Blog
What’s on our mind? You can read about it in our blog. Whether it’s ideas from the investment services world or concepts from the financial industry, you can read about it here. And once in a while, we may throw in a movie review or some other surprise. So keep checking in. We’re glad to have you reading along.
April is Financial Literacy Month
April marks the start of Financial Literacy Month, a nationally recognized movement to promote and support financial understanding in children and teens.
Read MoreInflation and the Real Rate of Return
The real rate of return is an important personal finance concept to understand.
Read MoreBudget Check Up: Tax Time Is the Right Time
Tax preparation may be the only time of year many households gather all their financial information in one place. That makes it a perfect time to take a critical look at how much money is coming in and where it’s all going. In other words,
Read MoreChanging Unhealthy Behaviors
Most Americans know the fundamentals of good health: exercise, proper diet, sufficient sleep, regular check-ups, and no smoking or excessive alcohol. Yet, despite this knowledge, changing existing behaviors can be difficult.
Read More6 Tips To No Credit Card Hangover This Holiday
The holidays are upon us which means the inevitable increased spending on gifts, travel and festive activities.
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Year-End Charitable Gifting and You
Year-End Charitable Gifting and You Are you making charitable donations at year's end? If so, you should know about some of the financial "fine print" involved, as the right moves could potentially bring more of a benefit to both you...
Read MoreA Brief History of Halloween
As you head into Halloween, we thought it would be fun to share with you some history about how the most common traditions we know today likely originated. Ever wonder where the traditions of Jack-o-Lanterns, trick-or-treating and...
Read MoreReevaluate Your Work-Life Balance This Labor Day
Work can be overwhelming, with the stress of a job overlapping into everyday life. It’s easy to feel pressured into making your job your everything. The good news is, creating a more conducive work-life balance can benefit your well-being.
Read MoreGetting a Head Start on College Savings
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of raising a child to the age of 17 for a middle-income family will be about $285,000. That's approaching the median value of a new home in the U.S.
Read MoreBest Vacations: By Car, By Ship, By Foot, Once in a Lifetime
Best Vacations: By Car, By Ship, By Foot, Once in a Lifetime “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”¹ – Unknown If travel for you is less about escaping life and more about living it, then consider these vacation ideas:
Read MoreThe Heat Is On
Summer’s here, and the time is right for fun in the sun (or shade). Like many of us, you’re probably looking forward to an extended getaway or family trip. But summer also means planning for hot weather, which...
Read More9 Facts About Retirement
Retirement can have many meanings. For some, it will be a time to travel and spend time with family members. For others, it will be a time to start a new business or begin a charitable endeavor.
Read MoreDaylight Savings – Tips To Spring Forward
The time is here again! Twice a year, we adjust our clocks and disrupt sleeping patterns, work schedules, and the balance of our day.
Read MoreWelcome to February
Welcome to February! Despite being the shortest month of the year, February often seems to last forever, with limited daylight and a lingering chill in the air.
Read MoreFind That Lost Retirement Account
Find That Lost Retirement AccountDo you have a long-lost retirement account left with a former employer? Maybe it’s been so long that you can’t even remember. With over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts...
Read MoreTen Easy Ways to Winterize Your Home
Ten easy ways to winterize your home to lower your utility bills and protect your most significant investment. Hopefully, a few hours of work now can help you save all winter long.
Read MoreVETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILY APPRECIATION MONTH
VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILY APPRECIATION MONTH
Read MoreFrightful Halloween Facts
With this frightful day fast approaching, here are some fun facts and stats that are sure to please even the most realistically costumed trivia trolls.
Read MoreLife Lessons from the NFL
What the NFL can teach us about the importance of tenacity, hard work, and staying focused on goals!
Read More5 REASONS WHY WOMEN NEED TO INVEST
Despite progress toward financial planning and saving, women often face challenges regarding their financial security.
Read MoreINFLATION & YOUR MONEY
understanding how inflation is reported and how it can affect investments.
Read More5 FACTS TO REMEMBER DURING MARKET VOLATILITY
The markets include a certain amount of volatility, and keeping those market swings in perspective is important.
Read MoreNAVIGATING MARKET VOLATILITY
Understanding what “volatility” means in the financial markets is crucial to withstanding times of market movements.
Read MoreWHAT DO YOUR TAXES PAY FOR?
Are taxes one of your biggest budget items? Take steps to make sure you’re managing your overall tax bill.
Read MoreCHANGING UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS
Most Americans know the fundamentals of good health: exercise, proper diet, sufficient sleep, regular check-ups and no smoking or excessive alcohol. Changing existing behaviors can be difficult
Read MoreTAX DEDUCTIONS YOU WON'T BELIEVE
TAX DEDUCTIONS YOU WON'T BELIEVE While Americans are entitled to take every legitimate deduction to manage their taxes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) places limits on your creativity. Here are some examples of deductions from the...
Read More5 Facts to Remember During Market Volatility
Wouldn’t it be nice if the stock market didn’t have such violent swings in either direction? Especially the dramatic downward plunges - we’d ALL like to avoid those! But the reality is, the markets include a certain...
Read MoreWHY YOU SHOULD SET UP YOUR ONLINE SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT
For many of us, Social Security plays an important part in our financial plans for retirement or later stage of life. Even if you’re years away from applying for benefits, there are good reasons to set up your online Social...
