Fastest Growth in America

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The fast growing states in America according to the U.S. Census Bureau were: There are a lot of ways to spin these numbers politically, but mathematically it is interesting to see Idaho so far up the list. That doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of people moved to Idaho because there were that many people there to start with compared to other states on the list. That is, Idaho got second place by increasing by just 28,861 people. Compare that to South Carolina and North Carolina which came in with 79,958 and 145,907 people respectively, basically two or three times as many people. In other words, way more northerners wandered down to the Carolinas than Californians wandered over to Idaho. Texas, of course, takes a lot of people to get a little percentage of growth. 391,243 people, more than the three states above it combined resulted in just 1.25% population increase. That’s the other thing mathematically interestings. The growth percentages are so close together that they are meaningless without at least two decimal places, suggesting that despite crowing a “fastest,” the reality is that the differences were not large. Tiny States Big Growth (Percentage wise) Little Delaware grew by just 9,829, …

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Tax Day 2026

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tax extension 2019 form 4868

After a few years of tax day jumping around thanks to holidays in Washington D.C., tax day once again on April 15th. That’s a Wednesday, so don’t expect any weird holidays to save you. To avoid penalties, most Americans will need to file either their tax return or an request for extension by April 15 this year. Tax Extension 2026 The IRS grants an automatic, no questions asked, extension to any filer who requests one by April 15 using Form 4868. Filing for a tax extension moves the due date for your taxes to October 15th. However, there is a catch. If you OWE money on your taxes — that is, if you are not getting a refund — the amount you owe is still due on April 15. Filing an extension does not give you extra time to pay, only extra time to file. What happens if I don’t file my taxes on time? How does this work? On Form 4868, you’ll see a place to estimate how much taxes you are going to owe in 2026, for your 2025tax return. You have to make a payment for this amount along with your extension form. If you overestimate how …

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Choose Your Rate By Xcel Energy

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Your rate, your choice, the postcard says. Xcel Energy makes it sound like you’re choosing the chicken or the beef. It also doesn’t end up telling you how much the rate you choose is going to cost you. I guess it’s more complicated than a postcard can convey, even with a little bar graph showing On-Peak energy from 5:00pm to 9:00pm costing three dollar signs instead of the Off-Peak time when it costs one dollar sign. Xcel Energy And The Rate Choice Xcel Energy is a for-profit corporation, like most big American companies. You can buy shares of Xcel stock if you choose. Xcel’s ticker symbol is XEL. It trades on the NASDAQ even though they got a three letter stock symbol. As I type this, the stock closed at $80.40 a share. I don’t know if that’s higher or lower. I don’t have any Xcel stock. Unlike most American companies, Xcel Energy trades it’s near monopoly in the areas it serves for oversight by regulators who keep Xcel from doing what most American companies seem to do these days. Run, a rational business charging a fair, but profitable price for a good service supplied by competent, skilled workers that …

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Car Loan Tax Deduction New for 2025

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Alright, this is new to me too, so let’s dig in. Consider this a first run at the new tax deduction in Trump’s big tax bill for 2025. I’m sure there is a lot of nuance, but this is a first whack. Proceed accordingly as we examine the new way to deduct car loan interest from taxes. No Tax on Car Loan Interest No tax on car loan interest is dumb. There was never any tax on car loan interest. Car loan interest is an expense, not income. So, you don’t pay tax on car loan interest already. Even if you did pay taxes on car loan interest, a deduction for that wouldn’t be “no tax” it would be less tax. So, now that we’ve dispensed with the marketing, let’s do this. How To Deduct Car Loan Interest Trump pumps out the headlines, congressmen write up the bills so it comes close to what Trump said. Actually, congressional staffers experienced in writing legislation write the bills, or so we hope. In this case, no tax on car loan interest comes with some important limitations. What is a Qualified Vehicle for Deductible Car Interest? People are always complaining about how long …

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HSA Contributions

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medical-taxes

A quick reminder not to forget to use your HSA account to pay for ALL of your qualified medical expenses. Remember, you get the deduction based upon CONTRIBUTIONS, and your contributions do NOT have to be made before your expenses are incurred. In other words, if you go to the doctor and get a $180 bill, you can (EVEN AFTER) contribute $180 to your HSA account. Pay the $180 doctor bill (maybe using a rewards credit card), and THEN reimburse yourself the $180 expense. This is the best way to deduct medical expenses if you qualify. Otherwise, remember that you can only deduct medical expenses that are 10% above your adjusted gross income. With an HSA account, every contribution is deductible, regardless of when you use the money to pay medical bills. Also, any medical bills you pay with your HSA cannot be deducted as medical expenses. Also, HSA paid expenses do not count toward the 7.5% floor needed to deduct medical expenses. Remember, the contribution is deductible, not the expense. Contribute money for every qualified medical expense you have, and the net effect is the same as deducting all of your medical expenses. Remember, unlike a FSA, you can …

