THE client is 66. He purchased a business about 10 years ago for $2 million. He put in $500,000 of his own money and borrowed a $1.5 million small business loan through the Small Business Administration. The business owns real property worth $800,0000 in 2010. It derives revenue through rentals of the real estate that…
Q: I am a registered nurse in the Philippines but I have not yet obtained a license in California. However, I am working as a ‘private nurse’ to a bed-ridden patient in Los Angeles. My duties are mainly nursing duties – tube feedings, inserting catheter, tracheal suctioning, observing and recording vital signs, administering therapies prescribed…
Q: I WORK as an on-call employee for a healthcare facility. My employer often calls me to report for duty but when I arrive to work, my assignment is cancelled and I am sent home. This has happened several times and I was not paid for a single canceled work even though they scheduled it…
Part 1 of 2 INVESTMENT guru Warren Buffett said that when the going gets tough, the tough goes shopping. No, he didn’t say that actually, but he did suggest that when the stock market plunges, go buy stocks – dirt cheap stocks. 1. Go shopping: See? I told you, he did say that. Instead of…
IF you’ve ever found yourself financially broke or buried in debt at one point in your life, I’m sure you still remember how it felt. The feelings of despair and helplessness, the sleepless nights, the endless anxiety about the future- A lot of people will never understand until they have experienced it for themselves. From…
“ If stock prices move contrary to our expectations, it creates tension.” A MOST important tip for trading is to keep your emotion in check. Use logic, not emotions. Do not allow emotions to get the better of you; otherwise, you could be forced into a losing trade. Be aware that stock prices influence the collective…
ARE your growing debts starting to worry you and cause you sleepless nights? Are you trying hard to pay what you can every month but feel like you’re just running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere? Do you dread getting those credit card statements every month knowing that you don’t have the money to…
LARA May (not her real name to protect confidentiality) was a dedicated and long-time employee for ABC Equipment Co. She was injured at work and had to take an extended medical leave of absence. Prior to her injury, Lara May was a valued employee at ABC Equipment, and was praised for her work ethic and…
THIS client case is unusual. She is young at 28 and owes about $300,000 of credit cards. She used these cards to fund a “gift card” business. What’s a “gift card” business? There are many people who cannot qualify for credit to purchase items like iPhones, TVs, personal computers, and other big-ticket items but they…
1. Learn the Basics Familiarize yourself with the following basics before making your first purchase. • Definitions – Price earnings ratio (P/E ratio), earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE). • Stock Selection Methods – fundamental analysis and technical analysis (moving averages). • Order Types – market orders, limit order, trailing stop loss orders….
LIKE most people, you’ve probably heard that filing for bankruptcy when you are in debt will ruin your credit forever and that you will never be able to buy a car or a home again. Nothing could be further from the truth. Is it actually possible to improve your credit rating by filing for bankruptcy? …
THE first client is 48 and has just been sued for $10,000 by American Express. He recently received the summons and complaint. He is single with one teenager dependent. He used to have a business but that has failed. He now works as a manager and earns $4,000 a month. He doesn’t own a house…
JOSE Alvarado worked as a laborer for Timber Works Construction, Inc. in Santa Clara County. Alvarado claimed that the employer required them to sign two different documents. One document contained false hours worked (fewer hours than actually worked) and another document contained the correct hours worked by the employees. The employees claimed that the employer…
1. Start with safer stocks. Buy stocks that tend to be less volatile (meaning more stable with less up and downs in price). Consider consumer staples stocks that people still need products like food, clothing, and medical supplies even in tough economic times. This may be your safest strategy while you’re getting your feet wet….
