Blog
Happy Thanksgiving 2019 from Top Hat Tax & Financial Services to your family
Imagine ...You are ripped from your childhood home while young and trafficked across the ocean to a country where you don't speak the language. You are sold to practitioners of a religion that you don't understand, and there is no apparent possibility of...
How San Diego Taxpayers Can Avoid Fake Charities
Is the holiday season indeed "the most wonderful time of the year"? One could make a strong argument.However, for every gift we receive there are 10 or so emails asking us to give to a cause. Whether online or via snail mail, charitable organizations capitalize on the...
Darryl A. Hale, EA, MBA, MST’s Guide for Lending Money to Family Members
Family can take so many different forms these days, whether it's biological or otherwise, but for a certain segment of my San Diego clientele, there is a particular privilege that might kick in this week:The parent tax.If you have children, what better way to teach...
Darryl A. Hale, EA, MBA, MST’s Three Keys To Get Out of Debt
The World Series is here, football seasons are in full swing, school is deep in session, and the weather is shifting for sure.Fall has a way of running along faster than we realize.It's kind of like our financial picture: things can change REAL fast, and before you...
Hale, EA, MBA, MST’s Rules of Thumb for Life Insurance
Autumn is here, and in some parts of the country, apparently that already means snow...Weather is a close second to "life" in terms of unpredictability.So I think that means two things:You should always carry an umbrella.Your life insurance policy should be clear and...
Total Cost of College for San Diego Folks
Yes, there is chaos in the political world. Since it's not related to our vocation around here, I'll withhold comment, and let's move on to a happier conversation.Paying for college.(Yes, that was sarcasm.)So much ink (and an abundance of pixels) has been spilled over...
Five Productivity Tips for San Diego Busy Bodies
With Labor Day behind us, fall is just around the corner.(And a quick tax note: so are estimated taxes, if that applies to you. Due the 16th of this month. Consider yourself reminded. Though I will probably remind you once more.)Now ... fall. This can be a happy...
Estate Planning For San Diego Singles
Many of our San Diego clients are married. What I have to say today is still relevant, conceptually (and even in some of the details).So don't skip on by.As I have talked about before, estate planning is something that many families continue to neglect.I'm not here to...
A Powerful Example of Tax Planning For San Diego Families And Individuals
It's wild to think that there are only four more months in 2019.As we get older, time sure does fly. And unfortunately, many get stuck in a rut from year to year. Specifically related to taxes -- many do not look at, or even think about, their tax situation until...
Four Online Security Moves For San Diego People Right Now
Firstly, our hearts are broken for the victims of the shooting at the Garlic Festival in California on Monday (one of whom was a six-year-old boy). These events accumulate to paint a picture of deep pain buried within our modern culture, and it's important, in my...
Four Great Summer Tax Moves For Folks in San Diego
Summer is flying by. Do you feel that way?It's an exciting season with cookouts, vacations and extracurricular activities (my thoughts and sympathies for San Diego parents with multiple kids playing multiple sports among 100 other things). Before you know it and July...
Darryl A. Hale, EA, MBA, MST’s Parents’ Guide For Telling Their Family’s Financial Story
How we are raised around financial matters can impact us for a lifetime.When a close friend or family member loses their home, or their job (or both), it can be frightening on several levels. You begin to wonder if the same could happen to you. And, as you're probably...