business network. sorry you had to string that together, guys. i wish i had been drinking beer gerri: hello, everyone, i'm gerri willis. tonight is christmas eve and that means 2014 is almost over. so now is the perfect time to get your financial house in order. for the next hour we're bringing you our user's guide to year-end financial moves, starting with taxes. and the clock is ticking to lower your tax bill before the new year. here with advice, dominic tavella, founder and president of diversified private wealth advisers, and john vento, comprehensive tiff wealth management and author of the book, financial independence, getting to point x. i want to be point 2-x, that is my goal, john. i want to start with your idea,

now is critical before year-end. why is it so important? >> so many people believe april 15th is the most important day when it comes to taxes. in fact it is not. it is december 31st. most of us have only 23 days left to make some critical decisions that could really go a long way in reducing our biggest expenditure which is taxes. gerri: dominic, so i think the main thing you're thinking about here, i want to reduce 2014 income so my taxes are lower. that is the name of the game. you do that without hurting yourself. we'll have a light inching round here. start with deferring income. >> to john's point, if you eight until april 15th that is too late. defer income. if you're a small business owner and don't have to take the income into this year, if you get the opportunity at work to take advantage of a 401(k), this is the time to do it. gerri: bonus, what about the bonus. >> the bonus is brilliant one. i want to defer part of my bonus. with 5% taken out of paycheck, only 5% of the bonus gets

deferred. you have to go to payroll. go to hr, say i want to defer 100% of my bonus, 25%, whatever dollar amount. you have to be proactive about it. it won't happen automatically. >> the boss sometimes doesn't go along. so john, if the boss doesn't go along, what is the next best thing? >> you do have the right, if you haven't fully maxed out on 401(k) plan as dominic said, you can still defer with the next paycheck. unfortunately probably only one or two paychecks to do planning for 2014. so once you get past what you can do through your employer, then funding things like your ira account, roth ira account -- gerri: pump it up, baby. >> as long as you qualify definitely take advantage. gerri: most people don't even fund fully. this is great opportunity to bump it up. make sure you're under the limits. people talk about selling losers, dominic. what does that mean? >> usually we want this time of year to harvesting losses. i don't want to sell it but the government will reimburse you through tax savings for that

loser. >> how so? >> you're allowed to offset profits. 100% of your profits and losses plus $3,000, right, john? you're allowed to save taxes. government will be a partner in those losses. little quick one on things that are -- gerri: don't screw it up. >> things that are worthless, your accountant don't know they're worthless. this doesn't show up on 1099. you have to tell your accountant or cpa, that stock is worthless. i bought it 10 years ago, bought it five years ago. they will write it off. gerri: here is my question, john. some people get carried away it and sell stuff they want to have. should you let your tax planning drive your strategy. >> the answer is absolutely not. don't make you are investment decisions solely on taxes but with that said you definitely want to take taxes into consideration. as dominic was saying identify the losers. if you think, there is opportunity to sell them off, offset the gains, now there is a special rule in the tax code.

even if you want to hold the securities for the long run, as long as you sell them and don't buy them back within 30 days you can still -- gerri: wash sale rule. >> exactly right on that one. gerri: there is a delay you need to make sure you're doing. one of the things i know a lot of people do and a lot of people here do, they have the fsa accounts. you set aside money pretax. they build all the money to pay for health benefits rand never use it and money goes away. what do you say? >> use or lose system. pretax dollars that goes into your account. supposed to pay for your medical benefits. show up on december 31st, haven't used it goes away. be proactive the last few days. look at that account. pay for kids medical and checkups. pay for reimbursements. use it or it is gone. gerri: a lot of people out there, they don't know about the 401(k) catch-up, if you're over 50. what can you do. >> if you're over 50 there is catch-up provision.