FILIPINO registered nurse, Nancy Ortiz, worked for Dameron Hospital in Stockton, CA for about 10 years. Born in the Philippines, English is her second language and she speaks with a thick Filipino accent. Ortiz is over 40 years old. Towards the ninth year of her employment at the hospital, and at this time working as…
THE client is a 70-year-old widow who lost her beloved husband five years ago. She owns a house with a reverse mortgage of half a million, which she took when her husband died. The mortgage accumulates at the rate of $2,000 a month or $24,000 a year. You can keep the balance from increasing if…
Should I invest in individual stocks or mutual funds? Unless you are a seasoned veteran, it’s better to invest in pooled funds than individual stocks. There’s danger in picking stocks in your first years because stock prices rise and dive and create tension that you should avoid. Trading stocks should be fun, exciting. Pooled funds…
CHELSEA Hamilton and Alyssa Hernandez worked for Wal-Mart at its Fulfillment Center in Chino, California for several years. These employees sued their employer in a class action for, among other things, unpaid overtime and minimum wages. The employees claimed that Wal-Mart required employees to go through mandatory off-the-clock security checks during each meal period and…
THE client is 60, while his wife is 58. He issued his check to pay rent of $1,200 but the check was dishonored for insufficient funds. The landlord called him to tell him that his rent check bounced. The client was surprised that his check bounced because he had at least $5,000 in the checking…
MORE than half of Americans have stocks in their portfolio. If you don’t, you are missing out. Actually, you have been missing out big time. Conservative people keep their money in Certificates Of Deposit (CD). Conservatism is noble but earning 1% – 2% in a savings account is kind of silly when stock investors earn…
RODERICK Magadia worked as an hourly associate at a Wal-Mart retail store in San Jose, California as a stock associate. After 8 years of employment, Magadia was terminated. During Magadia’s employment, Wal-Mart used a “Myshare” bonus plan payment. This bonus appeared on wage statements as “MYSHARE/INCT.” Employees who received a MyShare bonus and worked overtime…
“The effect of the lowerinterest is to shorten the amount of time it takes to pay off the principal because more principal gets paid with every payment. ” I’VE recently gotten a couple of clients who have been on debt consolidation and are now ready to jump into Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. First, let’s…
WHILE nearly all articles relate to change, let’s depart from that norm and discuss a few deductions that won’t change. 1. Student loan interest deduction: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) allows student loan borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 on the interest paid for student loans every year. Student loan interest is interest you pay…
YADIR Ontiveros worked as a technician for Safelite, a company which repairs and replaces vehicle glass for automobiles at various locations in California. Safelight’s technicians are classified as non-exempt employees. They are compensated under a Performance Pay Plan (“PPP”), which is a pay table that lists the amount employees will receive for performing particular tasks…
THE Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) makes changes to the general business credit by adding a new Paid Family And Medical Leave Credit and changing the Rehabilitation Credit and the Orphan Drug Credit. 1. Paid family and medical leave credit: The Act introduces a new component credit for paid family and medical leave which…
NO matter how the economy does, there are always reasons for people to file bankruptcy. During the period of 2008-2012, more than 1.5 million people filed bankruptcy year after year. This was during the height of the foreclosure crisis. Millions of homeowners were struggling with unaffordable mortgage payments, unemployment and failing businesses. As much as…
HOW do you answer this question? Let’s check what the Bible has to say about debt. The Bible says that one should neither be a lender or borrower. It does not seem to recommend the assumption of debt. Otherwise, it should say, it’s OK to be a borrower, but not a lender or vice-versa. This…
AN employee may be asked to sign some documents at the time of termination. One of these documents may be a severance or separation agreement. This is a contract between an employer and an employee who is about to leave the employer’s employment. In a typical severance agreement, the employer agrees to give the employee…
THERE are times in life when we’re sometimes caught unprepared for what we have to do in order to deal with an ongoing problem that simply will not go away. The problem is there before you sleep at night and it’s still there when you wake up in the morning. One of these problems might…
THE client is 50, divorced, and used to own a business that had a commercial lease for retail space. He operated the business for 10 years. On the 11th year, sales started to plunge for an unknown reason such that the debtor could no longer pay the commercial lease of his retail space. He still…
