't decide how to invest. Should you put it in the stock market, or use it to pay down your mortgage?

The IRS warns of a rash of e-mail and telephone scams whose aim is to latch onto a taxpayer's personal and financial data.

In a slumping housing market, some people who've been unable to sell their home have made the bold move of trading it for someone else's.

Only 22 percent of respondents to a new survey of affluent households thought $1 million is enough to be considered rich.

I've set up an irrevocable trust at my bank and the assets will go to my two children after I die. But I'm worried that once I'm gone, the trust may become less effective if estate and tax laws change or the bank trustee does a lousy job. How can I prevent those possibilities?

Someone ripped a blank check out of my checkbook and wrote a $500 check against my account before I realized it. Will FDIC insurance cover my loss?

I've noticed that a stock can have different price-earnings ratios depending on which sources I consult. Why is that?

My wife was advised to set up a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP-IRA) so she could set aside more annually than a traditional IRA would allow. Now she's earning only half as much and wants to switch to a regular IRA. How can she terminate the SEP?

The unscientific "Super Bowl Predictor" says that the market rises in years when an "original" NFL team wins the big game and drops in years when a team from the old AFL is victorious.

Water leaked through the windows in my finished basement, damaging the wallpaper, wallboard, and carpeting. Since my homeowners policy won't cover this, can I claim it as a casualty loss on my tax return?

Much as you love your kids, saving for college rather than retirement could be a big mistake.

Don't hang on to assets that turn sour.

Tips to reduce the tax-time clutter

Years ago I inherited land that I'll never use. Now I'm trying to figure the most sensible way to get rid of it. If I sell it, I'll have a hefty capital gain. How can I ease the tax pain?

I'm the executor of my brother's considerable estate, and I'm entitled to a commission for handling the job. If I accept payment, will that money be subject to income tax? What about the money he left me as an inheritance?

I want to help my son buy a home, and I've heard that I can get tax benefits by doing it through something called a shared-equity financing agreement rather than just giving him cash. How would that work?

The alternative minimum tax makes mincemeat of your deductions-and it's nabbing more and more professionals.

Check out these money-saving ways to report income, deductions, and credits on your 2007 return.

Beginning this year, if you inherit an IRA or qualified plan from someone other than your spouse you'll be allowed to roll those monies into an IRA in your own name.

Did you lend your brother a few grand last year-or a few years ago-with the promise that he'll pay you back? Are you assuming you can kiss that money goodbye? Well, don't despair. You may still be able to write off the loan on your tax return.

My father and I are in practice together, but soon I'll relocate and start a solo practice. I'd like to buy some of the equipment I'll need from Dad, but a friend ran into a tax hitch when he did the same thing with his brother a few years ago. He doesn't remember the details. What's the potential problem?

I bought some shares of stock for $1,000 in 1990, and now they're worth about $30,000. If I give them to my son, will this be considered a gift of $29,000 or $1,000? And on which amount will he owe capital gains tax?

I placed an online order for 100 shares of a stock at $27 per share, but by the time the brokerage filled it, the stock's price had climbed to $35 per share. Do the rules limit the amount of time a brokerage can take to complete a stock transaction? If not, how can I keep this from happening again?

While springtime is when many of us clean up our house, January is the perfect time to spruce up our portfolios. Besides pruning the losers and trimming back winners, be sure that you're diversified among stocks, bonds, and cash, in an allocation suitable to your age and needs.

We want to consult a financial planner for advice on how to allocate our investment portfolio, so we're making a list of our assets. Should we include the market value of our vacation home? What about the jewelry my wife just inherited from her grandmother?

Heavy flooding in my town recently caused a backup of sewage into a neighbor's house. Does homeowners insurance cover that sort of damage?

I want to put my home, which I own free and clear, in my adult son's name. That way it will be out of my estate and he'll get it directly when I die. Are there any other tax consequences I should know about?