IRS AUDITS ARE usually uneventful. Auditors ask taxpayers to produce receipts, canceled checks and similar documentation to verify deductions and other facts and figures. When taxpayers come up with the required substantiation, examiners move on to other audits. In fact, the feds frequently close cases without exacting extra taxes—and sometimes they even authorize refunds.
But things aren’t always so friendly.
Be concerned when an IRS investigator walks in unannounced at your home or office and asks to see your records.

LOOKING BACK ON MY 75 years or, at least, those after age 10, I realize I have always managed to make money. I never received an allowance or lavish gifts as a child, but it never mattered. I always earned what I needed.
Let me count the ways: raking leaves, shoveling snow, lemonade stands and—my favorite—rummaging through the trash cans in a local park for soda bottles. We got 2¢ for regular size and,

THE RANKS OF self-employed Americans are expected to rise to 42 million by 2020. It’s easy to understand why folks flock to self-employment. These workers report higher job satisfaction and overall happiness. The downside: They need to craft a benefits package that mirrors what they lost by leaving traditional fulltime positions.
Other than health insurance, the cornerstone of any employee benefits package is the employer-sponsored retirement plan. Most often, this is a 401(k), 403(b) or similar plan.

I TIED THE KNOT again—at age 71. Four years into widowhood, I met Charlie online. Also widowed, he and I began dating cautiously, each respectful of our late spouses and those marriages, as well as our adult children and grandchildren.
We also focused on financial and legal issues. We knew from experience, and from research we had read, that financial disagreements can derail love. In an international survey of  widows and money, women shared advice about re-partnering: Talking about money matters was essential before remarriage,

IS APPLE the greatest company ever? On the surface, it certainly appears that way. The company sells more than 450,000 iPhones every day. Customers love them: According to surveys, iPhone customer satisfaction stands at 98%. Last year, Apple’s revenues topped $250 billion, and in its most recent quarter the company saw profits jump 41% from a year earlier. Not surprisingly, the company’s share price reflects this success. Having gained 33% over the past year,

“I DON’T KNOW.” Those may be the three toughest words for an investor to utter—and yet perhaps also the most important.
Despite the robust rebound of recent days, the S&P 500 is still down 6.5% from its September all-time high. Indeed, U.S. stocks just suffered their worst monthly loss since 2011. What should we make of the craziness? Here are five crucial unanswered questions:
1. Where are stocks headed?
As the saying goes,

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW Doris passed away last year at age 90. In the last few years of her life, she often mentioned that she felt guilty spending any of her money, let alone splurging. She wanted to leave the money to her children, even when her children kept telling her to spend, splurge and enjoy the last few years of her life.
Doris didn’t want to worry about her investments. Like a lot of people,

MY FIRST JOB WAS in 1963, at age 12, delivering newspapers for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. There must have been at least five children from my neighborhood who were newspaper carriers. Today, you rarely see anyone delivering newspapers. The Herald Examiner went out of business in 1989.
My next job, as a teenager, was working at a machine shop that made tools for aerospace companies, such as McDonnell Douglas and Rockwell North American.

WHILE DINING RECENTLY at my favorite restaurant, I focused on my food order. But I also got to thinking about economic concepts—an occupational hazard for a retired academic.
Opportunity cost hit me almost immediately. When the urge to eat strikes, I cannot consume two meals at two different restaurants at the same time. By selecting “A” over “B,” I’m automatically giving up an experience at “B.” Next, once in my selected spot,

MY PARENTS WERE married in 1947 and produced six children over the ensuing 17 years. Dad remained with us, in diminishing health, until 2008. Since then, my siblings and I have been looking after our Mom and her day-to-day needs.
Despite the seemingly endless chaos involved, we have done remarkably well. Here are just six of the things we’ve learned:
1. Your expiration date is unknown.    
When observing longevity in our family over several generations,

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE tax rate? This isn’t meant to be a trick question. If you’re like most people, your favorite rate is probably zero.
While a 0% tax rate is great, it isn’t easy to achieve. There’s just a handful of ways to create tax-free income. If you have young children, 529 accounts are a great option. If you earn a high income, you might buy tax-exempt municipal bonds.
And, of course, there are Roth IRAs.

RECENT MARKET turbulence, including today’s sharp stock market drop, has been a wakeup call for many investors. Feeling queasy? It isn’t too late to make portfolio changes: The S&P 500 may be down 9% from its all-time high, but it’s still up an eye-popping 293% since March 2009.
Here are three quick calculations that might spur you to action—or help ease your mind:
1. How much cash do you need from your portfolio over the next five years?

IT’S OPEN ENROLLMENT season for many employer health plans, Medicare and plans offered through the health care exchanges. The window of opportunity can range from a few weeks to perhaps a month.
Sadly, in my experience, most people wait until the last day or two and then make a quick decision. Even worse, they ignore the communications they receive and make no decision, leaving in place for another year the coverage they currently have.

IF THIS IS THE START of a bear market, share prices have a lot further to fall: The S&P 500 is down just 9.4% from its all-time high—and yet one of the most important lessons may have already been learned.
No, I’m not going to mock those who have lately proclaimed that stocks are the only investment worth owning. I don’t intend to belittle those who assume that U.S. shares can defy investment theory,

LONG EMBEDDED IN the federal tax code is a provision that provides important advantages for people who sell inherited stocks, real estate or other investments that have appreciated in value and are held outside retirement accounts.
In tax lingo, the basis (the starting point for measuring gain or loss) of inherited assets “steps up” from their original basis (cost, in most instances) to their date-of-death value. It’s as if the inheritors had bought the assets that day.