Gift cards are the most sought after gift (followed by cash, clothes and books) and since the expiration date on cards has been extended to five years in 2009, people have a tendency to treat them more like cash and not spend them right away. $750 million in gift cards will go unredeemed this year (this is actually down from $1 billion last year.) See this article in Market Watch by Quentin Fottrell for more details: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/750-million-in-gift-cards-will-go-unused-in-2014-2014-11-29 As I said above, things are improving – only 1 percent or less of gift cards given are going unused now when in 2007 ten percent were going unredeemed (probably due to the earlier expiration dates.) But it is still smart to spend those cards and tell the people who gave them to you what you bought (good manners.) For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Burbank CPA Financial Musings: 3 Smart Year-End Moves for Retirement Savers of All Ages
Before the year ends there may be some things to give your long term security in retirement a boost: take a look at these three ideas from Mark Miller in Money that can help: http://time.com/money/3604819/year-end-retirement-moves/ There is one other item of importance; although this article recommends using these ideas before the end of the year, even if you don’t use these ideas this year, they can still be used in the future to help make your retirement more secure. Think about that a little, then pick an idea and a plan to put it into play to help with retirement. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
CPA Financial Musings: More Americans can’t make their car payments
So a lot of Americans are having trouble making their car payments in this study released by TransUnion. See the full story in MarketWatch by Catey Hill: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-americans-cant-make-their-car-payments-2014-11-24 There is a small silver lining in these numbers – although on the rise, they are a lot less than a few years ago. With over 5 million more auto loans in the last year, Transunion spokesman Peter Turek doesn’t feel there will be any changes in lending practices as a result of this study’s information. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa