Cory Burnell

Maintaining good records is important to help meet your tax and legal obligations. The right record keeping system not only helps satisfy these obligations, but it may save you money and time. Here’s what to consider for your record-keeping system. What Records Do You Need to Keep? The first step is identifying the records you need to maintain. The obvious examples include leases, contracts, payroll and personnel records, and a range of accounting and finance information, such as invoices, receipts, checks, payables, and inventory. Please consult a professional with tax expertise regarding your individual situation.¹ How Do You Want to Keep Them? Record maintenance can take three basic forms: Paper-based —It’s old school, but maintaining records in file folders stored in a metal cabinet may be sufficient. However, there is a risk of files being damaged or destroyed with no back-up. Computer-based —Maintaining records on computers saves space and makes management easier. Con...

The motivations and mechanics of personal travel are undergoing real change. Vacations are becoming less to do with getting away and increasingly about living new experiences. Here's a quick overview of how travel looks in the twenty-first century. The New Face of Travel Your Hotel is Likely Now a Home With the advent of Airbnb, HomeAway and other similar services, the traveler can now book a home, condo, or cabin and live like a local in a home setting. Community Impact Your travel dollars can have community impact. The possibilities can range from AboutAsia, which gives 100 percent of its net proceeds to schools and education initiatives, to Women High on Adventure, which couples adventure with assisting women in the local populations. Living a Local Experience Eschewing conventional tourist attractions, many individuals are seeking an immersion in local culture. This can mean connecting locals who love to cook with travelers who want to experience local cuisine (E...

The questions around auto insurance center not so much on whether to have it—it’s mandated by state law, required by your lender, and serves to protect your assets—but what kind of coverage you should purchase. Types of Coverage There are several forms of coverage that a car owner may purchase, some of which are required, others of which may be optional. The coverage requirements in all states include: Bodily injury liability (pays for the cost of injuries you cause to another individual), and Property damage liability (pays for the damage you cause to another’s car or to objects or structures you hit). Some, but not all, states will require that you have coverage for: Uninsured and underinsured motorists (covers the costs associated with being hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, or in the case of a hit-and-run accident), and Medical payments or personal injury protection (PIP) (pays for medical treatment for you and your passengers). PIP coverage is available i...

Traditional IRAs, which were created in 1974, are owned by roughly 35.1 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are owned by nearly 24.9 million households. 1 Both are IRAs. And yet each is quite different. Up to certain limits, traditional IRAs allow individuals to make tax-deductible contributions into the account. Distributions from traditional IRAs are taxed as ordinary income and, if taken before age 59½, may be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. 2 For individuals covered by a retirement plan at work the deduction for a traditional IRA in 2018 is phased out for incomes between $101,000 and $121,000 for married couples filing jointly, and between $63,000 and $73,000 for single filers. Also within certain limits, individuals can make contributions to a Roth IRA with after-tax dollars. To qualify for a tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, Roth IRA distributions must meet a five-year holding requ...