Tigress Tales

Important and sometimes irreverent personal finance tips, strategies, and stories to educate, amuse, and motivate. It’s a big job, but someone has to do it!

Is the Trust Fund Empty?

Is the Trust Fund Empty?

Legally establishing a trust does not put money into it.Perhaps you or your parent(s) visited an attorney at some point and had a trust document drafted.  There are many kinds of trusts, but most are created to hold accounts or other items of value (assets) that would...

Check Safety in the Age of Identity Theft

Check Safety in the Age of Identity Theft

Check Writing Has Some PitfallsIt used to be that check-writing was a way of life.  It was the only way to pay bills or send money to a grandchild for their birthday.  In 2022, FinCen, a unit of the US Treasury Department, reported a whopping 84% increase in check...

MEDICARE – A Guide to Plan Reviews

MEDICARE – A Guide to Plan Reviews

Review and Possibly Change Your Medicare Plan(s) Annually It may be your plan or that of a loved one who needs help, but unless you have a plan that is subsidized by an employer, it makes good ‘cents’ to review your plans each year during the Open Enrollment Period. ...

Advanced Planning 101

Advanced Planning 101

Advanced Planning 101Avoiding mistakes that can derail your effortsBroadly speaking, there are several stages to managing your estate.  Much of it has to do with paper and, increasingly, digital documents.  To have an estate plan, it must get written down.  It cannot...

Tax Organization for NEXT Year

Tax Organization for NEXT Year

Tax Organization for NEXT YearAvoid the Stress you are feeling right nowThis time of the year, accountants everywhere are advising that you need to have your documents to them by March 1st. Are you feeling stressed? The alternative is filing an extension,...