Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Smart Money Podcast: Money News you missed and the 50/30/20 budget – ABC4 Utah

Then we pivot to this week's question from a listener, who asks, "What I wanted to know is what this 50/30/20 budget thing is. How is that broken down?"

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The 50/30/20 budget suggests limiting your "must have" expenses to 50% of your after-tax income, leaving 30% for wants and 20% for savings and extra debt payments. Your after-tax income is typically your gross pay minus income and payroll taxes (the money that goes to Social Security and Medicare).

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Publisher: ABC4 Utah
Date: 2021-02-15T17:00:00 00:00
Author: Liz Weston NerdWallet
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Check out this next:

Stimulus Check Update: Americans May Get Their Money in March

The Ascent is reader-supported: we may earn a commission from offers on this page. It's how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts' opinions aren't influenced by compensation.

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President Joe Biden, however, is intent on providing near-term aid to the public. He's proposed a $1.9 trillion relief package that includes extended and boosted unemployment benefits as well as an additional $1,400 stimulus payment. And now, it seems as though that payment may hit Americans' bank accounts as early as mid to late March.

Publisher: _____
Date: 2021-02-15T10:32:30.247241-05:00
Twitter: @TheAscentMoney
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Fighting money laundering in crypto, explained

Money laundering is a process where cash obtained through criminal activity is “washed clean” to make it look legitimate.

Money laundering usually works in three steps. First, stolen funds are placed into a financial system, and are usually broken down into smaller amounts so they can be hidden more easily. A system of “layering” is often deployed to create distance between criminals and their stolen funds. Finally, the funds are “integrated” — enabling the thieves to retrieve the cash through seemingly legitimate income streams or clean money sources.

Publisher: Cointelegraph
Date: 2021-02-15T14:35:00 00:00
Author: Connor Sephton
Twitter: @Cointelegraph
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



True The Vote lawsuit: How GOP donor Fred Eshelman came to want his money back - The Washington

Like many Trump supporters, conservative donor Fred Eshelman awoke the day after the presidential election with the suspicion that something wasn't right. His candidate's apparent lead in key battleground states had evaporated overnight.

The next day, the North Carolina financier and his advisers reached out to a small conservative nonprofit group in Texas that was seeking to expose voter fraud. After a 20-minute talk with the group's president, their first-ever conversation, Eshelman was sold.

Publisher: Washington Post
Date: 2021-02-15T17:33:56Z
Twitter: @WashingtonPost
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



In case you are keeping track:

270 addresses are responsible for 55% of all cryptocurrency money laundering | ZDNet

Criminals who keep their funds in cryptocurrency tend to launder funds through a small cluster of online services, blockchain investigations firm Chainalysis said in a report last week.

This includes services like high-risk (low-reputation) crypto-exchange portals, online gambling platforms, cryptocurrency mixing services, and financial services that support cryptocurrency operations headquartered in high-risk jurisdictions.

But while you'd expect that the money laundering resulting from such a broad spectrum of illegal activity to have taken place across a large number of services, Chainalysis reports that just a small group of 270 blockchain addresses have laundered around 55% of cryptocurrency associated with criminal activity .

Publisher: ZDNet
Author: Catalin Cimpanu
Twitter: @ZDNet
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



Don’t Waste Your Money: Stimulus affecting tax refund | ABC27

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Americans have bee reminded that last year’s stimulus check was not taxable — essentially saying Americans wouldn’t have to pay it back.

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Missy Stenger filed her taxes through a tax program and was stunned by what popped up when she was done.

“It told me I owed over $1,000 and I said, ‘what? There’s no way, there is no way,'” Stenger recalls.

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Publisher: ABC27
Date: 2021-02-16T03:39:09 00:00
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High schooler uses money she saved for college tuition to pay mom's rent

HOUSTON (CNN) - A high school senior from Houston who saved her mom from eviction using her college tuition money will be able to attend her dream school after all, thanks to donations from those moved by her story.

Alondra Carmona, 18, got accepted into her dream school, Barnard College, an Ivy League school in New York City, but she realized there was a gap in her financial aid package. The high school senior had a part-time job and was saving up money, but it wouldn't be enough.

Publisher: https://www.fox19.com
Date: 2021-02-16T08:18:57.123Z
Author: CNN Staff
Twitter: @FOX19
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



How To Invest The Money In Your Health Savings Account (HSA)

In 2021, eligible plans that count as an HDHP must have a minimum deductible of $1,400 for individuals and $2,800 for families. Meanwhile, maximum out-of-pocket limits for HDHPs are capped at $7,000 for individuals and $14,000 for families. With an eligible HDHP, individuals can contribute up to $3,600 to an HSA in 2021, and families can save up to $7,200 in one.

On the front end of the equation, the contributions made to an HSA account are tax-advantaged, meaning they reduce your taxable income. This means you'll pay less in income taxes in the years you contribute to an HSA.

Publisher: Forbes
Date: 2021-02-15
Author: Robert Farrington
Twitter: @forbes
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



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