{"id":6682,"date":"2016-12-27T08:45:27","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T15:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/?p=6682"},"modified":"2016-12-07T17:55:07","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T00:55:07","slug":"financial-tip-of-the-month-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Tip of the Month &#8211; Dec 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;Section&#8221; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221;][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=&#8221;Fullwidth Header&#8221; title=&#8221;Financial Tip &#8211; December 2016&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; header_fullscreen=&#8221;off&#8221; header_scroll_down=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;off&#8221; content_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; image_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_button_one=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_letter_spacing=&#8221;0&#8243; button_one_use_icon=&#8221;default&#8221; button_one_icon_placement=&#8221;right&#8221; button_one_on_hover=&#8221;on&#8221; button_one_letter_spacing_hover=&#8221;0&#8243; custom_button_two=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_letter_spacing=&#8221;0&#8243; button_two_use_icon=&#8221;default&#8221; button_two_icon_placement=&#8221;right&#8221; button_two_on_hover=&#8221;on&#8221; button_two_letter_spacing_hover=&#8221;0&#8243;]<br \/>\n[\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>At the end of each year there are deadlines for giving, so that you can reduce your taxable income when you file your taxes. Here\u2019s a short list of gift-giving to consider![spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* Charity begins at home. Got that favorite group that you\u2019ve got a soft spot for? As long as the group is a <strong><u>501c 3<\/u><\/strong>, you can give up to $800 maximum for couples and $400 for single filers for a State of Arizona tax deduction using State Form # 321. Visit www.AZDOR.gov where you\u2019ll find a list of forms for all sorts of donations! There are many options when you donate to organizations that offer assistance to working poor.[spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* Donate to your favorite school![spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* Are you employing National Guard members? There is a tax\u00a0credit for you![spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* When you make a donation do you all of a sudden get flooded with request from other organizations? These organizations often swap names and contact info, and sometimes they even charge each other as a way to increase income. If you are tired of getting these notices, make sure that you check the box on the donation form that you <em><u>do not<\/u><\/em> want your information shared. Otherwise, you will need to contact each charity and request they stop contacting you. Want additional help? There is an organization that can help to make your mail requests disappear or be greatly reduced. Contact www.DMAchoice.org.[spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* Remember to itemize, you can\u2019t just state that you made a donation to a particular organization. If you give cash, get a receipt![spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* You can donate property!\u00a0 It\u2019s a double win, in that you don\u2019t have to pay capital gains and you get to discount the fair market value of the item. Remember, you have to own the property for at least one year.[spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* These charitable donations must be made before the end of the year. If you donate by check, as long as it\u2019s given <em><u>before<\/u><\/em> the end of the year, it can be cashed <em>after<\/em> the first of the year by the organization.[spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>* Many employers offer charitable giving via your paycheck at work. Keep an end-of-year paystub for proof of your deduction for your tax return.[spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Keep in mind that you can\u2019t donate your time for a deduction, nor can you exceed 20% of your Adjusted<br \/>\nGross income. <u>There\u2019s a lot of rules on this, so get advice from your tax preparer.<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=&#8221;Image&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/present.png&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;off&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; use_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221; animation=&#8221;left&#8221; sticky=&#8221;off&#8221; align=&#8221;left&#8221; max_width=&#8221;150px&#8221; force_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; always_center_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the end of each year there are deadlines for giving, so that you can reduce your taxable income when you file your taxes. Here\u2019s a short list of gift-giving to consider![spacer height=&#8221;5px&#8221;] * Charity begins at home. Got that favorite group that you\u2019ve got a soft spot for? As long as the group is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,22,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-investments","category-retirement-planning","category-savings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Retirement Advisors 800-568-1095 Expert Advice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These charitable donations must be made before the end of the year. If you donate by check, as long as it\u2019s given before the end of the year, it can be cashed after the first of the year by the organization\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Schaeffer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Schaeffer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5572a51be4fd98c2a88945215f1b7874\"},\"headline\":\"Financial Tip of the Month &#8211; Dec 2016\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-27T15:45:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":652,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Estate Planning\",\"Investments\",\"Retirement Planning\",\"Savings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\",\"name\":\"American Retirement Advisors 800-568-1095 Expert Advice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-27T15:45:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"These charitable donations must be made before the end of the year. If you donate by check, as long as it\u2019s