Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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The Musician’s Guide to Mileage, Part 2
Are you missing out on driving expenses you could be deducting from your taxes? In Part 1 of this series, we differentiated between commuting and types of travel which are tax deductible for professional musicians. Now, in Part 2, we will consider which will maximize your tax deduction: using the IRS Standard Mileage Rate or the…
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George M. Cohan and Keeping Receipts
Happy Birthday today, July 3, to George M. Cohan, broadway composer of Yankee Doodle, You’re a Grand Old Flag, Over There, and countless other hit songs. In 1930, George found himself in hot water with the IRS. He lived a lavish life, spending cash, and deducting his expenses without receipts or evidence. The IRS challenged…
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Introducing Finance For Musicians!
No one becomes a professional musician for the money. It’s a labor of love. But we all have responsibilities: mortgages to pay, families to feed, and important goals like financial security and retirement. I’m a trombonist who has been a Financial Planner since 2004. Over that time, I’ve worked with hundreds of families, including quite…
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The Saver’s Tax Credit
Many of the professional musicians I work with are self-employed and don’t have access to a 401(k) or company retirement plan. Not surprisingly, saving for retirement is a not always a high priority for most young musicians. Still, getting an early start and saving regularly are the best path to financial security. What if you…
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Self Employed? Discover the SEP-IRA.
I wish more self-employed people knew about the SEP-IRA because it has a number of terrific advantages over a Traditional IRA.
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Four Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
For those who are struggling with their student debt, there are a number of student loan forgiveness and repayment programs which can help.
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How Some Investors Saved 50% More
Results indicate consistent evidence that a retirement planning strategy and the use of a financial planner can have a sizeable impact on retirement savings.
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5 Techniques for Goal Achievement
Goal Setting is a key step to the financial planning process, and helping clients achieve goals is the value I provide. Everyone would like to be wealthy, but that is not a goal. To me, it only becomes a goal when we can state a clear, tangible objective.
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The AFM Pension Plan: What Every Musician Needs to Know
If you’re a professional musician in the US, you likely received your annual statement from the American Federation of Musicians Employers’ Pension Plan in the past several weeks. Musicians often have basic questions about the AFM Pension, in part, because the annual statement doesn’t tell you very much about your personal situation other than your…
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