You may be spared the pain of paying closing costs upfront, depending on the type of loan and the lenderâs criteria, but youâll either be given a higher interest rate on the mortgage to cover those costs or see the costs added to your principal balance. Heard of a no closing cost mortgage or refinance? […]
The post Rolling Closing Costs Into Home Loans: Here’s What You Should Know appeared first on SoFi.
Having a budget helps to create more financial stability in your life so you can finally feel more at ease with your finances. Tracking your expenses helps to make you more aware of how much youâre spending compared to how…
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The post Chapter 4: How to Create a Budget appeared first on MintLife Blog.
Wall Street started the week on a shaky note as the 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest point in more than three years, but stocks’ difficulties were limited to mild declines.
Monday’s session saw the yield on the 10-year T-note climb to as high as 2.884% â a rate last seen in December 2018 â before easing a hair, to 2.866%. That spooked equity traders early, though BlackRock Investment Institute strategists say stock prices have already priced in rapid rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
“We believe fears about a further downdraft in equities are overblown,” they say. “The rate hikes we expected are happening faster, but we don’t see central banks raising policy rates beyond neutral levels that neither stimulate or restrain the economy.”
Bank earnings were also front and center Monday amid what so far has been a lousy Q1 earnings season for the broader financial sector.
“Financials had the weakest start of earnings since 1Q20, with just 36% of the 11 companies that reported beating on both sales and [earnings per share] so far (40% beat last quarter after Week 1),” say BofA Securities strategists Savita Subramanian and Ohsung Kwon.
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Bank of America (BAC, +3.4%) headed higher as better credit quality among its borrowers translated into a modest 1.8% revenue improvement to $23.3 billion and a 12% profit decline to 80 cents per share â both ahead of Wall Street’s estimates.
However, Bank of New York Mellon (BK, -2.3%) also reported a double-digit profit decline (11%) that topped expectations but its stock was dragged lower. And Charles Schwab (SCHW, -9.4%) was the S&P 500’s worst performer after higher expenses weighed on profits and caused it to miss the mark on both the top and bottom lines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1% to 34,411), S&P 500 (off marginally to 4,391) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.1% to 13,332) all traded similarly throughout the day, floating between positive and negative territory before finishing slightly lower.
YCharts
Other news in the stock market today:
Monday’s top-performing sector is certainly starting to become familiar with the winner’s circle. The likes of Marathon Petroleum (MPC, +3.3%) and Phillips 66 (PSX, +5.2%) helped keep energy stocks (+1.5%) way out in front in 2022, buoyed by a 1.2% rise in U.S. crude oil futures to $108.21 per barrel.Â
Indeed, the energy sector has now raced to a 46% gain so far in 2022, more than 40 percentage points ahead of the next closest sector (utilities, +5.8%) and far better than the 7.8% loss in the S&P 500.
An anticipated “return to normal” in global travel as summer starts to near, as well as a drastic reshaping of global oil supplies thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have driven U.S. crude prices up well more than 40% in 2022 alone â in turn lifting all parts of the sector, from refiners to pipeline master limited partnerships (MLPs).Â
Now, while it’s fair to argue that the easy money has likely been made in the energy sector, that doesn’t mean all the money has been made. Despite the sector’s torrid run, analysts see upside of at least 20% in a number of the sector’s shares.
Read on as we look at five oil and gas stocks that still command a large number of analysts’ Buy ratings, as well as lofty price targets suggesting even more gains ahead.
Subprime mortgages may allow borrowers with lower credit scores to obtain homeownership, but they will pay a steep price for the privilege, thanks to the higher risk to lenders. There is hope for borrowers who raise their credit profiles through consistent, on-time payments: They can look into refinancing. Hereâs a deep dive into the subprime […]
The post What Are Subprime Mortgages and What Are Their Risks? appeared first on SoFi.
Here’s some good news for people who had a health savings account (HSA) last year â you can still contribute to the account if you haven’t already maxed out your 2021 contributions. HSAs offer a tax-efficient way to pay for medical expenses, since employer contributions aren’t including in your taxable income, earnings are tax-free, and distributions aren’t taxed if you use them to pay qualified medical expenses. Plus, you might also qualify for a deduction (or larger deduction) on your 2021 tax return. Those are all good reasons to contribute as much as you can to your HSA for 2021.
But here’s the catch â you only have until the end of the day today (April 18) to make this move. Each year, you have until the tax filing deadline to make HSA contributions for the previous calendar year. Most of the time, that deadline falls on April 15. However, this year, the tax filing due date was pushed back a few days â to April 18 â for most people due to the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, D.C. So now today is the last day to contribute to an HSA for 2021â¦so you only have a few hours left to act!
(Note: The due date is April 19 for residents of Maine and Massachusetts because of the Patriot’s Day holiday in those states.)
For 2021, you can contribute up to $3,600 to an HSA if you have self-only coverage. If you have family coverage, the max is $7,200. Anyone who was age 55 or older at the end of 2021 can put in an additional $1,000 in “catch up” contributions for the year. (For all the 2017 to 2022 contribution limits, see HSA Contribution Limits and Other Requirements.)
The contribution limits can be reduced, though. If your employer makes contributions to your HSA that are excludable from your income â including amounts contributed through a cafeteria plan â those contributions count against your overall limit. In that case, the amount you can contribute to your HSA is lower.
If you haven’t reached your limit, think about making a quick HSA contribution today if you have some extra income available. But don’t go over your limit! There’s a 6% penalty on excess contributions. And this penalty applies to each year the excess contribution remains in your account.
If you accidently put too much money in your HSA account for 2021, you can withdraw the excess amount and avoid the penalty if you:
If you don’t withdraw your excess contributions, you may be able to claim a tax break for them down the road. Excess contributions from previous years that are still in your HSA account can be deducted, but the deduction is limited to the lesser of (1) your maximum HSA contribution limit for the year minus any amounts actually contributed for the year, or (2) the total excess contributions in your HSA at the beginning of the year.
As mentioned above, you may be able to deduct your 2021 HSA contributions on your 2021 tax return (up to the maximum contribution limit). And it’s an “above-the-line” deduction, so you don’t have to itemize to claim this tax break. Instead, your contributions are reported as an adjustment to income on Line 13 of Schedule 1 (Form 1040). You need to submit Form 8889 with your tax return, too. So, it might be wise to put more money into your HSA for 2021 before today’s deadline if you haven’t already reached the contribution limit (before April 19 for residents of Maine and Massachusetts). That’s especially true if you plan to contribution to the account soon anyway. That way, you’ll get that extra deduction for 2021 and save more cap space for 2022 contributions.
There are some limitations, though. For instance, you can’t deduct HSA contributions made by your employer, including pre-tax funds contributed through payroll deductions. You also can’t claim the deduction if someone else can claim you as a dependent on their tax return. Distributions from an IRA that are contributed to your HSA in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer are not deductible, either. Check the instructions for Form 8889 for all the rules.
If you already filed your 2021 tax return, you can file an amended tax return to claim a new or increased HSA deduction if you add more to your account today. You generally have three years from the date you filed your original return or two years from the date you paid any tax due to file an amended return (go with whichever date is later). We recommend e-filing your amended return, since it will be processed much faster. Once you file an amended return, you can track its status online using the IRS’s “Where’s My Amended Return?” tool or by calling 866-464-2050.