that gives you opportunity to contribute even more. double-check with the payroll department to make sure you take advantage. >> add to john's point. it doesn't happen automatically. well, my compensation is so large, right, john? i will get the catch-up in there. no, payroll systems cap out at 17,500 for this year. if you don't proactively go in there and say i want to do that extra, it won't happen. you will lose -- gerri: you have to do it that way. one-two step process. not just a one-step process. >> hear it so many times. i will do it. i will max out. no you're not. you didn't go to hr to make them do it. gerri: wow, who knew taxes could be so fun. dominic, great job. john, appreciate having you here. great job guys. millions of americans are hoping -- opening their hearts annual let's. make sure you get most out of your charitable giving. we have the biggest charity evaulate and we have claire

levin, personal finance expert and cpa author of the book, frugal isn't cheap. spend less, save more and live better. great to have you here. we have a one-two punch here and taxes how to find a the right charity. claire, i will start with you. you can give cash but there are complications even with giving out dollars, right? >> yeah. i was at a conference one time and very well practiced practitioner, one reason americans pay more taxes than they should because they don't keep good, organized records. that really stuck with me. it is such a simple thing to do yet we're not always good at doing that. gerri: if you give cash, it is really hard to track. make sure you get receipt from the charity itself and do it other ways. put it on the credit card for goodness sakes. >> if you give cash, you need to keep a receipt, bank record or payroll deduction record. gerri: what other ways to give other than cash?

>> give household items, clothing. lots of people do that. generally you can deduct that at fair market value. vehicles, again, lots of these deductions have fair market value. gerri: we'll get to that in just a second. ken, to you, we were talking during the break, this is the biggest time of year to give. everybody is trying to beat the december 31st deadline. how much is given at this time of year. >> 40, 50% of giving depending on kinds of charities. the last day of the year is busiest at all. by far, 15, 20% of giving can happen that one day. that is how incredible this time and month of the year. gerri: claire, you either give money, cash, you charge it or something. or you give stuff out of your house. so let's break that down a little bit. say you want to give clothes. how do you do that. >> right, again you will probably be able to deduct that at fair market val unit important thing to remember with clothes and household items is that they need to be at least in good used condition.

so you can't give away your junk and take a deduction for it. back to vehicles again. you can give a vehicle and that is becoming more popular. >> becoming more popular but it is trick kirks the irs, that is a red flag for those guys. >> that's right. you will be able to deduct that at fair market value, or at what the organization you donated it to was able to sell it for, whichever is less. gerri: all right. airplanes, you can give all -- that was on our list. i remember that. airplanes. i never have a airplane to give away. >> taxidermy property, irs calls out, imagine that. gerri: what about stamp collection or coin collection. >> that is what we call capital assets. stocks, bonds, jewelry, stamp collections, coin collections. even real estate. again, all these things are probably going to be deducted at fair market value but you might want to talk to the cpa about advantages and disadvantages of donating asset itself versus selling it first and donating proceeds to the organization.

gerri: you know what? nobody ever talks about where the money is going, ken. lot of people don't think about it. maybe they give to their university. now is good time to rethink the whole question. how do you decide where the money should go? >> cash is the most precious commodity for a charity. it helps with generating support. we think the basic rule of thumb, number one, be passionate about the cause. once you identify that cause, look at some information to protect yourself from scams and frauds. three critical things we say look at, number one, the finances of the organization. is it managed well? is the majority of money going to the programs? the second, does it have good strong governance. is the board in charge rather than risk of scandal and mismanagement? third is do they have evidence of their results? do they measure their performance to make sure they're effective. gerri: shortcut, go to charity navigate tore. they will tell you all about it. >> that's what we're here for. gerri: say i have a charity you

don't evaluate, that is possible, right? what is good proportion of overall income goes to overhead management salaries? what's a good amount? because a lot of people struggle with that? >> we recommend ideally, 75% goes to programs, 65% is okay depending. most importantly is also to look at those other factors it may not have the lowest over head rate but may be very effective. we have every charity and every non-profit in america on our site. even if we don't rate it, we have financial reports and have a guide to help you follow through on the different measures. >> i love that. claire, there are some donations that you can't claim. what are they? >> right. you can't claim donations to individual even if you feel they're worthy or needy. can't do it. they have to be a qualified organization with the irs. and you can go to irs.gov and find out which organizations are qualified organizations. >> they list them right there? >> yes. things like unions, do a search for it.

great. things like unions, political organizations homeowners associations, claim business of commerce. those are not deductible. >> but they are non-profits. gerri: you have to be careful. can't give to one not accredited right? you don't get deduction. that is what we're going for. smart end of the year moves, that is what we're after. claire, ken, thank you. still a lot more to come to this hour long user's guide to best year-end financial moves including a look at health care. next a good time of year to fund a new ira or prop up the 401(k). we'll tell you thousand to do that. [ male announcer ] you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. but a lot of us leave our identities unprotected. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012,

