Welcome to the Marshall Art Easel. Go ahead and ease on in. This isn’t your typical artist’s setup with oils and pastels, but it’s the perfect place to catch a quick stroke of financial wisdom from each Marshall Art episode. After all, every episode drops in a small tip or insight to help you sketch smarter choices, blend better habits, and color in a brighter financial future. No fuss, no jargon, just simple, practical guidance you can use right away. So, pull up to the easel and let’s make your financial picture a masterpiece, one easy stroke at a time.
Episode 19, The Marshall Art of determining a traditional versus Roth 401(k) contribution OR deciding if Uncle Sam gets paid now or later!
Let’s say you do 100% Roth 401(k) contribution this year, this does NOT lock you in to all future contributions you make to the 401(k) have to be Roth 401(k) contributions. You need to evaluate your own facts and circumstances to determine which route to go, traditional or Roth or a combination.
Episode 18, The Marshall Art of donating your treasure OR turning your extra into someone else’s essential!
Some employers match contributions to certain organizations. This is an additional and free impact. Many times it is as simple as providing the name or the organization, amount and a copy of the receipt. Literally, it can take less than 5 minutes to double your impact.
Episode 17, The Marshall Art of what is an emergency fund and how to build one OR the fund before the storm!
Set up an automatic transfer on payday [to build your emergency fund]. This basically makes saving easy and natural, just like breathing.
Episode 16, The Marshall Art of understanding your risk appetite and why its important OR syncing your strategy with your sleep schedule!
Diversification is your best defense regardless of your risk tolerance. Don’t put all of eggs in one basket, whether it is a fund, a stock or a bond. Use a mix of investment to smooth returns as it spreads risk across different investments to keep your portfolio balanced while still enabling you to take advantage of investment growth!
Episode 15, The Marshall Art of selecting auto insurance OR making sure you bumper’s backed by brains!
If you drive for Uber or Door Dash or similar type company using your car, you likely are going to need a rideshare or equivalent endorsement, which is an addition to your policy. Note, based on experiences, some insurers will not provide this coverage. And if you don’t get the coverage, it can be very costly to you by leaving you personally responsible for damages and repairs, a costly mistake that could total more than your just your car!
Episode 14, The Marshall Art of utilizing a health savings account OR healing your wallet while curing a cough!
Withdrawals for non-medical expenses before age 65 are taxed as income plus a 20% penalty. However, after age 65, such expenses are taxed as income only with no penalty!
Episode 13, The Marshall Art of prepaying your student loan OR turning student stress into graduate finesse!
When you send in extra payments, always tell your lender to apply it to principal only, not next month’s payment. Otherwise, they might just push your due date forward without reducing what you owe!
Episode 12, The Marshall Art of planning for taxes on bonuses OR making sure Uncle Sam doesn’t crash the vaca!
Safe harbor IRS tax withholding rules do exist to avoid an estimated-tax penalty. You can avoid a penalty if you 1) owe less than $1,000 after credits and withholdings; OR 2) meet a safe harbor if in the current year you paid a) at least 90% of the current year tax you owe; OR b) at least 100% of last year’s tax liability. Note that if your adjusted gross income is $150,000 ($75,000 for married filing separately), the safe harbor noted in b) relating to last year’s tax liability rises to 110%!