Late Brokerage 1099 Forms & IRS Mailing Deadlines

I never file my tax returns too early. The last time I did so, I had to file an extra amended return as my stock brokerage sent me a late corrected 1099 form shortly afterward. What a hassle. It seems that every year one of these forms shows up … [Read the rest]

Groupon: Whole Foods $10 Gift Card for $5

Groupon is selling a $10 Whole Foods Gift Card for $5 for one day only. They want to teach you about their search bar for some reason. No expiration date. Limit 1 per person, I'm sure it will sell thousands and thousands. Remember that you … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card Review – 2% Flat Cash Back

If you're looking for a solid cash back card and are willing to open a Fidelity account (or are an existing customer), then you should really consider the credit card offerings from Fidelity, especially the Fidelity Investment Rewards American … [Read the rest]

Betterment.com Outgoing Account Transfer Fee (Eliminated)

Updated to state that Betterment has updated their agreement to eliminate any outgoing ACAT transfer fee as of February 2014. We're building a better ACAT transfer system to reduce the fee to $0. In the meantime, we are eliminating that fee … [Read the rest]

Tax Guide for LendingClub and Prosper 1099 Forms

Updated. I've gotten a few tax-filing questions regarding P2P lenders Prosper Lending and Lending Club. For tax year 2013, LendingClub provided individual investors extra guidance with their Tax Guide for Retail Investors [pdf]. Using this … [Read the rest]

Tax Prep Guide 2013: TurboTax vs. TaxACT vs. H&R Block Online

According to an informal 2012 poll, 86% of blog readers prepared their own taxes using software with a breakdown of 60% TurboTax, 21% TaxACT, and 16% H&R Block at Home. This nearly matches the findings of analytics firm Comscore, which found that … [Read the rest]

Prosper vs. LendingClub Investor Experiment: 15.5 Month Update

After posting the 1-year update (Part 1, Part 2) of my Beat-The-Market experiment back on November, I got bored. I had started with $10,000 split evenly between Prosper Lending and Lending Club, but although this alternative asset class had … [Read the rest]

Can I Really Withdraw My Roth IRA Contributions At Any Time Without Tax Or Penalty?

Updated. In my post Roth IRA Contribution vs. Emergency Fund Savings, I suggested that people should just fund their Roth IRAs first over an Emergency Fund. Why? If you contribute $5,000 in a Roth IRA, you can take out $5,000 later with no tax or … [Read the rest]

OptionsHouse Free iPad Mini Promotion

Online stock brokerage firm OptionsHouse has a promotion where new customers* can get a free iPad Mini (16gb WiFi model w/ Retina display, $399 value) if you satisfy the following requirements: $10,000 minimum funding required Must fund within … [Read the rest]

Groupon $10 off $40 Code – Presidents Day Weekend

Presidents Day Weekend Special. Get $10 off a Groupon of $40 or more (Local deals only) with promo code 10OFF40LOCAL. Valid 2/15 through 2/17 at 11:59pm PST. … [Read the rest]

LivingSocial 20% Off Code – Presidents Day Weekend

Presidents Day Weekend Special. Get 20% off at LivingSocial.com with promo code 2014PRESDAY. Valid 2/15 through 2/17 at 11:59pm PST. Good for purchases of any amount, but maximum discount is $20. Savings will be reflected on the final purchase … [Read the rest]

Square Cash: Send/Request Money Via Debit Card For Free + $1 Carrot

Square, known for helping people accept credit cards with smartphones, has expanded another feature called Square Cash. Yes, it's yet another attempt at simplifying person-to-person payments, but this time all you need is e-mail and a debit card … [Read the rest]