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gerri: don't let the financial stress of year ensteal your holiday cheer. december deadlines coming up for retirement savers we have important advice you need to know. our special users guide continues with derrick kinney, and chris cord darrow, managing partner and chief investment officer for regional atlantic. derrick, i will start with you. i will get to you in a minute, chris. wig considerations this year, right now, what are they, end of

the year? >> don't let the tax tail wag the tax dog. because there are opportunities doesn't mean it is right for you as investor. if you want to make a charitable contribution, a practical way, most people think, write a check for it, take highly appreciated stock, donate that stock or mutual fund to the church or organization. take the full tax writeoff. they pay no tax and you get full benefit. maximize your retirement plans right now. gerri: we'll get to that right now, we'll get to that right now with chris. i think it is critical if you have money to put to work shelter it in a way not eaten up by the taxman. what is the best way to today that? >> exactly right, gerri. what you want to pay attention to year-end, do you qualify for 401(k) or some other retirement plan? not ira. because that deadline is year-end. the ira, you can relax a little bit because your deadline there is april 15th of next year. >> look at ind. day you want to shelter as much

income from the taxman as you can. that is exactly what we're talking about. set aside money in retirement funds. derrick, to you as you look at strategies of people absolutely can employ here, a lot of people worry about window addressing out there. they fry to make the fund look as best as you can. what can you say about that? what can you do about that. >> up to the individual investor watching to make sure how much the fees cost and how much money fund managers are making and get the best return and bang for the buck. you can't rely on other people to make these decisions for you. pick fund that are quality fund. invest in high quality companies. nothing speculative. matches your goals and risk tolerance and you're comfortable with the ups and downs. read the perspectives, as boring as they may be, make sure it fits your tolerance. just because it is right for this person may not be right for you. gerri: absolutely right. window dressing, these mutual

fund managers know how to manipulate you. they manipulate portfolios it look good at the end of the year and you don't know what happened. what do you say to that. >> if you're involved with a window fund involved -- mutual fund involved in window-dressing vote with your feet. they're realizing gains in order to get rid of securities they don't want you to see at end of the year. be smart, vote with your feet, get out. gerri: get out. derek, rebalancing is now a good time to rebalance? >> the temptation, gerri, is to ride the hot stock as long as you can. what i find diversification beats greed almost every single time. take the profits if you have them, talk to a tax advisor, know what the tax impact is, but listen, gerri, here is a practical way to do this. if you have some debt, high interest credit cards, car note, take some of the gains let the

market pay off the debt having something to show for it or diversify in other places. worse that happens, market drops you lose all the gains you had. like going on a diet, losing all the weight and gaining it back again. very, very frustrating. gerri: people look at last two days of trading, saying to themselves, what's next? they're worried. they're concerned. normally a santa claus rally this time of year. i'm sure your clients calling you? what are you telling them? >> i'm telling them emerging markets are absolutely cheapest asset class out there. they're selling at such low valuations might have to stand out from the herd a little while but on long term i think you're rewarded by investing in emerging markets. just to tie it back to the retirement theme. if you think you have an investment that will rocket over next year or next two or three years, put that in the roth ire a. those are assets you want to grow tax-free. that is what roth ira does for

you. gerri: pay taxes up front, not afterwards, absolutely right. derek, to you what do people miss tanks that they make this time of year. >> look attacks advantages only to be burned by them. make sure you fund retirement account but are strategic about taxes. let's say you own a business and take advantage of a small business deduction. you might buy a piece of equipment to get the tax break. you say wait a minute, i can't afford the piece of equipment any bayh. make sure within your budget taking advantage of tax benefit so you know what is best for your situation. bunching zoom of your deductions better. talk with europe tax advisor. things are so volatile and unpredictable. of make sure you are on the safe size. >> if you're 70 1/2, time to tap retirement fund, right? >> if you turn 70 1/2 --

>> before end. year. gerri: before end. year. >> time is running out. penalties are huge if you don't take it. gerri: they are huge. i forget about. that they are really nasty. make sure you do. that pay attention to that if you're 70 1/2. otherwise keep investing and putting money away. thanks for coming on the show. >> thank you. gerri: our we have advise on health care. what to do with the fsa leftovers and avoid the obama care penalty in 2015. ♪

