You may have noticed that I was AWOL from this site for, well… the entire summer. That wasn’t originally planned, but in retrospect, it was necessary. Smashing keys on my laptop needed to take a backseat to other areas in life – primarily health, travel, recreation, and a massive (for us) DIY project. We finally decided to take on the big deck rebuild project that we’ve been dragging our feet on for years. The large (20′ x 14′) walkout deck attached to the back of our house had entered an embarrassing state of decay and disrepair and was no longer

The post DIY & the Value of Time (Thoughts from a DIY Deck Rebuild) appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

The buzz around I bonds in the personal finance community has been off the charts the last 2 years, with guaranteed interest rates not seen anywhere else in recent decades, and no risk-free comparable investment alternatives. I gave an in-depth I bond overview and covered how to buy I bonds previously to help readers take advantage. Well… nothing lasts forever. The new I bond rate (for May, 2023 through October, 2023) was just released on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s TreasuryDirect site @ 4.30%, with a fixed rate of 0.90% on new purchases and a variable rate of 3.40%. This

The post Is the I Bond Party Over? Here’s How to Cash Out I Bonds. appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

Those who are interested in purchasing an electric vehicle (and getting a tax credit for doing so) in the near future will want to pay close attention to this one. The IRS has finally released a revised list of electric vehicles that are eligible for the federal Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, after taking the new battery minerals and components sourcing requirement provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act into account. As I noted in my Clean Vehicle Tax Credit overview article, this revision was coming around March/April – and now that it is live, it will impact all electric vehicles

The post All Electric Vehicles Still Eligible for an EV Tax Credit in 2023 appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

As many of us have been dreading, the federal tax deadline is coming soon (Tuesday, April 18, 2023). With few exceptions (e.g. if you’ve filed a tax extension or your income level does meet the threshold for filing taxes) you’ll need to submit your tax return by that date. So, this one is for last minute filers looking to keep their filing costs to a minimum. For simple returns, our friends at H&R Block are one of the few companies that offers a 100% free federal and free state filing version of their product, via H&R Block online. And, if you have

The post PSA: H&R Block Online & Download Discounts Still Available for Filers appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

Credit unions, as fiscally conservative member-focused non-profit institutions that distribute profits to their members, are surely safer than for-profit banks with return-hungry shareholders, right? That was my thought. Much to my surprise, however, my research found that the opposite is true statistically. In the last decade (April, 2013 – March, 2023), 126 federally insured credit unions (out of ~4,900) have failed and been taken over by the U.S. government, while 69 (out of ~8,300) federally insured banks have been taken over during that same time period. I’ve long been a fan and member of a number of credit unions and

The post Credit Unions Fail More Often than Banks. Are Your Deposits Fully Insured? NCUA vs FDIC Insurance. appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

Fresh off the 2nd and 3rd largest bank failures in U.S. history (Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, respectively), it seems like it might be a good critical time to do a refresher on FDIC insurance amounts, so that none of us are left holding the bag for a bank mismanaging its risk. But first, let’s do a very quick recap on how we got here. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank were similar in that they both were overexposed to asset classes that have come under concern: SVB with low-interest long-term treasuries that had lost value with rising

The post FDIC Insurance Amount Limit Details: Everything to Know ASAP appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

This article on how to pay your taxes with a credit card has been updated for the 2023 tax season. Want to take a bit of the sting out of paying taxes? Good news. You can easily and quickly pay taxes with a credit card and simultaneously profit from doing so. I didn’t know this was possible until a few years ago. Add it to my “financial things I wish I had known sooner” list. You do, however, have to pay attention to the details, otherwise, you could lose money with processing fees and/or not fully paying off your credit

The post How to Pay Taxes with a Credit Card (and Profit) in 2023 appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

A Guide to Filing your Taxes in 2023 We’re smack dab in the middle of the 2023 tax filing season. If you visit the IRS website and have a look around, there really is no simple tax guide to get you started (there is a 139-page book, but who has time for that?), and DIY tax filing can seem overwhelming for individuals not versed in the U.S. tax code. If you’re a first-time tax DIYer, you’re often on your own as far as figuring out the basics of how to do taxes. So I wanted to lend a hand. This

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This best and cheapest tax software comparison review has been updated for 2023 tax filing (for 2022 tax year returns). The tax season start date will soon arrive and the tax deadlines have been announced by the IRS. If you haven’t started filing your taxes already, you’re probably starting to look around for the best and cheapest tax software program online to e-file with for 2023. If you’re locked in to a particular tax prep software that you love, this may be an easy decision for you: find the right software version for your tax situation this year, pay the

The post The Best & Cheapest Tax Software for 2023: Top Tax Prep Comparison Review appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

If you haven’t already purchased your tax prep software this year – you may want to hold off for a few more days – because I am giving readers an opportunity to score free tax prep this week. The H&R Block giveaway is back. This year, I am giving away TEN $200 credit key codes for H&R Block online tax prep programs to readers, courtesy of the kind folks at H&R Block. If you win a code, you can choose the H&R Block version you’d like and apply the code towards it. A $200 code is more than enough to cover

