For the most part, the world of personal finance is calm and collected. There's not a lot of bickering. Writers (and readers) agree on most concepts and most solutions. And when we do disagree, it's generally because we're coming from different places.

Take getting out of debt, for instance. This is one of those topics where people do disagree -- but they disagree politely.

Hardcore numbers nerds insist that if you're in debt, you ought to repay high-interest obligations first. The math says this is the smartest path. Other folks, including me, argue that other approaches are valid. You might pay off debts with emotional baggage first. And many people would benefit from repaying debt from smallest balance to highest balance -- the Dave Ramsey approach -- rather than focusing on interest rates.

My friend Amy recently wrote with an interesting dilemma. "Should I pay off my mortgage early?" she wonders.

Amy has a high-paying job and has managed to save enough that she could be completely debt-free if she wanted to. And she kind of wants to! But is this the best choice? She's aware that this is a nice problem to have — but it's still a bit of a muddle. She'd like some guidance.

Here's an abridged version of her email: Continue reading...

Looking to save versus spend? Eager to sock money away not just for a rainy day but potentially for stormy months, even years, ahead?

Consider heading to the Heartland.

The Midwest is home to some of the very best places to save money and get ahead in the U.S., according to a new analysis by Get Rich Slowly.

What else not to do: Don't name your estate as your IRA beneficiary (also important to note: if you DON'T name a beneficiary, your estate becomes the default). Typically, nonspouse beneficiaries who inherit a traditional IRA can either liquidate and pay taxes on those assets within five years of the owner's death, or take the so-called "stretch option" and stretch the required minimum distributions out over their own lifetime. This could amount to thousands of dollars of lost growth. On top of that, if the IRA becomes part of your estate and enters probate, it can be accessed by creditors.
Has anyone seen that form? Do you know where your IRA beneficiary form is? Don't assume it's easily accessible from your broker or bank, because with all the mergers and acquisitions over the last decade, paperwork may have become lost in the shuffle. So, find that piece of paper -- and all your important financial documents -- and secure them. Then, tell your attorney and your family members where you have stored them.

Inheriting an IRA as a Spouse

According to the IRS, if you inherit a traditional IRA from your spouse, you generally have the following three choices. You can:

1. Treat it as your own IRA by designating yourself as the account owner.
2. Treat it as your own by rolling it over into your IRA, or to the extent it is taxable, into a:

• Qualified employer plan,
• Qualified employee annuity plan (section 403(a) plan),
• Tax-sheltered annuity plan (section 403(b) plan),
• Deferred compensation plan of a state or local government (section 457 plan), or

3. Treat yourself as the beneficiary rather than treating the IRA as your own.
If you treat it as your own
You will be considered to have chosen to treat the IRA as your own if:

A little-known tax credit can help you save for retirement, even if you feel you don't have the money to do so.

The formal name is the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit. Most people, however, know it simply as the Saver's Credit, a two-timing savings strategy that reduces taxes and increases retirement.

By the numbers, here is how the Saver's Credit works: Let's say you pay yourself $2,000 in a qualified retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k). If your adjusted gross income is within a certain range (see chart below), the IRS allows you to receive a tax credit up to 50 percent of that contribution or, in this example, $1,000.

[This is the third installment in a series examining repaying student loans. Part I was a best practices guide for repaying student loans. Part II discussed an alternative payment plan, Revised Pay As You Earn or REPAYE.]

In my last post on REPAYE, the new student loan repayment program, I mentioned that it might be possible to artificially lower your adjusted gross income (AGI) in order to lower your required monthly payments under REPAYE.

Know your taxes! I am a big fan of the philosophy: No one cares more about your money than you do. Even if a professional prepares your taxes every year, learn to do it yourself. Aside from what you'll save in fees, here are two benefits of learning to prepare your taxes yourself:

1. By doing your taxes on your own, you can learn quite a bit about your finances and get a lot of ideas on how to make your money work more for you.
2. Sometimes a professional might not ask the right question because they don't know everything that went on in your life this year. If you learn to prepare your taxes yourself, you will become more aware if a professional is missing any deductions.

Educate yourself. This is an excellent place to start — IRS tax tips.

If a professional prepares your taxes…

Set up a meeting with your accountant/tax adviser.

As an entrepreneur, there is a good chance that you work from home at least part of the time. You might even have a home office area dedicated to work so that you can work anytime -- without going into a formal office. If you work from home, you might be eligible for the home office tax deduction. If you think you might want to take advantage of this tax break, here is what you need to know:

You Have Two Options for Taking the Home Office Deduction

First of all, understand that you have two options when it comes to taking the home office tax deduction. The first method is the “traditional” way that entrepreneurs have used for years. You figure out how much space your home office occupies as a percentage of the available space in your home. If your home has 2,000 square feet, and your home office space is 200 square feet, you figure your tax deduction based on that 10%. (If more of your home is used, percentage-wise, you can take a bigger chunk. But you need to be careful about what you consider a home office.)

So if you pay $1,000 per month in rent or mortgage, then you can deduct 10% of that for your home office. That amounts to $100. However, you can also deduct the portion of your utilities that your home office takes up. If you pay $200 in utilities each month, you can deduct another $20 per month (or $240 per year), since that is 10%. You can also deduct a portion of your homeowners insurance. This can be one way to deduct your home office costs when you have a larger space.

It sounds good, doesn't it? For one weekend or week per year, skip paying sales tax on -- depending on the state -- school supplies, clothing, computers, hurricane supplies, and other essential items.

After all, depending on your state's tax rate, you could save up to 7 percent off your purchases.

The Brief History of Tax-Free Holidays

Although the first sales tax holidays -- no sales tax on automobiles! -- were offered by Ohio and Michigan in 1980, New York gave birth to the modern sales tax holiday in 1997, this time for clothing. New York's goal was to keep residents from shopping in nearby states which had lower sales tax rates.

As we finished up our tax return this year, it turned out that we owed. Great. We don't have to scrape the money together. We had planned for the extra liability when an unexpected consulting gig came together for my husband at the end of 2014. But nonetheless, it stings when you have to write a check to the Internal Revenue Service. (And besides, you just want to keep your hard-earned money for yourself!) But I was astonished with what happened next — because the solution came from yours truly and not my MBA-husband.

“You know, we can open an individual retirement account (IRA) and potentially reduce our liability,” I said. I practically turned my head around to see who uttered the words. (I think he actually did too!) My husband and I are newly married and our joint tax life is still pretty new. Last year when he prepared our first joint tax return, I happily checked out of the process leaving it entirely to his capable hands.

So what was different? About two years of reading personal finance articles day in and day out -- total immersion. This year, I didn't check out of the process. I participated in a supportive kind of way (meaning I was there to provide sustenance, moral support, hand over the appropriate paperwork at the appropriate time, and listen to his mutterings. Doesn't everyone mutter as they prepare their taxes?) But even though we knew we would owe going into it, when he came to the end and it became clear we owed that much, we were crestfallen.