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manage those rising health care costs in the new year. from choosing best health care plan to lowering your tax bill. our special user's guide continues with a doctor that is strategic advisor to health grades.com. that is a site with information on over 3 million health care providers. check it out. let's talk to the doctor. i want to go through this piece by piece. frankly you have a lot of good information here and i don't want to miss any of it. start with the new fsa limits. if you have a new health plan you may have additional benefits you're missing out on. start us out here. >> vast majority of larger employers and even larger employers offer health plan options that include a health savings account. my recommendation is that if you haven't already signed up for it, sign up for it at least consider it and fund it to the max. gerri: if you're in open enrollment you can do this what are the benefits of this account? >> the benefits are even though there is a little bit of sticker

shock with a premium to pay and health savings account to fund, the cost of a hsa health plan is 20% cheaper than hmo plan. there are multiple tax benefits n addition to that, many employers, particularly large employers, fund your hsa account. that money can roll over year-over-year. it is yours to keep even if you leave your job. gerri: so what she is saying, my friends, set the money aside, tax-free, right? , you take the money out tax-free. our employer may contribute to it. there is a lost free money there. if you're having money paying a health care bill, it is a big assist. i want to go through contribution limits because they're changing, right? individuals, $3350. that is up 50 bucks. families, 6650 bucks. that is up 100 bucks. great news for people. out-of-pocket limit for individuals. $6400 for families, 12,900. this is benefit people are afraid of and don't understand.

some cases people see the fsas, flexible spending accounts and they lost money in them. what is your advice on fsa. >> the law around the fsa has changed with the affordable care act. the employer has the optional louing you to roll over as much as $500 a year. in the past it was use it or lose it. gerri: that is terrible. >> me too. especially on dependent care account. we would always lose a lot of money. employer choose to let you roll it over. the fsa can supplement hsa or have a fsa all on its own. i would advice make sure you look at last year's spending. make sure if you had any excess in your fsa that you rethink what you're contribution is for the next year. gerri: so the beauty of these is that what we see are a lot of employers out there are giving you less and less dough. they're funding insurance packages less and less. so you have to set aside some

money. if you do that you want to do it tax-free, that is the best way to do it. i want to change gears a little bit here and go to obamacare. if you're not careful you get with a tax, right? >> of course the affordable care act has individual mandate in it which says if you are not insured that you are subject to a tax. the tax is increasing in 2004. it was 300, i'm sorry, 1% of your family household income whichever is higher. it is going up to $325 per individual. 50% of that for children or 2% of your household income. gerri: it adds up quickly. >> if you make $100,000 a year in your family, you will pay $2,000 and have nothing to show for it. gerri: this is a fee, fine for people that don't have health care. coming out of obamacare, very bad news. any other advice for people out there, who want to put themselves in the best position possible for health care next

year? >> i think there are a few key things to consider. i would sum advise it all -- summarize it all by saying, go shopping. number one if you bought your health insurance plan through the exchange last year make sure you don't let it renew on autopilot. here is why. the obama administration made a ruling that to make it easier for consumers, you didn't have to do anything, you just auto renew. if you do that, the risk is your insurance premium will be much higher than it was last year because how all of the subsidies are calculated. so go into the exchange. do your homework. select the plan. even if you select the same plan, make a conscious choice. if you fet insurance through your implier, as i said earlier, make sure you really consider the hsa plan. if you left your employer, buying cobra, think about getting individual insurance. you can save up to 50%. the third most important thing, make sure that your doctors and hospitals that are right for you are included on your plan. 50% of the exchange plans have

narrow networks. gerri: got to tell you, the federal government on the obama care exchanges are defaulting people to the cheapest plan. it may not be the one you want. it may not have your docs. we have got to go. >> thank you so of. gerri: we're covering your assets with market strategies for the end of the year and beginning of next year. next, best year-end financial moves include a way to get your budget ready for 2015. we have the ultimate guide for you. ♪ (holiday music is playing) hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today.