Read MoreCORONOAVIRUS SCAMS, WATCH FOR IT
We hope this email finds you and your family safe and healthy. There are many questions regarding COVID-19 surrounding how to stay safe, when we can expect to get back to normal life and short- and long-term economic impact of the...
Read MoreSHOULD YOU USE YOUR RETIREMENT TO PAY FOR COLLEGE?
Educational attainment is a bedrock of the American Dream. We all want our kids to do better than us, and we’ll do anything to help them achieve that! There are dreams, and then there’s reality: college costs have exploded...
Read MorePAY OFF DEBT OR SAVE?
When meeting with clients to determine the most efficient ways to maximize retirement savings, it’s not unusual for me to come across debt in a portfolio which prompts the million dollar client question, “Is it better to...
Read MoreAVOID BECOMING THE BANK OF MOM AND DAD
You spend your whole life raising your children to be self-sufficient. You give them your time, your love, and your money to set them up for success. So, what do you do when your now-adult-child asks for financial aid? As more baby...
Read MoreINFLATION & YOUR MONEY
INFLATION & YOUR MONEY “If the current annual inflation rate is only 1.4 percent,1 why do my bills seem like they're 10 percent higher than last year?” Many of us ask ourselves that question, and it illustrates the...
Read MoreCARING FOR AGING PARENTS
CARING FOR AGING PARENTS Thanks to healthier lifestyles and advances in modern medicine, the worldwide population over age 60 is growing. The United Nations estimates that by 2050 the number of people aged 60 and older will have more...
Read MoreHOW INCOME TAXES WORK
HOW INCOME TAXES WORK The Internal Revenue Service estimates that taxpayers and businesses spend 8.1 billion hours a year complying with tax-filing requirements. To put this into perspective, if all this work were done by a single...
Read More8 MISTAKES THAT CAN UPEND YOUR RETIREMENT
EIGHT MISTAKES THAT CAN UPEND YOUR RETIREMENT Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes to steer clear of, if possible. No Strategy: Yes,...
Read MoreTAX SCAMS TO WATCH FOR
“DIRTY DOZEN” TAX SCAMS TO WATCH FOR Every year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) releases its list of tax scams, spotlighting the myriad ways that people try to separate you from your money.¹ THE “DIRTY...
Read MoreRETIREMENT REALITIES
RETIREMENT REALITIES EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY Predicting exactly what your retirement will be like is about as possible as a meteorologist predicting the weather correctly every single time. In fact, few retirees find their financial...
Read More9 FACTS ABOUT RETIREMENT
9 FACTS ABOUT RETIREMENT Retirement can have many meanings. For some, it will be a time to travel and spend time with family members. For others, it will be a time to start a new business or begin a charitable endeavor. Regardless of...
Read MorePULLBACKS, CORRECTIONS, AND BEAR MARKETS
PULLBACKS, CORRECTIONS, AND BEAR MARKETS The COVID-19 outbreak has put tremendous pressure on stock prices, prompting some investors to blindly and indiscriminately sell positions at a time when the entire market is trending lower....
Read MoreSHOULD YOU REBALANCE YOUR PORTFOLIO?
REBALANCING YOUR PORTFOLIO Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with it. But is that the best approach? It may sound counterintuitive, but it may be possible to have too much of a...
Read MoreYOUR EMERGENCY FUND: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
YOUR EMERGENCY FUND: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Have you ever had one of those months? The water heater stops heating, the dishwasher stops washing, and your family ends up on a first-name basis with the nurse at urgent care. Then, as...
Read MoreTRADITIONAL VS. ROTH IRA
RETIREMENT TRADITIONAL VS. ROTH IRA Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), which were created in 1974, are owned by roughly 33.2 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are...
Read MoreMUTUAL FUND VS ETF'S- WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
MUTUAL FUNDS VS. ETFS The growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been explosive. In 1998, there were only 29; at the end of 2018, there were over 1,900 investing in a wide range of stocks, bonds, and other securities and...
Read MoreHEALTHCARE COSTS IN RETIREMENT
HEALTHCARE COSTS IN RETIREMENT Tip: Medicare beneficiaries spent an average of $5,503 out of pocket on healthcare in 2013, the most recent year for which figures are available. That includes premiums and costs for things like dental...
Read MoreNEW RETIREMENT RULES FOR 2020 AND BEYOND
THE SECURE ACT The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act is now law. With it, comes some of the biggest changes to retirement savings law in recent years. While the new rules don’t appear to amount to...
Read MoreSIX MOST OVERLOOKED TAX DEDUCTIONS
SIX MOST OVERLOOKED TAX DEDUCTIONS Who among us wants to pay the IRS more taxes than we have to? While few may raise their hands, Americans regularly overpay because they fail to take tax deductions for which they are eligible....
Read MoreFINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS 101
FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS 101 Preparing for college while still in high school can be difficult for even the most academically minded student. These days, you need to excel in the classroom, make sure you’re involved in...
Read MoreEIGHT MISTAKES THAT CAN UPEND YOUR RETIREMENT
EIGHT MISTAKES THAT CAN UPEND YOUR RETIREMENT Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes to steer clear of, if possible. No Strategy: Yes,...
Read MoreBEST PERFORMING ASSET CLASSES
BEST PERFORMING ASSET CLASSES -Which one to choose cash, bonds or stocks?
Read MoreFinancial decisions and what's best for you
A DECISION NOT MADE IS STILL A DECISION Whether through inertia or trepidation, investors who put off important investment decisions might consider the admonition offered by motivational speaker Brian Tracy, “Almost any decision...
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