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Send financial 'Valentines' to loved ones
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Americans spent nearly $19 billion in Valentine’s Day gifts last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Much of this money went for gifts with short shelf lives, such as candy, flowers and restaurant meals. An estimated $700 million was even spent on gifts for pets.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with giving chocolates or roses. But this year, think about going beyond the classic gifts. Instead, use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to determine how you can give gifts with long-lasting impact to your circle of loved ones.

Here are some suggestions:

• For your spouse or significant other … As long as your spouse or significant other has earned income, he or she may be able to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA. So, consider giving a check to be used for that purpose. A traditional IRA can grow tax deferred, while contributions are usually tax-deductible. (Taxes are due upon withdrawal, and withdrawals prior to 59½ may be subject to a 10 percent IRS penalty.) While Roth IRA contributions are not deductible, any earnings growth can be distributed tax free, provided the account owner doesn’t take withdrawals until age 59½ and has had the account at least five years. For 2015 and 2016, the IRA contribution limit is $5,500, or $6,500 for those 50 or older.

• For your children … You don’t have to be rich to give your children a gift worth $1 million — you just have to help them through school. College graduates earn about $1 million more over their lifetimes than those without a degree, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Still, college isn’t cheap: The average annual cost — tuition, fees, room and board — for a private four-year college is more than $42,000, according to the College Board, while the comparable figure for a public four-year school is about $19,000. Of course, if financial aid is available, you could get some help. Nonetheless, you may want to start putting away money for college. One popular college savings vehicle is a 529 plan. Your 529 plan contributions may be deductible from your state taxes, and any earnings growth can be withdrawn tax-free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses. (However, if you take withdrawals from your 529 plan, and you don’t use the money for these higher education expenses, you may be subject to both income tax and a 10 percent penalty on the earnings.)

• For your parents … If you have elderly parents, you may want to find out if they’ve got their retirement and estate plans in place. If they’ve already taken care of everything, you may not need to get involved — but if they’ve left some “loose ends,” your help could be a valuable gift. So, ask them if they have drawn up the necessary legal documents. Do they each have a will? Have they created a durable power of attorney, which allows them to name someone to make financial and health care decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated? If it appears they have much work to do in these areas, you may want to offer to arrange a consultation for them with a legal adviser and a financial professional.

None of these ideas are “traditional” Valentine’s Day gifts — but all of them can prove of great value to your loved ones.
 
This article was written by Edward Jones and provided by Evans, your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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