Andrea Coombes, an editor at Bankrate, translates complex personal finance topics into understandable language that helps people live their best financial lives. She’s a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and over the past 25 years has worked as a financial coach, personal finance writer and editor, and volunteer tax preparer.
Her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch and many newspapers nationwide. She's been interviewed on local and national TV and radio, including NPR's All Things Considered, CBS News, NASDAQ and Marketplace.
Andrea has moderated panels on how to invest for retirement, how to use 529 college savings plans and more, and she's an experienced personal-finance speaker who has presented to groups on a variety of topics such as how to budget, improve credit, manage debt, and build savings. She's also worked as a personal financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, helping people reach their goals. For two tax seasons, she worked as a volunteer tax preparer.
A lot of people are nervous about managing their money. I'm here to say: It's not rocket science. There are small steps each of us can take to slowly start moving towards our long-term financial goals. We can do this, people.
— Andrea Coombes, CFP®
The deadline for filing your 2024 tax return is April 15, or Oct. 15 with an extension.
The head of household tax filing status can mean a lower tax bill vs. filing as a single taxpayer, but you need to make sure you qualify.
Sometimes alimony is taxable to the recipient and a tax deduction for the payer, but it depends on the date of your divorce.
The qualified business income deduction, or QBI, can reduce your business income by up to 20 percent at tax time.
A freelance writer filing as a self-employed worker for the first time tests TurboTax and IRS Free File, and picks a winner.
If you’re running a business, you’ll probably want to apply for an EIN, or employer identification number.
The property tax deduction can trim your taxable income by as much as $10,000, if you itemize your deductions.
Since 1862, the IRS, in one form or another, has been responsible for collecting taxes in the U.S.
