2010-12-28&12-30 2011年理财指南

With the clock ticks towards the end of 2010, there's still some time to make some smart money moves to start the new year off right. And here with Finance Tips for your future is the founder¹ of FutureSuper.com, Jennifer Openshaw. Thanks. Happy to have you here.

You bet.

Happy post-Christmas, as Santa said. So you say when you are reviewing your portfolio², you wanna keep your eye on two things. What are they?

Well, the first is that if you have some dogs in your portfolio, Bianca, you wanna think about getting rid of them at the end of the year. The reason is that you can take those losses to offset³ your gains on other stocks or mutual⁴ funds, that you might have sold through the year and reduce your taxes. The other thing is a lot of people aren't sure, well, "what kind of investment should I have in my retirement⁵ accounts versus⁶ my other taxable accounts?” If you've got actively⁷ trading mutual funds, so those are funds that put off a lot of earnings⁸ and therefore generate tax dollars for you to pay. Then think about putting those in your retirement accounts, because it shields some from those taxes.

And you also advise that people should go ahead and max out their retirement 401K accounts. With the past few years, we've seen some companies withdraw from doing that, given the economy. You say now it's time to go back in.

Well, absolutely. It's still 401K, 403B, one of the best ways to save money. More companies are now coming back to matching your dollars. The max amount that you can put away every year is 16,500 dollars. If you're 50 or older, another 5,500 dollars that you can put away. So very important to take advantage of that.

And you should also check how much is being withheld⁹ by your employer?

Yeah, you know, a lot of people don't realize that the amount that you have withheld can obviously determine how much you owe at the end of the year. And new tax source now are gonna probably increase people's paycheck next year, because fewer social security taxes are gonna be withheld. So it's a great time to take a look "how much am I having withheld?", and if I had any life changes, like a baby or marriage. That's a good time to think about that too.

And this next tip is something that's gonna make people happy. Tax break, specifically around the holidays. What are they? And where are they? And how can we find them?

Well, a lot of people think about doing things, like paying their January mortgage payment in December to get a mortgage tax deduction¹⁰ even more. But if you pay gifts for co-workers or other people you're doing business with, up to 25 dollars is tax deductible, as are those holiday parties. So if you threw a party, you had bands, and you had food, and even, you know, chocolate pretzels. That's all tax deductible as long as it was a business purpose like networking.

That's great advice. Also, giving gifts and money to relatives without paying taxes. Tell us about that. That sounds exciting.

Well, you know, a lot of people are struggling with the cost of college today. And so it's a great idea for grandparents or parents with or relatives that have money, to think about giving it to a needy¹¹ relative who's struggling to cover those college costs. You can gift up to 13,000 dollars in any one a year without any taxes or if you are married, 26,000. But if you put it into a 5/29 college savings¹² program, you can actually gift up to 5 times that amount or 130, 000 dollars, if you are married. And what it means for the older parents is they are reducing their taxable estate, they are giving to an important cause and get to enjoy rather a life. The other thing I say is that if you've got a young teen that's heading off to college next year, make sure those college dollars aren't wasted. SuperFutures.com is introducing new programs to provide career guidance to people in January, SuperFutures.com

Some great tips. Thanks so much for joining us, Jennifer. Happy new year to you.

Happy new year.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

11 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

12 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。