A fact that might ease the pain of not winning the $700 million plus Powerball jackpot. New York State hits you with the largest state tax on lottery prizes.

To build a credit rating, you have to have at least one credit card account for at least six months and have your activity reporting to the credit bureaus. If you are just starting out you may need to get a secured credit card. This is a card backed up by a cash deposit you put up.

Finding the right attorney to handle your estate can make a big difference for both you and your estate. Make sure you choose an attorney familiar with estate distribution.

You work all year earning a living and then in April of the next year the government comes calling and asking you to contribute to their coffers. You and or your certified public accountant are obliged to gather information and details of your income and outgo.

This is where you start out on your journey to retirement. Most experts say you start planning your financial future when you get your first job and first paycheck. For the best chance to retire when you want and with what you want, strongly consider getting serious now.

How old are you today? Have you started a serious savings plan and implemented it yet? How many years do you have until you will or want to retire comfortably? Have you thought about or created a balance sheet and budget? If not now, when?

Let’s talk about cash management and how you can keep track of your dollars and cents, and how to put them to work.

Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your portfolio grow? With fixed income and growth equities and compound interest in your retirement plan at work.

Wow. We made it past tax filing time. I hope you got all your papers filed or got your extension to get a little more time to file. If so, you now have until October of this year to file.

Credit cards are very convenient and they are also a problem if not used carefully.  If you have a huge credit card balance, sit down and think carefully how you got into this situation and work out a game plan to reduce your credit card debt and not get into this situation again.

Let’s start with a little reminder. You have until April 18 to get your 2016 qualified plan contributions in (IRA and ROTH IRA, etc.). Why miss the opportunity to put away $5,500 toward your future and let it grow through the coming years toward your retirement? If you are age 50 or older you can add $1,000 catch up for a total of $6,500. While you are at it, think about doing your 2017 contribution as well.

With the demise of the pension plan (some unions still have them) for most of us, we have to fund our retirement ourselves. One way is to contribute to your company’s 401k plan. One of the reasons a company starts a qualified plan is to retain key employees. Basically, you can participate in your company’s 401k (there are also 403b and 457 plans which are very similar) after a certain time on the job – usually 6-12 months until you are eligible.