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Breaking Down the Real Costs of Purchasing a Home

Oct 31, 2022

buying a house
It’s essential to have your finances in order first.

Home ownership has several advantages over renting, including lower monthly payments, deductible mortgage interest, and the accumulation of equity. But there is a definite price to pay for these benefits, including the expenses we detail here. (more…)

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Mutual Fund Distributions

Oct 26, 2022

Tax Consulting Office
Watch your December Statements.

This time of year as you prepare for taxes, you might glance at an documents and see some capital gains taxes you may have overlooked.

Many mutual funds in December pay shareholders capital gains distributions that they have accumulated throughout the year.

Typically, mutual fund companies start making estimates about distributions as early as November and most finalize the payment by mid-December. Unfortunately for us, this can cause undesirable tax consequences. (more…)



A Roth IRA’s Many Benefits

Oct 19, 2022

Why do so many people choose them over traditional IRAs?

The IRA that changed the whole retirement savings perspective. Since the Roth IRA was introduced in 1998, its popularity has soared. It has become a fixture in many retirement planning strategies because it offers savers so many potential advantages.  (more…)

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Market Update: Investor Pessimism at Extreme Levels

Oct 17, 2022

Market Update
Market Update

The latest weekly data from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) showed the percentage of individual investors who are bullish about short-term market expectations at very depressed levels (20.4%), and continued the trend of an extremely elevated proportion of bearish investors (55.9%). This puts the spread between the bulls and the bears at -35.5%, only the 21st time in the survey’s 35 year history the reading has been this pessimistic. (more…)



Market Update: CPI Disappoints

Oct 14, 2022

Market Update
Market Update

Disappointing

The core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy, rose to a multi-decade high in September, disappointing both investors and policy makers. The CPI is one, but not the only metric for inflation. (more…)



Eight Retirement Mistakes to Avoid

Oct 12, 2022

retirement mistakes spilling coffee over desk of papers
Will you avoid these retirement mistakes?

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, the biggest mistake is having no strategy at all. Without a strategy, you may have no goals, leaving you no way of knowing how you’ll get there – and if you’ve even arrived. Creating a strategy may increase your potential for success, both before and after retirement. (more…)

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Market Update: Is the Value Proposition for Bonds Improving?

Oct 7, 2022

Market Update
Market Update

First, we want to acknowledge the tremendous damage and displacement caused by Hurricane Ian. Our thoughts are with those impacted by this devastating storm.

This has clearly been a challenging year for households. Stocks and bonds are both down significantly. Elevated food and gas prices continue to stretch budgets, and higher interest rates have increased borrowing costs. But we continue to see signs that the worst may be behind us. Gas prices are falling. Inflation pressures stemming from supply chain disruptions are easing. And the Federal Reserve (Fed) has taken these price increases seriously and is doing its job by raising short-term interest rates. While the Fed may still gradually increase rates throughout this year, it has already done a lot even as asset prices have come under increasing pressure. (more…)

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Should We Reconsider What “Retirement” Means?

Oct 5, 2022

The notion that we separate in our 60s might have to go.

An executive transitions into a consulting role at age 62 and stops working altogether at 65; then, he becomes a buyer for a church network at 69. A corporate IT professional concludes her career at age 58; she serves as a city council member in her sixties, then opens an art studio at 70. (more…)

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Managing Probate When Setting Up Your Estate

Oct 3, 2022

Know the rules
What can you do to help your heirs?

The probate process can be expensive for some estates. Settling an estate through probate can cost you both time and money. It could take up to a year for the estate to be settled, plus attorney’s fees, appraiser’s fees, and court costs may eat up as much as 5% of a decedent’s assets. Probating an estate valued at $400,000 could cost as much as $20,000.1 (more…)

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Market Update: Better Times Ahead

Sep 30, 2022

Market Update
Market Update

In the last several weeks, we have continued to face elevated uncertainty in financial markets due to high inflation and rising interest rates, and we thought it was an important time to take stock with the final quarter of 2022 just ahead. (more…)



More Insights

May 3, 2024

Medicare won’t cover all of your health-care costs during retirement, so you may want to buy a supplemental medical insurance policy known as Medigap. Offered by private insurance companies, Medigap policies are designed to cover costs not paid by Original Medicare (Parts A and B), helping you fill the gaps in your Medicare coverage. You’ll … Continue reading “Buying Supplemental Health Insurance: Medigap”

May 1, 2024

Incapacity can strike anyone at any time. Estate Planning plans for it By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you … Continue reading “Estate Planning Intro”

Apr 29, 2024

You’re beginning to accumulate substantial wealth, but you worry about protecting it from future potential creditors. Whether your concern is for your personal assets or your business, various tools exist to keep your property safe from tax collectors, accident victims, health-care providers, credit card issuers, business creditors, and creditors of others. To insulate your property … Continue reading “Estate Planning – Protecting Your Assets”

Apr 26, 2024

It seems like we just can’t stop talking about the Federal Reserve (Fed). After an aggressive rate hiking campaign that we think ended last year, markets were expecting the Fed to start cutting interest rates as early as next month. But withan economy that continues to surprise to the upside, along with inflationary pressures that … Continue reading “Market Update – The Patient Pause”

Apr 24, 2024

A thoughtful retirement strategy may help you pursue your many retirement goals. That strategy must consider many factors, and here are just a few: your income needs, the order of your withdrawals from taxable and tax-advantaged retirement accounts, the income tax implications of those withdrawals, and sequence of return risk.

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