Thanksgiving Week Plans on the Ilyce Glink Radio Show, November 21, 2010

Hard to believe it’s Thanksgiving this week. It seems too soon for the holiday, let alone all of the Christmas decorations I see adorning all the windows. But Thanksgiving Week means I’ll be filling in for Clark Howard on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

We’ll talk Turkey on Tuesday, Pre-Black Friday deals on Wednesday and then our annual Deals of the Day show on the day after Thanksgiving. I hope you can join us, as we’ll be live-blogging during most of Thanksgiving week. I’d love it if you will share your joys (and recipes) for the big day.

Ilyce’s Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

Every year, I get a lot of requests for my Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe. Here’s a link to my Turkey recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turns out!!

On the show today, I also talked about book deals and a GREAT gift-giving opportunity: Free books from ThinkGlink.com and Free Ebooks. See below for details.

Thanksgiving Week News

Investors are focused on Black Friday as a guide to Wall Street moves. Economists are thinking that because Americans have paid down debt (i.e., deleveraged), they will be able to spend more which will produce more robust Holiday Shopping profits for retailers. Really? I’m not so sure, but only time will tell. Because a lot of investors and traders are away this week, expect trading to be lighter than normal.

Unemployment report will be delayed until Friday. The official unemployment rate is 9.6 percent (and the unemployment rate of folks who are unemployed or underemployed is closer to 18 percent), and the high unemployment numbers is seen as a big drag on the economy. It’s my view that a lot of Americans aren’t going to spending all that much this year, but we’ll have to see what really happens.

Today’s Callers – Taxes are on your mind

Frank had a question about how much state income tax you’d pay when you take money out of a 401(k). Do you pay state income tax based on where you live today or whatever state you earned the money in originally? Short answer: You pay tax in the state in which you now reside. Better news: The new Enhanced Georgia Seniors Retirement Act (House Bill 1055, approved May 12, 2010) will make Georgia extremely competitive for retirees, thanks to an increases and future exclusion of all income from state tax.

Here’s some information from Bill Nemeth and Merry Brodie who are Enrolled Agents and members of the Georgia Association of Enrolled Agents and have provided detailed tax information to callers on my show before:

Current Georgia Department of Revenue Tax Law: For seniors aged 62 and older, up to $35,000 (including $4,000 of earned income) plus all federally taxable Social Security benefits (and Railroad Retirement Pensions) is state tax free.

The NEW law gives Georgia residents the following tax breaks:

2012 $65,000 in income excluded from state tax

2013 $100,000 in income is excluded

2014 $150,000 in income is excluded

2015 $200,000 in income is excluded

2016 and beyond, all income is excluded from state tax

Read more about the Enhanced Georgia Seniors Retirement

Wayne wanted to know whether he should take money out of his IRA and move it into a ROTH IRA because of the tax rates going up. Here’s a look at the tax rates and income brackets that will be applied to 2010 income:

Tax rate Single filers

10% Up to $8,375

15% $8,376 – $34,000

25% $34,001 – $82,400

28% $82,401 – $171,850

33% $171,851 – $373,650

35% $373,651 or more

Married filing jointly or qualifying widow/widower

10% Up to $16,750

15% $16,751 – $68,000

25% $68,001 – $137,300

28% $137,301 – $209,250

33% $209,251 – $373,650

35% $373,651 or more

Married filing separately

10% Up to $8,375

15% $8,376 – $34,000

25% $34,001 – $68,650

28% $68,651 – $104,625

33% $104,626 – $186,825

35% $186,826 or more

Head of household

10% Up to $11,950

15% $11,951 – $45,550

25% $45,551 – $117,650

28% $117,651 – $190,550

33% $190,551 – $373,650

35% $373,651 or more

Read more: 2010 tax bracket rates

Eddie called and was on his way to his grandmother’s house for a pre-Thanksgiving lunch. He’s a proponent of the Fair Tax solution and wanted to hear my opinion. I said I’d love to see a test – say, one county in Georgia that has super-rich people, average income residents and poor residents and do a test that allows everyone to see how this would play out. It’s really hard to dump an entire tax code and replace it with something that’s never been tested in any real way (other than in mathematical models). Eddie thought that was reasonable, but several other callers were enraged. Not sure why.

Jan wanted to know about reverse mortgage. I just wrote about this on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog and I have lots of information on ThinkGlink.com. Look under the related articles tag near the bottom of the page.

Wayne has a new foreclosure next door and wanted to know what it meant for his home value. I told him to buy the foreclosure and rent it out. It will have a negative impact, but at least he can mitigate it somewhat.

Kim just got a new contract position and wondered how long she’d have to wait to refinance. She also told me that Associated Credit Union, in addition to the Delta Credit Union, takes all comers.

Eddie wonders if it is worth refinancing his 15-year at 4.375% that he got six months ago to a new 15-year at 3.75%. On the face of it he might save $175, but if you factor in six to nine months of interest, it is less exciting. I faced the same situation and wound up refinancing, but I’m only saving $59 per month!

This Week on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog

Getting Rid of Debt Before Buying a Home

Improve Your Investment Returns Without Increasing Your Risk

Winner, Winner, Winner! Tax Implications of Winning Lotteries and Game Show Prizes

Laddering Insurance Policies

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Repair Scams

This Week on Ilyce’s MoneyWatch.com Blog

Foreclosure Freeze: Impact Less Than Expected On October Foreclosures

CredAbility Consumer Distress Index: Grip of Financial Distress Tightens Again in Third Quarter

Great Gift Ideas From ThinkGlink

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