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>> author of the book, automatic millionaire. great to see you. >> good to see you, gerri,. gerri: the "b" word is bad word and nobody does it and people think you should.es if you think i spend my weekends with a spreadsheet you are crazy, mister. >> reality, gerri. budgets don't work, but here is what does work. what works is realigning way you spend money. we meet with thousands of clients every year and thousands of prespective clients. savings eight at least typically 10% or more. gerri: what i like what you do here, there are certain pots of money go certain places. >> that's right. gerri: first of all, savings, housing.la if you make sure you're spending right amount on those, you don't have to go out and watch every nickel and dime because you will be doing the right thing. savings, 10%, that is good number. >> a beginning number. b

pay yourself number. lot of people do less than that. as someone comes in our office, saving five, six, 7%. our goal is to pick that up. only good things happen when you pay yourself first. gerri: totally right. >> when you look at 10% number, we look at other buckets, what hn we do to shrink them. gerri: nobody pays 35% on housing in this part of the country. they pay far more. >> in manhattan, to get the number down, with can we do to reduce housing costs. it might be refinancing. taking a mortgage and reducing amount they're paying towards paying mortgage off. they have extra money to save. gerri: the other point you made i thought was interesting, said to our producer, instead of two cars you have one. bam. >> boom. if you look at transportation expenses, average american spends 15%. getting rid of one car can reduce that by 7 1/2%. gerri: wow. >> that is the amount of money the average american, average baby boomer need to double up on their 401(k) plan or

retirement plan. gerri: great point. we have a big gift right now from gas prices right? >> huge gift. very important thing to point out. unacks tax laws changed. opportunity for people to put more money iras and 401(k) plans. make sure you take advantage of a bump up right now. 401(k) plans, $18,000. ira tax deductible laws at 5500, stayed the same. but you can get up to 6500 over the age of 60. gerri: love that. because every year gets bumped up. every year i bump it up. talk about automation. if you have chance to get your hot little hand on that you never know where it will go. >> track it.>> gerri: what do you mean track

it. >> here is what i do. where did the money go in 2014. get your bank accounts, your brokerage accounts, credit card accounts. download them automatically into a program. use example. quicken. gerri: complicated. >> you can see the money. how. now i get you to work on spending plan to real line to put money in replace. when people meet with a financial planner, first thing we do is where is your money? we get you on track with that plan. gerri: turning to the markets, the dow and s&p hit record high after record high this year but how long can this bull market continue? let's ask jonathan hoenig, founding member of the capitalist pig hedge fund and fox business contributor. what is your crystal ball tell you about the coming year? i heard recently one analyst say they thought we were in year six of a 20-year bull market. is that possible? >> well, you know, even when you're trying to look long term in the stock market, gerri, you really can't look much more three or five years out let

alone 20 years out. given the fact this time it is different. we have totally unprecedented, historical intervention from the fed. when that becomes unwounded we really don't know what the outlook for the stock market is going to be. that's why i think now more than ever, investors have to play it safe. it doesn't mean being out of the stock market. but that means being well-diversified and also holding some cash. gerri, people are so hesitant to hold cash with zero% interest rates but when stocks take a dip, great to have liquidity on hand. gerri: you mentioned what is going on with the federal reserve. reality, banks all over the planet have been doing exactly the same thing. europe is pumping liquidity into its markets. japan, now china. what kind of effect does that have? seems to me we're in a fake kind of a happy face. like the markets are doing drugs. >> well, that is what is frustrating, gerri. you know in this case, it is a rigged game.

you know prices literally for everything are being manipulated defacto by the federal reserve through interest rate manipulation, through quantitative easing. you're buying into essentially a bit of a fixed game. why i think especially when it comes to interest oriented, yield oriented investments, gerri, people bought everything from reits to master limited partnerships, everything that pays yield, acceptable dividend in this era. be careful about that. be hesitant to reach for yield. where there comes higher yield also comes higher risk as well. gerri: yeah. >> better than even holding cash than holding a very long dated bond right now. gerri: certainly we talked a lot about what happens when interest rates rise. impact on the bond market not good. >> people forget that you can actually lose money in bonds. it has been a decade more, since that actually happened. gerri: you said don't be in long-term bonds, long duration bond. is there a part of the market you like though?

it is a big market. >> yeah it is a big market. i think now is the time, gerri, once again looking at some frontier markets. these are way off the beaten path areas. everything from the middle east to africa. >> oh, my lord. >> they are most risky elements. i know. they are the mostries can he elements of market. now is good time to employ barbell strategy. very safe investments on one hand, very risky insvelts on the other, so you hedged your bets either way. gerri: off the beaten path. i don't even know how to get there. jonathan, thanks for coming on. >> thanks, gerri. good to be with you. gerri: our year-end guide to financial moves on making most of your frequent flyer miles ahead of changes next year. why now may be the best time to send out your resume'. you may get a new job for the new year.

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that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪

gerri: don't wait till the new year to find a job. our next guest says the holiday season could be a perfect time for job-seekers to land their next career. so how do you do that? we have tom gimbel of lasalle network, a chicago-based staffing and recruitment firm. great have you here. really the holidays? i think people are preoccupied with other stuff. why is this a good time? >> number one because so many people have that initial reaction that you don't look during the holidays. when you want to be aggressive and motivated other people taking time off. that is point to take advantage of, number one. number two, leaders, c-level are planning for the next year. even if they're not in the office they plan for the first quarter much next year. gerri: let me stop you there. i think that is very important. they look to draw budgets and

headcount. can they move ahead? if you appear on the horizon just that time that can be perfect timing. >> absolutely. these people want to hit their 2015 numbers. depending on calendar year or fiscal year they want to hit the ground running in january. also people will get their bonuses at year-end or maybe first two weeks in january. so they want to interview people in december to get started. they can give their notice in the beginning of the year and get started at end of january and have full runway for numbers. >> gatekeepers may out to be holiday party and long lunch. you might get your foot in the door to see somebody important without getting through the secretary. >> not only that but you get a lot of blockades of certain level of management or operations or human resources people that get involved. they are are great people. you will have to go through them eventually. if you get meeting with vp or level in the company, great opportunity for other things

getting on radar of people making decisions. it's a crucial time. gerri: there is one piece of your advice they've questions about that i don't quite buy. >> of course you do. gerri: you're telling people to crash the holiday party. what are you going to do? give the boss your resume' as he is drinking down his holiday punch? >> no. i think you have to be realistic about this but if you have, if you have a friend or a spouse or a family member who works at a company at which they're having a holiday party, and they're allowed to bring somebody, don't be shy to go and to make a good impression and you're not going to act like a goofball and have a lampshade on your head. but if you have a friend with a company party and they're allowed to bring other people along, don't be afraid to go and don't be afraid to introduce yourself to people. gerri: b-plus one. sometimes you need to show your face. get familiar. >> the more familiar you are in a corporate setting whether trend or significant others, the more you're allowed to be there, the more acceptable it is. then you can have conversations with people who actually make a difference. gerri: i met that tom gimbel at

the christmas party. he seemed nice. what is he doing? if he will expand that is maybe one of the you might want to talk to. >> you never get second chance to make a first impression. gerri: you made a great first impression, tom. thanks for coming on the show. >> thanks for having me. gerri: still to come, there is so much fine print when it comes to frequent flyer programs. we'll show you how to use loopholes to get a advantage. stay with us. (trader vo) i search. i research. i dig. and dig some more. because, for me, the challenge of the search... is almost as exciting as the thrill of the find. (announcer) at scottrade, we share your passion for trading. that's why we rebuilt scottrade elite from the ground up - including a proprietary momentum indicator that makes researching sectors and industries even easier.

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gerri: you already know that airlines got pretty darn stingy this year. there were extra fees for just about everything. come new year they will get more stingier and folks that get hit the moats, the most loyal

customers. let's start with some stuff they're doing with changes to frequent flyer programs not good for us. tell us about that? >> it is pretty bad "newsweek" for frequent flyers. united hat one-two punch. next year if you're elite flyer you will have to spend more to maintain elite status. not only fly certain amount but spend 25% more on united ticketed flights. those who spend first class are generally fine but business travelers who have to book low fares are caught in a pinch. gerri: cutting upgrades, pointsu benefits. >> more fees. gerri: not giving you for miles flown but money spend. >> exactly. united and delta, 2015 they will stop awarding awards how far you fly but on on the money you spe. if you are on economy fares you

will earn a ton less miles. ev evaluate the loyalty and make sure you're in the spending and flying habits. gerri: amounts spent not miles flown. i want people to see this here. going to san francisco to singapore on united, paying 969 for that ticket, the current miles program would award you 16,000 miles. the new one will award you just 4200. going new york to london on delta for 961, the current miles program award you 6900. the new program will award you 3600. come on. like they don't want to do business with me. >> exactly. for short haul flyers on flipside, spending $800 to flying new york to montreal which happens for last minute travelers this might be good for you. if you're economy and prieding on cheap air fares you get a loo less miles next year if you stay with those miles. gerri: you said there is loophole out there.

what is it? >> i always recommend choosing a program, you know, even if you fly on delta, and you don't want to play with their program, you can bank delta flights on airlines. don't have to bank airlines into the miles you are flying. putting them into partner program might be much more valuable. gerri: all the airlines have partners they do business with. >> exactly. gerri: sipping pour airlines will give you a lot more miles than say, one of the our domestic flyers would. >> exactly. most foreign carriers are still awarding based on miles flown. so on that flight to singapore you could bank to singapore airlines much make sure the farb class you're buying gives miles in that program. there are some, fine print to read through. but it really makes sense to make sure you're maximizing your miles and points going into 2015. gerri: i bet they're going to close that loophole. >> yeah, probably. unfortunately. don't give them any ideas. gerri: great to talk to you. appreciate your time.

up next, more help getting your finances before ringing in 2015. tax tips continue after the break. don't go away. stamps.com is the best.

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up to $4.5 billion. using your computer's built-in energy-saving features can generate real household savings. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. ♪ ♪ gerri: don't let taxes steal your holiday cheer. we've got important end of year tax tips for handling your portfolio that has probably, thank goodness, seen substantial gains this year. fox business' tracy byrnes is a former accountant, my friend. she knows what you need to know. >> here's the thing, like you said, you probably made some money, and you have gains. you don't want to pay tax on that. if you're a high net worth, you're paying upwards of 23.8% thanks to obamacare, so you've got to generate some losses. be very careful. you might have positions that have losses that you really still want to hold. irs is totally on to you because

they say, look, if you have a stock, let's say you buy it on monday at ten, you sell it on tuesday for $8. it's a $2 loss right there. you're thinking to yourself, i'm just going to buy it back on wednesday. they're saying, no way. you cannot take that loss on your tax return. it's this big rule that you've got to pay attention to because they will disallow your losses, and then you're owing tax, and you don't want to do that. gerri: you've got to tell me about m&as, because a lot of people own stocks that were in an m&a deal of some sort. how does that play in? >> it's all about substantially identical stocks. so let's say, stuart varney, if you own a loser like microsoft and you want to sell it and say you want to buy back another tech like apple, that's totally cool because they're not substantially identical. but you can't, let's say, own an s&p 500 fund that's in the toilet and go buy another one. the irs will say that's not good either. now, here's the merger thing

like you brought up. two stocks are talking mergers, one is a loser in your portfolio, you sell it and try to buy back the other side that's up, the irs will say, yeah, you can't do that either. you have to wait 30 days before you make any of these moves, gerr sixer. -- gerri. gerri: is uncle sam rial watching? >> great question. people like us, i mean, you should be careful, you should check with your accountant. you don't have to understand this stuff, but you've got to be smart enough to say, hey, if i sell this loser and buy it back, am i going to have an issue. gerri: tracy, thanks for coming on. and finally, if rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens are your favorite things, well, you're in luck. if it's coffee and bourbon, get ready to pay more. some of our favorite things will

cost more next year. the rising popularity of bourbon and whiskey is leading distillers to raise prices because they can. thanks to a drought in brazil, starbucks and other coffee shops are sending java prices through the roof, and the severe drought in california raising food prices on everything from produce to beef. and while going to the doctor may not be everybody's favorite thing, medical costs are expected to jump nearly 7% next year. you want to take a trip to get away from all this news? travel including airfare and hotel stays will cost you even more. the global business travel association predicts increases in these areas of more than 2%. and possibly the worst news of all, cocoa and chocolate prices skyrocketing once again thanks to the drought in africa. but it's not all bad news. butter prices continue to fall as will the price of smartphones and, yes, you know this, gas prices. it doesn't seem like they've bottomed yet. coming up tomorrow on christmas day, we spend the hour with nonstop advice on your

biggest asset, your home. that's it for tonight's special edition of the will lit -- willis report. thanks for joining us. have a great christmas. ♪ ♪ charles: i'm charles payne, and you're watching a special edition of "making money." will you be financially secure in your golden years? it's a question we all have to face, so whether you've been saving for years or just starting out, it's time to start protecting your retirement, so let's get started. i'm charles payne, and tonight on "making money," we're all about protecting your retirement. whether you're a baby boomer or millennial just starting out, we want to help you plan for your financial future, so we put together some of the best playbooks along with great advice from our panel to help you get started. americans are living longer than ever. will your retirement last longer than europe bank account? -- your bank account? watch this. good news last week,