Our Commentary

  With the holiday season finally behind us and the year of 2012 dead ahead, a reader asked me, “Stewart, What would you suggest I do with a $1,000?” You may have year-end bonus money, be expecting a tax refund or simply just have a few bucks burning a hole in your pocket. To get a broad […]

Since the Great Recession began in 2008, millions of Americans have been affected by the financial tsunami that has now swept across much of the world. As we consider our fate for the coming year it’s important to differentiate between ‘the’ economy and ‘our’ economy. There is very little that we can do regarding the U.S. or […]

Today, Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and His promise of everlasting life for those who choose to follow His word. Too often we get caught up in the busyness of the holiday season and miss its true meaning. Each of us is fortunate to live in this great country where we experience […]

Today, Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and His promise of everlasting life for those who choose to follow His word. Too often we get caught up in the busyness of the holiday season and miss its true meaning. Each of us is fortunate to live in this great country where we experience […]

No doubt about it, December has everyone in the giving mood. People are busy buying and exchanging gifts, acknowledging friendships and the love of family members. Giving can also be smart tax planning while providing much needed support for those less fortunate in our community. Here’s a summary of the most popular ways people give and get a […]

  Here are three questions from The Birmingham News readers: Question: Are investment grade bonds riskier than the stock market? V. F. This reader commented, “As we all know the stock market has both gyrated and gone sideways in the last decade. Yet when I seek to invest in A to BBB corporate bonds I […]

  It reads like a 29,000 page conspiracy theorist novel and it took two years and the Freedom of Information Act to discover that the Federal Reserve, led by Ben Bernanke, secretly loaned the big banks more than $1.2 trillion in bail-out money on December 5, 2008. This secret lending ballooned to as much as $7.7 […]

Black Friday…the biggest shopping day of the year. Thanksgiving officially kicks off the holiday season that will be filled with parties, gathering of friends and family and the sharing of gifts. It’s also a time to remain vigilant over your personal finances so that you don’t begin the new year with new debt. A recent survey suggests that […]

This week, readers continue to search for answers to their most pressing financial questions. Here are the ones that I felt could benefit a cross-section of our readers: Question #1 “My wife and I are both retired and have our retirement savings in the Alabama RSA1 and federal TSP programs, both of which claim to have […]

  Last week I discussed several strategies for maximizing your social security benefits. This week I’ll examine some of the nuances of how your Social Security benefits are taxed and how you might be able to reduce those taxes.  To determine if your Social Security benefit is taxable then you have to calculate what is […]