Financial Focus
Sweeten this Valentine’s
Day with financial gifts
You could give flowers. You by your loved one. As an alterna- preciate a low-risk, government-
could give candy. You could tive to buying stocks, you could backed bond that pays a guaran-
give jewelry, a watch or a gift give some shares of your own. teed rate of interest. Plus, you can
certificate. They’re all fine Val- You’ll need to know what you buy a Series EE bond for as little
entine’s Day presents, and your originally paid for the stock (its as $50 or as much as $5,000 (the
recipient would appreciate any of tax basis), how long you’ve held limit for a calendar year).
them. But this year, why not go it and its fair market value at the • Contribute to an IRA. The
beyond the usual gifts and give date of the gift. The recipient IRA contribution limit for 2009
your valentine something that will need this information to is $5,000. Investors who are 50
can sweeten the rest of the year determine gains or losses when or older can also make a “catch-
— and beyond? Specifically, why he or she sells the stock. (You’ll up” contribution of an additional
not give a financial gift? also need to determine if you $1,000. So, if your valentine
Of course, you can always have to pay gift taxes. You can hasn’t fully funded his or her IRA
write out a check, or stick some give up to $13,000 per year, free for this year, you can help. While
money in a card. But why not of gift taxes, to as many people you can’t put money directly into
think “outside the box” a little as you want.) someone else’s IRA, you can write
bit? Here are some possibilities • Give a savings bond. You a check for that purpose. Because
to consider: might think that U.S. govern- of their tax advantages, IRAs are
• Give stocks. You might want ment savings bonds were a quaint great retirement-savings vehicles,
to give shares of stock in a com- relic of the past, but they’re still so they are well worth funding.
pany that makes products favored around. Your valentine might ap- (Traditional IRAs grow tax-de-
ferred; Roth IRAs grow tax-free,
provided the investor has had the
Leicester
account for at least five years and
is 59½ or older.)
• Make a charitable gift in
Heat & Energy
your valentine’s name. Your loved
one, like many people, probably
supports a variety of social and
Supply
charitable organizations. By mak-
ing a donation to one of these
groups in your valentine’s name,
We Deliver Propane, Fuel Oil and Kerosene. you can add a special meaning to
this Valentine’s Day. At the same
Serving Buncombe, Madison, and Haywood Counties
time, you’ll be giving yourself a
little valentine, because you may
683-2079
be able to claim a tax deduction
for your charitable gift. In fact, if
2929 New Leicester Hwy.
you give an asset, such as a stock,
which has appreciated in value,
Owner Dan Sluder
you’ll get an extra tax break
because you won’t be responsible
for capital gains when the charity
eventually sells the stock.
Creative Images
By making any of these gifts,
you’ll show your valentine that
you truly care about the most
important part of his or her life
Tire & Tinting
— the future.
This article was written by
Edward Jones for use by Bill
Boughton, Weaverville’s local
Edward Jones Financial Advi-
Name Brand New and Used Tires for low, low prices
sor.
Custom Window Tinting
St Matthews
5 free tire rotations with purchase Anglican Church
A $100 value!
812
(proof of purchase required)
Reems Creek
Rd.
Weaverville
M-F 8-5:30 / Sat. 8-1
828-877-3708
7 Creek View Dr. 828-989-9582
www.stmatthewsasheville.org
(next to Erwin HS)
828-254-0680
Sunday — 10am Bible Study / 11am Eucharist
www.weavervilletribune.com
Feb 12 - 18, 2009 THE TRIBUNE 7
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17