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JEPQ Annual Report Review

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The JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF is popular around the internet’s financial communities. Places like Twitter (FinTwit) and Reddit ooze with opinions on JEPQ and whether those who invest are suckers or geniuses. As always, it depends. What Is JEPQ? JEPQ is an exchange traded fund, or ETF managed by JPMorgan. The fund, more or less, seeks to mimic the ever-growing popularity of selling covered calls to generate income while still holding your stocks to become rich and famous from their capital appreciation. To do this, it starts with a fund comprised of stocks to roughly approximate the Nasdaq 100, and then it sells covered-calls (and equity-linked notes, which are institutional sized covered calls) on those stocks to generate income. If everything goes according to plan, the fund will generate income and hold those stocks as well. The best of both worlds. When things don’t go according to plan, stocks rise rapidly taking out said covered-calls and making them money losing exchanges of pennies for multiple dollars of share price increases. Fortunately, those things are hidden silently within the fund so you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about that. In the end, you get (JPEQ returned) …

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8 Biggest Credit Unions in Colorado

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8 Biggest Credit Unions in Colorado 1

For most people, a credit union offers a better banking platform than a traditional bank. Here are the biggest credit unions in Colorado to get you started. Remember, bigger is not always better and smaller Colorado credit unions might offer better value for your situation. There are over 100 credit unions service Colorado, so there is sure to be one that suits your banking needs. CD Rate Specials Are Back Credit unions, like banks, need to balance their deposits against their loans. When loan activity increases faster than deposits, credit unions often turn to CD specials to improve their ability to attract new deposits. And, when things are going good, people tend to tap those home equity loans for summer projects like a new deck, or updated kitchen. More loan dollars requires more deposit dollars and BOOM, rate specials. People who might not normally bother joining a credit union change their tune when they can pick up a sweet CD rate instead of resigning themselves to a measly 3%. When loans are high (here come the profits) credit unions don’t mind the rate shoppers so much. These big Colorado credit unions are offering those specials now as we head into …

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Tax Forms for Filing Taxes 2025

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tax forms for filing taxes

It’s Federal Income Tax Time, here in America. The due date for filing your income taxes, and the dreaded Form 1040 is, as usual, April 15th. (No extra days to file taxes in 2025. Those pesky Washington D.C. holidays have moved on to other days..) But, before you can file your income taxes, you’ll need all the forms and information you need to file. For most taxpayers, the main document you need is a Form W2 from your employer. The W2 form reports not only your wages, but also the amounts that were withheld from your paycheck during the year. If you worked for more than one employer, you would need to get a W2 from each one. If you don’t have a traditional employer, or if you do paid work on the side, you’ll need to collect Form 1099-MISC from all of your clients that paid you more than $600 during 2025. Unfortunately, for people like freelance writers, that means you may have to track down some former clients, especially if you moved and didn’t notify them of your new address. Unlike regular employee types. There are usually no withholdings to report on a 1099 form. Many clients will …

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Digit Review Scam Legit or Necessary?

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digit automated savings

Digit is an automated savings service. As always, my first question in a Digit review is, Is Digit a Scam? Then, if Digit is legitimate, the question is what exactly this online financial service does and is Digit worth it for the average person’s personal financial situation. Is Digit safe? I checked out some Digit app reviews and then dug into the details myself. If you are looking for something similar, but that invests the money and doesn’t calculate its own savings (it’s a roundup savings app) check out my Acorns reviews. Is Digit A Scam? The burden of proof for calling something a scam differs based on what exactly it does, and what can be shown from available sources. Digit is a venture capital-backed internet start-up, raising money from, among othe rs, Google’s own venture capital arm. That in itself doesn’t mean it is not a scam, but it does mean that it isn’t some fly-by-night hacker operation looking to steal a few credit card numbers and email addresses. Is Digit Legitimate? Since Digit is a legitimate business and not just a scam to steal your banking information, the question becomes whether Digit is necessary. The idea is that …

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