Recently, two pieces of legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 were signed into law. Together, these pieces of legislation make the most significant reform to health care in the United States since the enactment of Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2019, approximately 32 million currently uninsured Americans will have health insurance, at a cost of about $940 billion. A major component of the reform legislation is the creation of state-based American Health Benefit Exchanges and Small Business Health Options Program Exchanges to provide health insurance for low-income individuals and small businesses. The following is a brief description of some of the most important provisions of the health care reform legislation.
In March of 2010, President Obama signed two pieces of legislation into law, implementing the most pervasive health-care reform since Medicare. Many of the reforms that relate to business and employers don't take effect until 2014. Here are some of the important highlights of health-care reform from the perspective of employers and businesses.
Now that comprehensive health-care reform has been signed into law, how will it affect you? While some portions of the law become effective in 2010, other provisions are phased in over time. Nevertheless, it is almost certain that at least some of these reforms will have an effect on you and your family.
With the lure of tax-free distributions, Roth IRAs have become popular retirement savings vehicles since their introduction in 1998. But if you're a high-income taxpayer, chances are you haven't been able to participate in the Roth revolution. Well, new rules apply in 2010 that may change all that.
With the nuances of health care reform getting all the attention, you may be surprised to learn that the recently passed health care legislation—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010—includes several provisions related to college. The most noteworthy of these provisions involve:
You undoubtedly know that the SEC has sued Goldman Sachs for fraud. I have been following the media and government pundits on this topic, and I am beginning to conclude that they just don't get it.
On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The Act gives employers a temporary payroll tax exemption for qualifying new hires plus a tax credit for retaining new employees. The Act also temporarily extends increased Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179 expensing limits.
Two weeks ago, I was in WashingtonDC speaking to a CEO roundtable.At the end of my talk, one of the participants said to me “I am sure you are worth every penny you charge, but I have been ripped off by a financial advisor and don’t know if I can ever trust another one.Do you have a case study on how to recover from a bad advisor?”
No one at the firm had ever met the young woman on the phone who had just sold her business for several million dollars.“I have researched financial advisors and have decided I want to work with a CPA/PFS.I have narrowed my list of choices down to two and Mackey Advisors is one of them.I would like to set up a phone call to discuss your investment approach.”
Throughout New Year’s Day, I began to emerge out of “holiday time” and into “business focus time.”As the possibilities of the new year began to take shape in my mind, I found myself both excited and overwhelmed.In my entrepreneurial world, there are always so many options and possibilities.
Start by reviewing your 2009 income and expenses.Tools you can use include Mint.com, Quicken® or a simple spreadsheet.Go through your bank and credit card statements and categorize your sources of income and expense.Expense categories include things like mortgage, utilities, dining out, groceries, health care, beauty care, etc.Separate your expenses into needs and wants.Take a big picture look at your 2009 habits from this perspective.What do you see?
Several years ago, my weekly schedule was structured around working in my Covington office three days a week and in my home office two days a week.It was a transformative time for the firm, and it gave me the freedom to work ON my business rather than IN my business, focusing on the important and non-urgent matters of the firm rather than the daily tasks associated with its function.That much focus and attention paid to entrepreneurial, visionary work was time well spent and resulted in a new foundation for Mackey Advisors.In fact, it worked so well that I quit doing it!Maybe you have had a similar experience.Something worked so well, you think you’re finished and you return to an old routine.
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Amy Schiffman has had a Fifth Third Bancorp credit card for eight years to guard against unexpected overdrafts on her checking account. Now the bank wants to charge her $19 for not using it.
“If you’re not thinking about the card, you might forget to pay the fee, and then you’ll be facing another late fee on top of it,” said Schiffman, 26, a Web designer in Lansing, Michigan.
Overcoming Ourselves to Achieve Financial Independence By Barbara Bry, Vistage 687
When striving for financial independence, what gets in our way? Do different things get in the way of women than men? How do women entrepreneurs, executives and business owners rationalize the various meanings of money?
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill December 13, 2005
“A car isn’t a good investment.This one will do just fine.”
This wise and wealthy man’s final reply sums up the difference in perspective between most of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy people I have known.The wealthy and wise look at their cash flow, and consider how they can use it for the accumulation of more assets, which in turn seeds more cash flow.The not-so-wealthy often look at their cash flow to determine how many more monthly payments they can squeeze into their paycheck.Consequently, they are forever on the treadmill called “work.”
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill November 13, 2005
One common goal most of us share is that one day we would like to have sufficient resources so that we never again have to work for money.We might still choose to work, but it would be by choice, not by necessity.This point in time is known as “financial independence.”
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill September 5, 2005
The idea that one "retires" is a relatively new concept. In fact, the first country to develop and administer a program of "social security" was Germany during the Great Depression. The motive was to get older workers out of the labor force and put younger workers in, as a way to pull the country out of the Depression. It worked so well in Germany that in 1935, the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt followed suit, and Social Security was born.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill August 7, 2005
There once was a time when we all had a piggy bank.It came in the form of ceramic for kids, and in the form of a savings account for an adult.You want something?Save for it.In more recent times, lending institutions have made it very easy to get something called “credit.” “Don’t put off what you want.Get it now, and pay for it in the future.”Debt became a way to purchase a home or buy a business that otherwise would have been unattainable.Still, being debt free was a common goal.If you used credit to get started, you paid off the debt as quickly as possible.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill July 3, 2005
Annuities are the most misunderstood product in the world of finance. In my office, rarely does a month go by that a client, or potential client, does not sit across from me and express their confusion about an annuity account.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill June 5, 2005
By our very nature, we are emotional creatures. Yes, even you guys get emotional! If you are not convinced, watch a close scoring football game, or better yet, a high school lacrosse match.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill May 15, 2005
On the surface, money is an objective subject. Compound interest is algebra. Balancing your checkbook is simple math. The three-year annualized return of an investment is computed using the geometric mean. already it seems pretty involved.
Maybe you need a hand painting your house, so you ask your handy friend a favor. You know she's been dying for a massage; you hit up your licensed massage therapist friend and promise him a supply of the tomatoes ripening in your backyard.
There are only three parties involved in this particular bartering system, but already it seems pretty involved.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill April 10, 2005
Most of what is written about women and money focuses on the disadvantages and bigger challenges that women face. The truth is women have significantly greater challenges in the area of money. These challenges spring primarily from lifestyle differences in men and women.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill March 27, 2005
Most people spend more time planning for vacation than they do their financial lives. And while women have more challenging financial planning needs, when it comes to procrastinating, they are no different than men.
Mackey McNeill is known as the proseprity adviser. She is founder of one of the largest women-owned businesses in the Tristate - The Advisory Team financial services firm in Covington. McNeill is a certified public accountant, registered investment adviser, consultant and author of the book "The Intersection of Joy and Money."
McNeill has spent the past 25 years in the financial services and investment arenas. When it comes to the topic of how women relate to investing, McNeill agreed to share her insight with Women's Business Cincinnati readers.
The Sunday Challenger By: Mackey McNeill February 6, 2005
The New Year is a natural time for making resolutions. For women, diet and exercise resolutions top the list, followed by something about your money life, such as a new purchase, more savings or understanding your investments. All too often you soon find your determination slipping from your grasp and your resolutions become empty words on a piece of paper.
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