As many Canadians make an increased effort to buy Canadian, today’s post highlights several terrific Canadian brands that may be new to you. The post Buy Canadian from these terrific homegrown brands appeared first on Boomer Eco Crusader.

Do you belong to America’s expanding population of blended families? Estate planning involves complexities for all families yet offers special challenges to blended families which demand careful attention. According to Pew Research Center millions of Americans face this estate planning issue. Through careful planning and proper guidance you can develop an estate plan that safeguards […] The post Estate Planning for Blended Families: Key Considerations appeared first on Make Money Without A Job.

Paying for college is a big deal. For most families, it requires patching together a variety of resources including family funds, scholarship, and perhaps military-related benefits like the Post 9/11 GI Bill. And how you patch those resources together will be different for every potential school, because each school will offer a different financial aid… | Read More… The post College Financial Planning Template – Free and Downloadable! appeared first on KateHorrell.

The first year after purchasing a house is the most dangerous and potentially challenging period. This is particularly true for first-time homebuyers who likely stretched their finances to achieve a 10 percent or greater down payment, leaving their liquidity quite thin. Once you’ve secured the house, you are inevitably confronted with unknowns that only become […] The post How To Survive The Most Dangerous Time After Buying A House appeared first on Financial Samurai.

For the past year, I’ve had some form of AI chatbot open almost anytime I’m working on the computer. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, I’ve been rotating through them to help with everything from writing and coding to simulating Japanese conversations and, surprisingly, financial planning. Yep, even, financial planning. Just two years ago, AI felt hit-or-miss—sometimes helpful, sometimes hilariously wrong. But recently, the improvements have been dramatic. And in the past few weeks, I’ve used ChatGPT to help with tax planning, gain harvesting, and even mapping out Roth conversions. And this raises the big question: Should you be using AI to assist with your financial planning? Should You Be Using AI to Assist With Your Financial Planning? In my opinion, YES. Now, I wouldn’t expect to be able to hand your financial data to ChatGPT and expect it to accurately model your early retirement (see below), but I won’t be the least bit surprised when they can do that in the next year or so. In fact, AI chatbots are now so good to the point that they can accurately answer your questions and help you make faster decisions without the need for a human financial advisor. Let’s walk through a few examples, starting with something simple…I asked ChatGPT about harvesting gains: Can we talk about locking in gains? If I sell off some stock today, but then re-buy the same stock the same day, that is legal correct? It is selling off losses and rebuying that is not legal? ChatGPT then responded: Yes, you’re exactly right — selling stock to lock in gains and immediately rebuying it is legal, while selling to realize a loss and immediately rebuying it is typically disallowed due to the “wash sale” rule. Selling for a Gain (No Wash Sale Rules Apply) If you sell a stock at a gain and buy it back the same day, there’s no IRS rule preventing that. You realize the gain, it becomes part of your taxable income (short- or long-term depending on how long you held the stock). You reset your cost basis to the new purchase price. You reset the holding period for capital gains treatment. This is commonly done in tax-planning strategies to lock in a gain now (for example, if you expect your tax rate to rise later), or to rebalance your portfolio while still wanting to hold the same stock. Fantastic! Within seconds, you get excellent information to help you make a decision to lock in the gains, and it is supported by plenty of good background information – which you can of course, find online, but that is summarized up nicely here. So instead of visiting 3 different websites to find the answer and feel confident, I was able to ask it one quick question. Next up, I decided to ask ChatGPT about factoring in my IRA to ROTH conversions later this year: Ok, so it

There’s no wrong or right way to budget, but finding a method that fits your unique money situation can make all the difference in helping you reach your financial goals. YNAB, short for “You Need a Budget,” is a fantastic tool that can help you reach your cash flow goals more efficiently, faster, and—may I say—with less agony and frustration. In this YNAB review, we’re excited to share how it can help you finally get […]

Money management can get complicated. You likely spend money every single day (and probably multiple transactions daily at that). Plus, there are bills to monitor and pay, investments to track, and many other ongoing tasks to keep up with. Streamlining your financial tasks improves your overall quality of life, and the Quicken Simplifi app is aptly named to do just that: simplify your finances. In this Simplifi review, we’ll examine some of its unique features […]

Image Source: 123rf.com Planting flowers is one of the easiest ways to beautify your yard, but the choice between native and non-native species is an important consideration. While non-native flowers may seem appealing due to their vibrant colors and exotic appeal, they come with potential drawbacks that can impact your garden and the environment. Here are four reasons why you should rethink planting non-native flowers in your yard. 1. Non-Native Flowers Can Disrupt Local Ecosystems […]