Charitable giving fills a need in our society and betters it as a whole. And until recently, donating to nonprofits helped people receive attractive deductions on their tax bills. With the recent tax law change, it’s important to understand how your charitable contributions will affect your next tax return. We want to make sure that you continue to get the biggest tax benefit possible when giving to your favorite charities. So in this episode, we discuss a strategy to help you find the best tax solutions for your charitable gifting going forward.
The newest update to the tax law could limit charitable giving due to the increase in the standard deduction. For many, it may be challenging to find ways receive a similar tax benefits for giving they were already doing. But there are solutions out there. The first is to do nothing. With the 2018 tax law changes, most will no longer receive the same benefit for giving to their favorite non-profits. Your second option is to give the same amount to your favorite charities and lump your contributions so that you give a larger amount every other year rather than annually. This will allow a bigger tax benefit biannually this way. The downside to gifting directly to the charity is the disruption in annual cash flow for their regular operations. Nonprofits often rely on yearly contributions to stay afloat and this strategy could lead to financial problems for the charity.
A donor-advised fund may be one of the best tax solutions for the newest tax law changes. You can set up a donor-advised fund with Fidelity, Vanguard, or Charles Schwab. This is an account where you can contribute the same amount that you usually do each year and realize the biggest tax savings over a period of time. This way the charity can still receive the same amount that you would normally give within the same timeframe. You can then distribute smaller amounts throughout the year to smooth your charitable contributions, so operations of the charity are not affected. A Donor-Advised fund can receive many kinds of capital and turn your investment into cash for your favorite nonprofits to use.
It is best to start planning your tax year in November. With a donor-advised fund, you can give to your favorite nonprofit in many different ways, whether it be stocks, private equity, hedge fund interest, real estate, or cash. Your donor-advised fund will then give your favorite charity cash that they can use. You are able to set up your charitable donation to be gifted whenever you choose, whether it is weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Using a donor-advised fund is a great long-term tax strategy to use as part of the changing laws’ tax solutions.
Heather Gudac and Haley Modlin join Mike and me on this episode of the Financial Symmetry podcast to discuss how to become a financially successful millennial. We have had targeted advice toward other age groups in the past, and now we’re excited to find ways to help out the younger generation. Heather and Haley have worked hard to put together a fantastic list of five money tips for millennials to help them become financially savvy. Be sure to listen to this episode to hear excellent ideas to get you or your favorite millennial on the road to financial success!
This is perhaps the most important of the money tips for millennials. It is so important to come up with a plan, not just for now but for the future as well. Planning can help you discover how to pay off student loans, how and where to save money, and how to make a budget. The sooner you can start making smart financial decisions the better off you will be later on in life. Remember you don’t have to have money to have a plan. Having a financial plan will help you to save efficiently. As you take on more responsibilities in your career and in your life, be sure to periodically adjust your financial plan to stay on track. To hear more about creating a financial plan to help you succeed financially, listen to episode 58 of Financial Symmetry.
When you are just starting out in life all kinds of people want to give you financial advice. This is usually well-meaning advice from people that care, but it may not be the best advice for your life. Some things to consider are: have they done this themselves, and are they people you really want to be taking advice from. Sometimes people may give you advice that was applicable twenty years ago but may no longer apply today. Listen to this episode of Financial Symmetry to hear important money tips for millennials to get a head start on a strong financial future.
Joint bank accounts can be a touchy issue for some people, especially millennials. The most important thing to remember when you are getting married or embarking on a serious relationship is not to keep financial secrets. Many relationships fail due to finances, so money should be an ongoing conversation. Whether or not you have equal incomes your money is a joint effort and what you do with it now affects both of you and your future. We discuss many of the available options when joining money, so be sure to listen to this episode to hear fantastic money tips for millennials.
What are your financial values? Millennials think differently and spend their money differently than previous generations. Studies have shown that 75% of millennials would prefer to have a great experience rather than buy goods. Knowing how you prefer to spend your money will help you plan your budget. Make sure that you are getting the most from your dollars by planning how you spend them. Use this episode to help you learn how to plan your budget, listen to Heather and Haley as they give us the top money tips for millennials.