The post I’m Giving Away Ten $200 H&R Block Credits to Readers this Week! Comment by Sunday 3/3/23. appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

I have an important (many people are saying ‘critical’) update for my beloved 20somethingfinance readers. I’m going to be shutting down… nothing. Sorry to get your heart racing there – but I seriously do have some important news about the site to share. Many of you probably noticed that you haven’t received any 20somethingfinance newsletter (new article) email updates for a number of months and have wondered what’s going on. Long story short: I’ve been launching new content the entire time, but a few email delivery services failed me in sending that content to you. I believe I finally have

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This article will rank the cheapest new electric vehicles in 2023 (as of Feb., 2023). With all of the changes to the electric vehicle tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (a must read for those interested in purchasing an electric vehicle in 2023 and beyond), anyone in the market for a new vehicle should have an awareness of what the cheapest electric vehicles in 2023 are. And, why wouldn’t you have at least a little interest in going electric at this point? As most of us recently experienced, being captive to war-time profiteering and politics and the $5+ per

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The Inflation Reduction Act Changes Both Federal Energy Tax Credits (Residential Clean Energy Credit & Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit) This article has been updated to reflect the 2022 and 2023 tax years. The Inflation Reduction Act, among many things, made significant positive changes for 2022, 2023, and future tax years to the 2 popular federal energy tax credits that have been available for over the last decade – the Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit (25D credit) for renewable energy installations and the Non-Business Energy Property Credit (25C credit) for home energy efficiency improvements. Those credits have been renamed as

The post 2022 & 2023 Energy Tax Credits & Energy Rebates Guide (Post Inflation Reduction Act) appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

This article on federal electric vehicle tax credits (aka “Clean Vehicle Tax Credits”) has been updated for 2022 and 2023 to give interested readers everything they’d want to know on EV tax credits both pre and post Inflation Reduction Act changes. Why worry about pre-Inflation Reduction Act? If you bought an electric car in 2022 and are completing your 2022 tax return – you’ll want those details for reference. Everyone else reading this is probably interested in what the post-Inflation Reduction Act electric vehicle tax credits for 2023 (and beyond) look like – and you’ll get a full overview here.

The post The Electric Clean Vehicle Tax Credit: A Complete Guide for 2023, Pre & Post Inflation Reduction Act appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

In my most efficient vehicles, cheapest new vehicles, and cheapest electric vehicles articles, I highlighted a few electric vehicles (e.g. Chevy Bolt, Chevy Bolt EUV, and Nissan Leaf) that have prices that rival the cheapest gas-powered vehicles for sale in the U.S. market. But, a key component of that reduced cost is the U.S. federal tax credit of $7,500 knocking the net price down from upper $20K MSRP range down to the low $20K MSRP range. What can push those and other electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles down to even lower levels are additional state-level plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric

The post All State-by-State Electric Vehicle Tax Credits, Rebates, & Incentives in 2023 appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

I have always been a fuel economy nerd and have kept a close eye on automotive vehicle efficiency over the last 2 decades. In this article, I will list the 10 most efficient vehicles of 2023 that are sold in the U.S. market, along with their specs and pricing. When I first started compiling this list, every single vehicle on the list was a gasoline-electric hybrid (primarily gasoline like the original Toyota Prius) or simply a small, efficient gas-powered vehicle. Today, all of the vehicles on this list are plug-in electric vehicles, 100% powered by electricity – so I guess

The post The 10 Most Efficient Vehicles in 2023 Sold in the U.S. appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.

If you’re looking for the best HSA account provider in 2023, you’re in the right place. And if a Health Savings Account (HSA) hasn’t been top of mind for you – there’s been no better time to start or switch to a new HSA account with plenty of new entrants into the space. HSA funds are portable, meaning that individuals with HSA balances can move funds at any time to a new account, even if they currently sit in an employer-sponsored HSA (many of which are lacking in features and investment options). This article will review and rank the best

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This article has been updated for the 2023 new car model year. Each year, I enjoy researching and publishing a ranking of the cheapest new cars sold in the U.S. market. This article is a ranked list of the top 10 cheapest new cars in 2023, by price (MSRP, but I’ve also included factory invoice pricing as well to help aid any negotiations with dealers). If you’re in the market to buy a new car, I’d also recommend pricing out the same models for the prior model year, when available, for comparison. With dealers wanting to get rid of last

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This article has been updated for the 2023 tax season (for 2022 tax returns). As the tax start date and inevitable tax deadlines approach, I wanted to share something that may come as a surprise to many – not all income-earning Americans are legally obligated to file a federal tax return. In fact, there are gross income level thresholds that, if not surpassed, may result in an individual (or married) filer not being required to file a tax return with the IRS. However, just because you may be able to avoid filing taxes, it doesn’t mean you should. I’ll discuss

The post Do I Need to File a Tax Return? The Minimum Income Levels to File Taxes in 2023 appeared first on 20somethingfinance.com.