given before the end of the year, it can be cashed after the first of the year by the organization\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial Tip of the Month &#8211; Dec 2016\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/\",\"name\":\"American Retirement Advisors\",\"description\":\"Expert Retirement Planning Advice\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Retirement Advisors\",\"alternateName\":\"ARA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ARA-Long-Color-with-Tag-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ARA-Long-Color-with-Tag-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":850,\"caption\":\"American Retirement Advisors\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanRetirementAdvisors\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/americanretire\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/123easyretire\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5572a51be4fd98c2a88945215f1b7874\",\"name\":\"David Schaeffer\",\"description\":\"For over 12 years, David Schaeffer has been advising folks just like you on how to navigate the mysteries of Medicare. Thousands of retiree\u2019s including past employees of American Airlines, Banner Healthcare, Boeing, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Pitney Bowes, and the State of Arizona have gone to Mr. Schaeffer for his expertise in transitioning from group and individual health plans to Medicare. You may recognize Mr. Schaeffer from his articles on the changes in Medicare in \u201cThe American Retirement Advisor\u201d on Money Radio 1510am. Additionally he has founded several online self service web sites to provide research previously not available to the general public, such as 123Easy Medicare.com, providing side by side comparisons of every choice facing a person new to Medicare. Mr. Schaeffer is one of only 7000 retirement planners to have been awarded the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) designation in the United States. This designation certifies his proficiency via 20 part program covering retirement planning and finances and of course healthcare planning. Mr. Schaeffer lives in Cave Creek with his wife, Thea, and their two children; when he\u2019s not busy educating retiree\u2019s on ways to preserve their quality of life, he likes to work on lowering his golf handicap.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/author\/theadmin1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Retirement Advisors 800-568-1095 Expert Advice","description":"These charitable donations must be made before the end of the year. If you donate by check, as long as it\u2019s given before the end of the year, it can be cashed after the first of the year by the organization","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Schaeffer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/"},"author":{"name":"David Schaeffer","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5572a51be4fd98c2a88945215f1b7874"},"headline":"Financial Tip of the Month &#8211; Dec 2016","datePublished":"2016-12-27T15:45:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/"},"wordCount":652,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Estate Planning","Investments","Retirement Planning","Savings"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/","url":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/","name":"American Retirement Advisors 800-568-1095 Expert Advice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-12-27T15:45:27+00:00","description":"These charitable donations must be made before the end of the year. If you donate by check, as long as it\u2019s given before the end of the year, it can be cashed after the first of the year by the organization","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/financial-tip-of-the-month-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial Tip of the Month &#8211; Dec 2016"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/","name":"American Retirement Advisors","description":"Expert Retirement Planning Advice","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#organization","name":"American Retirement Advisors","alternateName":"ARA","url":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ARA-Long-Color-with-Tag-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ARA-Long-Color-with-Tag-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":850,"caption":"American Retirement Advisors"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanRetirementAdvisors","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/americanretire","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/123easyretire"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5572a51be4fd98c2a88945215f1b7874","name":"David Schaeffer","description":"For over 12 years, David Schaeffer has been advising folks just like you on how to navigate the mysteries of Medicare. Thousands of retiree\u2019s including past employees of American Airlines, Banner Healthcare, Boeing, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Pitney Bowes, and the State of Arizona have gone to Mr. Schaeffer for his expertise in transitioning from group and individual health plans to Medicare. You may recognize Mr. Schaeffer from his articles on the changes in Medicare in \u201cThe American Retirement Advisor\u201d on Money Radio 1510am. Additionally he has founded several online self service web sites to provide research previously not available to the general public, such as 123Easy Medicare.com, providing side by side comparisons of every choice facing a person new to Medicare. Mr. Schaeffer is one of only 7000 retirement planners to have been awarded the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) designation in the United States. This designation certifies his proficiency via 20 part program covering retirement planning and finances and of course healthcare planning. Mr. Schaeffer lives in Cave Creek with his wife, Thea, and their two children; when he\u2019s not busy educating retiree\u2019s on ways to preserve their quality of life, he likes to work on lowering his golf handicap.","url":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/author\/theadmin1\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6z8IX-1JM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6682"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6706,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682\/revisions\/6706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanretirementadvisors.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}