Dagen McDowell
- Personalities
- Alexis Glick
- Neil Cavuto
- David Asman
- Cheryl Casone
- Dagen McDowell
- Liz Claman
- Adam Shapiro
- Ashley Webster
- Charles Payne
- Brian Sullivan
- Cody Willard
- Connell McShane
- Dave Ramsey
- Elizabeth MacDonald
- Eric Bolling
- Jeff Flock
- Jenna Lee
- Nicole Petallides
- Peter Barnes
- Rebecca Diamond
- Rich Edson
- Robert Gray
- Sandra Smith
- Shibani Joshi
- Stuart Varney
- Tom Sullivan
- Tracy Byrnes
- On Air
Dagen McDowell
Dagen McDowell joined the FOX Business Network as an anchor in September, 2007. Since 2003,
McDowell served as a business correspondent for the FOX News Channel (FNC) where she was a regular guest on Your World with
Neil Cavuto. She has also been a recurring guest on Cashin' In, appearing on the program initially as a contributor when it
debuted in May 2001.
Before entering broadcast news, McDowell wrote a personal finance column for TheStreet.com called
"Dear Dagen." In addition, she has also worked for SmartMoney magazine and SmartMoney.com.
McDowell began her career
as a financial journalist at the Institutional Investor's newsletter division. A native of Virginia, she is a graduate of
Wake Forest University.
What was your first job?
Before
becoming a financial journalist over a decade ago, I lived in Colorado after college. Two of my many jobs: pulling weeds for
a landscaper and selling beverages on a golf course.
Are
you a spender or a saver?
Recovering spender. Emerging saver.
What was the one thing you regret buying?
I have a few items of clothing in my closet with the
tags still on them.
What was your biggest money
indulgence?
Luxurious hotel rooms when on vacation.
What
was the best money advice you received?
How much you pay in fees is the one constant you can count on when investing.
Low-cost investments win out in the long run.
FOX Translator
No data currently available.
No data currently available.
Sure, we know some of you are saying the term "marriage penalty" is redundant. In fact, of all the costs associated with getting married (have you seen the cost of a wedding cake lately?), the marriage penalty can be the worst.
Here's how it works: Mr. and Mrs. Right walk down the aisle in wedded bliss and suddenly they¿re a two-income household. If both make roughly the same amount of money, they can be pushed into a higher tax bracket. That's bad, since the higher the bracket, the higher the tax. So, if both were single, they'd end up writing two smaller checks to the tax man that, if combined, would add up to less than the giant check they write in a state of wedded bliss.
Is that fair? We're not touching that, but there is a flip side that few people talk about. The marriage penalty only kicks in if both members of the couple make close to the same amount of money. If there's a big disparity in pay, there's actually a tax advantage. Call it the marriage bonus.
And, it¿s important to remember that there are other financial benefits, such as lower life-insurance rates or health care premiums, that can make up for the extra tax couples pay. So don't let Uncle Sam stop you from saying, "I do."
