Dear Quentin, After finishing graduate school, my wife and I decided to pay off all our debt before buying a home, or anything for that matter. We have been cheaply renting for the last three years, and living as if I were still a very poor graduate student. During this …
Read More »The Moneyist: My parents claimed me on their 2019 taxes and received my 3rd stimulus check, but I don’t qualify based on my 2020 taxes. Will the IRS ask for it back?
Dear Quentin, I’m confused. My parents claimed me on their 2019 taxes (which was fine and agreed upon). However, I got married and filed my own 2020 taxes. When the third stimulus checks were released, my parents had not filed their 2020 taxes yet, so they received stimulus money for …
Read More »The Moneyist: I’m 68, earn $130,000 and love eco-travel in Peru, Brazil and Africa. I want to travel while I can, but I’m scared to stop working
Dear Quentin, I’m a 68-year-old guy having just worked from home for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I earn about $ 130,000 a year plus $ 35,000 in Social Security, and an additional $ 25,000 in capital gains from a small apartment house, and partnership interests. I have …
Read More »The Moneyist: My wife had a baby 3 months ago. She has $160,000 in student loans — and just asked for my ‘blessing’ to work part time
Dear Moneyist, My wife and I had our first baby 3 months ago. As the breadwinner, my wife just returned to work after 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Our savings are a bit low and she is now “asking for my blessing” to work part-time. This is distressing to …
Read More »The Moneyist: My late partner of 7 years fought with his estranged wife and transferred $250K into a trust for me. Can she contest that money?
Dear Quentin, I was with my significant other for almost 7 years. While he was separated from his wife, they never divorced. It was due to financial reasons. Because of his difficult relationship with his wife I was made his health-care surrogate. Last September, he underwent cancer surgery, and realized …
Read More »The Moneyist: My husband and his ex-wife agreed that he could claim their kids on his taxes, but now she’s ‘demanding’ half their stimulus
Dear Quentin, My husband received a text from his ex-wife demanding part of the latest stimulus check for their two children. My husband received their stimulus checks for their boys because in their divorce settlement he was granted the ability to claim both boys as dependents on his taxes for …
Read More »The Moneyist: ‘I feel un-American. My appliances are 20 years old. I shop in thrift stores’: My wife wants a nicer place to live. What do I do?
Dear Quentin, During my 20s, I was broke. I bought my first house and lived alone, stretched to my limits. I had three maxed-out credit cards and lived paycheck to paycheck. Today, I’m in my 40s, married and in a much better financial situation. My 401(k) has done very well …
Read More »The Moneyist: ‘We did not place blame or offer advice’: Are we flaunting our wealth if we give our friends and family money?
Dear Quentin, How can one best give sizable cash gifts to family and friends without being seen as “flaunting wealth”? We have some family and friends who are struggling to make ends meet, particularly as a result of the pandemic. Having means, we chose to help them financially and sent …
Read More »The Moneyist: I married ‘the life of the party’ — but he’s different at home. He takes his money woes out on me and calls me a ‘gold digger’
Dear Quentin, I don’t know where to start. So I will start at the beginning. I met a man at a friend’s wedding a few years ago. He was charming in that British-man-in-America sort of way (Hugh Grant has a lot to answer for), he told jokes (perhaps too many …
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