Category: Epic Insights

Your Extended Care Strategy

Sep 18, 2019

Do you have an extra $33,000 to $100,000 to spare this year? How about next year, and the year after that? Your answer to these questions is probably “no.”

What could possibly cost so much? Eldercare.  According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, a year of in-home care for a senior costs roughly $33,000. A year at an assisted living facility? About $45,000. A year in a nursing home? Approximately $100,000.

Medicare has limitations. Generally speaking, it will pay for no more than 35 hours per week of home health care and only up to 100 days of nursing home care, following a hospitalization. It may pay for up to six months of hospice care. If you or someone you love happens to develop Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, Medicare will not pay for any degree of room and board for them at an assisted living facility. (more…)

Tags: Health Care Savings

Your Diversified Portfolio vs. the S&P 500

Sep 16, 2019

“Why is my portfolio underperforming the market?”

This question may be on your mind. It is a question that investors sometimes ask after stocks shatter records or return exceptionally well in a quarter.

The short answer is that even when Wall Street rallies, international markets and intermediate and long-term bonds may underperform and exert a drag on overall portfolio performance. A little elaboration will help explain things further. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor, Investment Portfolio

Your Changing Definition of Risk in Retirement

Sep 13, 2019

During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate,” or “aggressive,” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with finding the “best-performing funds,” even though you knew past performance does not guarantee future results.

What occurs with many retirees is a change in mindset – it’s less about finding the “best-performing fund” and more about consistent performance. It may be less about a risk continuum – that stretches from conservative to aggressive – and more about balancing the objectives of maximizing your income and sustaining it for a lifetime.

You may even find yourself willing to forgo return potential for steady income. (more…)

Tags: Retirement Planning

Getting a Head Start on College Savings

Sep 9, 2019

The American family with a child born today can expect to spend about $233,610 to raise that child to the age of 18. And if you’ve already traded that supercharged convertible dream for a minivan, you can expect your little one’s college education to cost as much as $198,000.

But before you throw your hands up in the air and send junior out looking for a job, you might consider a few strategies to help you prepare for the cost of higher education.

First, take advantage of time. The time value of money is the concept that the money in your pocket today is worth more than that same amount will be worth tomorrow because it has more earning potential. If you put $100 a month toward your child’s college education, after 17 years’ time, you would have saved $20,400. But that same $100 a month would be worth (more…)

Tags: Financial Planning

Tax Efficiency

Sep 4, 2019

The after-tax return vs. the pretax return. Everyone wants their investments to perform well. But for many investors it’s their after-tax return that may make all the difference. After all, even if your portfolio is earning double-digit returns, it may not matter if you’re also losing a percent of those earnings to taxes. (more…)

Tags: charlotte NC, Investment Planning, Tax Deductions

Why Having a Financial Professional Matters

Aug 30, 2019

What kind of role can a financial professional play for an investor? The answer: a very important one. While the value of such a relationship is hard to quantify, the intangible benefits may be significant and long-lasting.

There are certain investors who may turn to a financial professional with one goal in mind: the “alpha” objective of beating the market, quarter after quarter.

At some point, these investors may realize that their financial professional has no control over what happens in the market.They may come to understand the real value of the relationship, which is about strategy, coaching,and understanding.  (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc

The High Cost of Health Care

Aug 26, 2019

One of the most ubiquitous aspects of social media in recent years has been the arrival of Americans crowdfunding around a major health issue. While America has a level of health care available that rivals the rest of the world, there is no denying that some treatments can be notably expensive. GoFundMe, a crowdfunding website, has raised over $5 billion since 2010; their CEO, Rob Solomon, says that a third of their campaigns fund health care costs and that this category gets more donations than any other.

You may know someone who has been forced to seek out the generosity of their own network in order to cover the costs of health care, medicine, or treatments. It may put you in mind of your own immediate or extended family and how you or they might deal with such a situation. (more…)

When Alzheimer’s Disease Is Diagnosed

Aug 21, 2019

Imagine the outlook for your life changing in minutes.A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can be that stunning. If your parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, how can you help them as they strive to make the most of the years ahead?

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis may bring stages of grief and anxiety – when and how should your parent share the diagnosis with loved ones, friends, and colleagues? (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Financial Help

A Bucket Plan to Go with Your Bucket List

Aug 19, 2019

The baby boomers redefined everything they touched, from music to marriage to parenting and even what “old” means – 60 is the new 50! Longer, healthier living, however, can put greater stress on the sustainability of retirement assets.

There is no easy answer to this challenge, but let’s begin by discussing one idea – a bucket approach to building your retirement income plan.

The Bucket Strategy can take two forms. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Retirement Planning

Put it in a Letter

Aug 14, 2019

Actor Lee Marvin once said, “As soon as people see my face on a movie screen, they [know] two things: first, I’m not going to get the girl, and second, I’ll get a cheap funeral before the picture is over.”

Most people don’t spend too much time thinking about their own funeral, and yet, many of us have a vision about our memorial service or the handling of our remains. A letter of instruction can help you accomplish that goal.

A letter of instruction is not a legal document; it’s a letter written by you that provides additional, more personal information regarding your estate. It can be addressed to whomever you choose, but typically, letters of instruction are directed to the executor, family members, or beneficiaries. (more…)

Tags: Estate Planning