Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
Nothing like year-end government planning! The original SECURE Act was signed into law on December 20th, 2019. Its “sequel,” the SECURE 2.0 Act, was similarly enacted at year-end on December 29th, 2022. Both pieces of legislation seek to reform how Americans prepare for retirement while juggling current spending needs. But a hard truth remains: Employers…
To say the least, there’s been plenty of political, financial, and economic action this year—from rising interest rates, to elevated inflation, to ongoing market turmoil. How will all the excitement translate into annual performance in our investment portfolios? Markets often deliver their best returns just when we’re most discouraged. So, who knows! While we wait…
Often, all you need to be an excellent investor is a healthy dose of common sense: A penny saved is a penny earned. Buy low, sell high. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. That said, the best way to achieve these simple goals isn’t always as obvious. In fact, many of our favorite…
Is rising inflation souring your financial plans? We often talk about building wealth with a well-structured investment portfolio, and this should include a few anti-inflation elements. And since we’re seeing and hearing all the hype about INFLATION, why not consider a potentially sweet deal for turning some of inflation’s lemons into lemonade. We’re talking about…
Good news – you have an extra $24,000, and you’ve decided to invest it in the stock market. It’s always nice to have investable cash on hand. But you also might feel as if the pressure is on. Nobody enjoys seeing the market take a dive shortly after they jump in. Unfortunately, we never know…
As financial advisors, we help people attain financial independence. Usually, our personalized planning conversations are enough to help them establish a healthy, happy relationship with their money. But sometimes, we uncover bigger pain points we need to move past before we can move on. There’s no shame in that. Almost all of us have picked…
It is no secret that the IRA tax code can be confusing. Filers sometimes misinterpret rates and end up believing they must pay more than they usually do. Understanding marginal and effective tax rates are important for tax planning purposes. A funny anecdote is the story of Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Every year…
In my previous piece, I covered some tools of the tax-planning trade, as well as how to deploy them for tax-efficient investing. But tax planning isn’t just for your investments. Life happens. Often, we cannot predict its next moves. But we can weave each event into the tax-planning fabric of your financial life. Following are…
Whether you’re saving, investing, spending, bequeathing, or receiving wealth, there’s scarcely a move you can make without considering how taxes might influence the outcome. No wonder people get nervous when there’s lots of talk about higher taxes, but little certainty on what may come of it, and who it might affect. How do we plan…
Losing a friend or family member is tragic. No one looks forward to it, but it happens. And if you get a notification that you have just inherited an IRA – you’ll need to know what your options are. So what are they? Rules have changed regarding inherited IRAs. And for some reason, I’ve seen…