Patience has been the key so far in 2025. In reality, patience is always the best practice when it comes to investing, but understandably, the first four months of the year tested many people's patience. Thankfully, things have recovered...
Before claiming social security there are some things you should know. When do you meet your full retirement age because that impacts how much you collect. Take a look at your longevity, your Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and your spousal benefits. Lastly, keep in mind that there may be taxes and penalties that come with claiming too soon. We realize that this is a complex subject and encourage you to work with a financial planner, CFP® or ChFC® who is proficient in retirement planning.
There are a number of ways to describe the stock market when it is down. Bear Market, Correction, Bubble Bursting, Oversold, Downward Volatility, but rarely do you hear the word “opportunity” in unison with the former. Of course, what I am talking about is Tax Loss Harvesting.
Anyone can seem like a good financial advisor when markets are doing well. The expectation investors have when investing in capital markets is to make money, so when expectations are easy to meet, the bar tends to be set pretty low. However, it’s downturns in the markets that separate great financial advisors from mediocre ones. It’s times like these when people may wonder what their financial advisor is doing during this bear market.
Pre-tax retirement plans have been a favored vehicle of investors and financial advisors for many years. As a financial advisor, I have held the opinion that these plans are one of the, if not the, best way to save for retirement.
Markets continued their banner year in Q3, albeit with some bumps and major rotations. Noticeably, investors preferred small-cap, mid-cap, and emerging market stocks over the dominant force of the “big US tech” stocks...
In my opinion, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are one of the most underutilized tax strategies around today. This is especially true considering the increased standard deduction amount implemented by the “Trump Tax Law.” Those who qualify and are already giving to charity often get significant tax savings with little-to-no downside by utilizing them. In this article, I will go through some basics of QCDs and three ways they can save taxpayer's money.
In 2022, the US inflation rate was the highest it had been since the early 1980s (1). This puts a lot of strain on the income Americans are earning. Getting a raise, especially a significant one, can go a long way to helping pay for those increases in goods and services. In some cases, it can also be as much of a curse as a blessing. Here are some smart steps you can take to make the most of your raise.