TessMore Finance Blog

Passwords are frustrating, but security is essential, especially when securing your online finances. Password managers are nifty tools that allow you to create complex passwords without ever needing to remember them. How is that possible, you ask — don’t you need to recall the passwords you create? Not exactly; we’ll explain just how password managers can transform your digital experience into something a whole lot safer with only a bit more effort. What Is a Password Manager? A password manager is a piece of software that allows you to create, store and easily recall saved passwords. But the aspect of password managers that makes them so helpful is their ability to operate without you needing to remember more than a single password. Think of a password manager as a bank vault that holds all the login credentials to your favorite sites. To access the password vault, you only need to remember one master password so that you won’t get tied up with an endless list of passwords scribb

When it comes to bank bonuses, they often require a direct deposit or a large deposit. Today, I’m here to share an offer from Live Oak Bank that only requires you to make a large deposit and keep it in the account for 90 days. It’s available to new and existing customers , which is rare, and nationwide. It’s a solid offer and if you have the cash, I don’t see any reason to pass on this. It’s a great place to park your money for a few months and get an above average interest rate for it. Here are the details: Table of Contents About Live Oak Bank Live Oak Bank $200 Welcome Bonus How Does This Offer Compare? About Live Oak Bank Live Oak Bank is an internet based bank that works whose primary customers are small business owners but they also work with individuals. They are FDIC insured #58665 since 2008 and a State Chartered Bank . They are digital so they work with anyone who lives in the United States – which is nice when it comes to a bank bonus! Live Oak Bank $200 W

Monday, I drove north to help my cousin, Duane. We moved him out of his apartment last weekend and into a smaller place close to family. As a result, everything is in chaos. He's living out of boxes. At this late stage, his cancer affects every aspect of his life, and that includes his ability to sustain prolonged physical activity — such as setting up a new home. I spent Monday afternoon unpacking his kitchen, buying groceries, installing his internet and television, and so on. In the evening, Bob and Audrey came over (Duane's brother and his sister-in-law). The four of us sat in the kitchen and sorted the boxes of food into three piles: Duane's pantry, going home with Bob/Audrey, going home with J.D. When we were done, Duane insisted that we enjoy some birthday cake. He turned 58 on Sunday, and some friends had brought him a fancy carrot cake from a 100-year-old Portland bakery. Duane couldn't eat any cake himself (he can't eat or drink much of anything anymore)

Dear Penny, My husband has worked at the same company for almost 45 years. It’s a small manufacturer that is run by a family.  Over the past 20 years, raises have been few and far between (up to eight years if I remember correctly). When he does get a raise, it’s often offset by increases in health insurance contributions and other reductions in benefits.  My husband got a raise about seven years ago, but four years ago, his hours were reduced from 37.5 to 35 per week. It didn’t mean that he actually worked fewer hours; he just didn't get paid for more than 35 hours a week. This meant that his gross income was lower in the past four years than it was in 2009.  A year ago, they also ended their 401(k) program, therefore, eliminating the employer matching funds. As you may guess, he is less than 10 years from retirement.  My husband holds himself to standards of loyalty and a strong work ethic. I have been married to him for over 30 years. I’ve suggested he look for another job

GoHenry offers family-friendly debit cards for kids and teens that can help them learn how to manage their money and also participate in a digital economy that’s going cashless. Your child can quickly receive funds, make payments, get a customized card, and earn bonus cash by completing in-app Money Missions. As a parent, you can schedule allowance payments and also monitor their child’s accounts. This GoHenry Card review takes a closer look at how your child can use this card to learn how to manage money and pay the bills. Table of Contents What is GoHenry? Who Can Join? How Much Does GoHenry Cost? GoHenry Account Limits How GoHenry Works For Parents For Teens and Kids Best GoHenry Card Features Money Missions  Allowances Schedule Chores Customized Debit Cards No Foreign Transaction Fees Split Purchases Savings Goals Direct Deposit Gifts from Relatives and Friends Retrieve PIN Numbers FDIC Insurance and Fraud Protection Refer Friends GoHenry Card Pros

There’s nothing like a bonus to make you feel better about your job. Whether it’s the year-end check that makes holiday shopping a little less stressful or just a reward for your great performance, a bonus is always a welcome windfall. Of course, when you earn money, you almost always have to save some of it for Uncle Sam. So how are bonuses taxed, exactly? How Bonuses Are Taxed Here’s what the IRS says about how it determines classifications of bonuses and how taxes play a part. First, What Qualifies as a Bonus? According to the IRS, that bonus of yours is considered “supplemental income,” a category that also covers commissions, overtime pay, prizes, retroactive pay increases, and more. Supplemental income is subject to a slightly more convoluted withholding pattern than your regular wages, depending on how much of a bonus you earn and the way in which your boss disperses it. How Normal Bonuses Are Taxed In most cases, a bonus is paid and identified separately from your regul

Being an adult is great. You get to be king or queen of your own castle — or head of the household, if you will. It’s all fun and games until tax time rolls around, and then “head of the household” takes on an entirely different meaning. Filing your taxes as head of household can seem vaguely intimidating, but it’s really nothing more than a designation by the IRS that may lower your tax bill and put more money in your pocket. Definition of Head of Household Head of household is a filing status the IRS uses to determine what tax bracket , tax credits and responsibilities apply to you during the course of a tax year. To qualify as head of household, you’ll need to meet certain criteria. 1. You’re Not Married on the Last Day of the Year Interestingly, you can be married the first 364 days of the year, but if you’re not legally married on Dec. 31, the IRS considers you unmarried for the entire year. Don’t get any ideas about divorcing your spouse for a few days around the end of

When we were searching for a new home, I registered an account for Redfin to help our search. Somewhere along the line, after buying a home, I must have entered in new address. Every single month, Redfin would send me an email about our home’s market value. Some months it would go up. Some months it would go down. There was little rhyme or reason to it. Eventually I unsubscribed because it was obnoxious. But I know why they do it – it keeps Redfin top of mind. And whenever home values go up (or down), everyone loves talking about it. I understand why it gets so much attention, it’s often the largest asset on anyone’s balance sheet. And I play along… but I really don’t care about it. We’re going to be living here for the next few decades and so the value of our home, much like the value of our stock portfolio, is what it is – a number. In our net worth spreadsheet , I track our home value as the purchase price plus any major renovations. I don’t account for appreciation, it’s es

In a move that could affect hundreds of thousands of people, Amazon is offering to pay even more for college tuition, classes, books and fees for its front-line employees. Amazon employees more than 1 million people in the U.S. The e-commerce giant has been offering a $3,000 annual tuition stipend and has now raised that to $5,250. It’s a generous offer and one that might be best for employees looking to study part-time while working. It’s not enough to cover the full yearly tuition at most of the schools on the partner list. That $5,250 amount is noteworthy because that’s the amount of tax-free tuition reimbursement that the federal government allows. Anything over that is considered income and is taxed. What Kind of Degrees Can Be Obtained? Amazon will fund college tuition toward bachelor’s degrees, as well as high school programs, GEDs, and English as a Second Language proficiency certifications for eligible employees, including those who joined the company as recently as three