Personal Finance

With the economy starting to perk up, investors are wondering where they should be looking next.

Free tax help in Russian, Ukrainian and Hmong languages is available for low-income taxpayers and seniors, starting Wednesday.

The Moneywise Empowerment tour comes to Sacramento on Saturday.

Volunteer AARP Tax-Aide assistance will be available starting Wednesday at the following locations in Sacramento County: Arden-Dimick Library, Arcade Library, Carmichael Library, Folsom Library, Rio Linda-Elverta Community Center, Orangevale Recreation and Park Community Center, Sunrise Recreation Center, Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church and Victory Townhomes.

Trained volunteer tax preparers from Sun City Lincoln Hills will be helping people 60 and older with their tax returns through the AARP's tax-aide program in Lincoln.

With the April 17 tax- filing deadline just a few months away, questions about state and federal taxes are brewing. This week, IRS tax expert Jesse Weller and Daniel Tahara of the state Franchise Tax Board offer tax answers. Next week, we'll introduce a new group of local experts to answer your questions on personal finances, investing and wills/trusts.

Teaching kids about money can start at home at any age, says Coupons.com consumer writer Jeanette Pavini. Here are some of her tips:

It's official: the California tax season is under way.

Many homeowners are struggling with upside-down home loans. How to pass those troubled mortgages on to children in a trust can be a challenge.

Bye-bye, savings bonds. After 76 years, the traditional paper U.S. savings bond has gone digital.

It's the end of an era. As of Saturday, it'll no longer be possible to walk into a bank or credit union and buy a U.S. savings bond – in paper form. Starting Monday, savings bonds can only be purchased online at www.treasurydirect.gov.

A daughter's rights to a family business and a mother's concerns over family loans. This week, those topics are addressed by Robin Bevier, a Gold River-based estate planning attorney.

The IRS is reminding taxpayers: There are only a few days left to take advantage of year-end deadlines for certain tax deductions and credits.

Just in time for holiday reading, the IRS said this week its new, updated guide for taxpayers is now available online. Known officially as Publication 17, "Your Federal Income Tax," it contains new information on filing 2011 taxes, including tax credits for college students, parents and low-income filers. It's available on the IRS website, www.irs.gov.

Is investing in agriculture a smart move? This week, Sacramento wealth manager Jonathan Lederer answers a reader's question on whether agribusiness stocks make sense.

When trying to establish business relationships, many people stumble when networking. Here's how to correct common mistakes:

Didn't get your IRS tax refund? You may be among more than 99,100 U.S. taxpayers whose federal refund checks totaling $153.3 million were returned as "undeliverable."

There's no hiding now.

Tax credits for electric vehicles: That's the topic asked this week by an "Ask the Experts" reader. The answer is from Internal Revenue Service tax expert Jesse Weller.

A glitch with CalPERS' new half-billion-dollar computer system has delayed death benefit checks to widowed spouses and incorrectly triggered letters notifying some members that their health insurance has been canceled.

After a spouse or parent passes away, there are inevitable questions about how to handle assets held in a trust. Here with some "Ask the Experts" advice is estate planning attorney Robin Bevier of Gold River.

The IRS is seeking thousands of volunteers who can help low-income and elderly get free tax preparation.

You won't find a special section for it in the greeting card aisles of your local Hallmark store, but Saturday is "bank transfer day."

Identity theft: It can happen anywhere and to anyone.

Amid all the financial uncertainty created by the European debt crisis, what's an everyday investor to do? That "Ask the Experts" question gets answered this week by investment manager Jonathan Lederer, owner of Lederer Private Wealth Management in Sacramento.

If you've got personal or financial documents that need shredding, the Golden 1 Credit Union is hosting a free community shredding event today.

With housing prices so low, buying a home or rental property may sound tempting. But is it a good investment? This week, Jonathan Lederer, a wealth management adviser in Sacramento, offers his advice. He's one of Sacbee.com's "Ask the Experts" local advisers. To see more of his advice or to ask your own questions on investing, taxes, personal finances or will/trusts, go to: www.sacbee.com/ask.

Banks. These days, they really know how to irritate their customers.

It's that time of year again. Nope, not holidays, hunting or Halloween. We're talking open-enrollment season for health care coverage.

More than 25 certified financial planners will be available to answer questions for free today on a walk-up basis from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in West Sacramento's City Hall. There will also be 12 free workshops on personal finance topics.

My wife and I have no children. Our house is paid for and titled as joint tenants with survivorship rights. Our 401(k), IRA, pensions and life insurance policies all list the other as sole beneficiaries. Our investment and checking accounts have POD/TOD (payable-on-death/transfer-on-death) designations. We each have a detailed will and an advanced health care directive that lists the other as executor. There also is an attached "Letter of Instruction" that lists our desires for memorial services, disposition of remains, personal notes for friends/family, location of important documents, account numbers, username/ passwords, etc. My secondary executor is jointly titled on my personal checking account and also has a copy of the "Letter of Instruction." As I understand it, almost all our assets fall outside the reach of probate.

Roseville-based community bank Rabobank N.A. has expanded its statewide presence through a new partnership with Walgreens stores.

When a home is inherited by adult children, sorting out the tax issues can be tricky.

YouTube and Google, its parent company in nearby Mountain View, are two of Silicon Valley's hotbeds of hiring. Jobs here are some of the most coveted around.

With California college costs bumping up every year, it's never too early to start a college savings plan.

Do I owe tax when buying out-of-state tobacco products? What forms are filed to get mortgage debt forgiveness on the short sale of a home?

Given the eye-popping price of gold these days, lots of folks are getting tempting invitations to invest in gold-mining stocks, gold coins, precious metal futures and plain ol' nuggets.

AARP has begun recruiting volunteers to help prepare tax returns for low- and middle-income taxpayers during the 2012 tax season.

If you're behind on paying your bills (or a creditor's records mistakenly make it appear so), a debt collector may be contacting you.

Working parents, take note: You could get some summertime tax relief from the IRS.

If you're not feeling a lender's love, you'll soon know exactly why you got jilted.

Here's something to sink your teeth into: discounted rates for dental work.

More than one in three Americans say they're saving less now than a year ago. And 33 percent say they do not have any non-retirement savings, according to a March survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. To get started with savings, here are some how-tos: