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On this episode of the Planned Solutions Financial Review Podcast we discuss, Economic data shows that consumer spending weakened late in 2018. This coincides with data showing that consumer sentiment has declined in recent months and household debt has leveled off as consumers may have been focused more on savings or paying down debt rather than making new purchases. What impact can this have on the economy? And, A recent report by the Commerce Department shows that U.S. retail sales declined unexpectedly in December. The official data shows that retail sales declined 1.2% for the month, the worst report since 2009. In addition, the report showed a decline in nearly every major retail category possibly signaling that U.S. consumers are tightening the purse strings going into 2019.. What do you need to know? Also,Occasionally taxpayers may have more deductions than they do income in a given year, resulting in negative taxable income reported on their tax return. This can create an opportunity where the taxpayer could pull additional income into the tax year to use the excess deductions to shelter the income from taxation. Therefore, it can be beneficial to engage in tax planning before the end of the tax year in order to take full advantage of all tax deductions. What do you need to know? Plus a look at the Planned Solutions Incorporated Office Bulletin Board- Daryl attended a monthly meeting for the Financial Planning Association of Northern California. What did the program include? And, Despite previous concerns about the IRS issuing delayed refund checks due to the government shutdown it appears that early refund checks are being issued within a few weeks. To subscribe to the written form of all the content we discuss email Katie@plannedsolutions.com