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Tips for Raising Financially Literate Children
Every parent wants the best for their children and strives to prepare them to lead a happy, healthy, and successful life. But, despite understanding the importance of financial responsibility, only 28 percent of parents speak to their...
Read MoreTransitioning to Medicare from Private Health Insurance Plans
Transitioning from Private Health Insurance Plans to MedicareAs you approach retirement age, you may be anticipating transitioning from your private insurance to Medicare, which is a federal health insurance program that provides...
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Where to Put Excess Cash
According to the Investment Company Institute, near the end of 2022, there was more than $4.7 trillion in cash sitting in U.S. money market funds.1,2While cash can play a role in a diversified portfolio, historically, cash has not kept...
Read MoreTechnology Guide for Seniors
By 2040, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 80 million people in the U.S. will be age 65 or older.1 Most of these senior adults will either want to—or need to—"age in place," living in their homes securely, independently...
Read MoreWhat Is the Sequence-of-Return Risk and How Can Retirees Mitigate Its Effects?
With the possibility of a recession looming, it's natural for those nearing or in retirement to have concerns over their long-term strategies. After decades of accumulating a portfolio, the last thing retirees want is for a market...
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Lifetime Estate & Gift Tax Exemption Updates for 2023
In October 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced tax changes for 2023 — changes primarily driven, in part, by the current inflationary environment. For affluent couples or individuals interested in transferring...
Read MoreThe Challenge of Raising Non-Materialistic Kids
In today’s social media-obsessed world full of popular “influencers” targeting teens, pre-teens, and even younger groups, instilling values in your children and grandchildren about what really matters in life is more...
Read MoreContribution Limit Increases for 2023: Just What We Wanted to Hear
In late October, the IRS announced that it is increasing contribution limits to retirement savings accounts in 2023. The changes, like many you are seeing, are a direct result of months of high inflation and financial uncertainty, some...
Read MoreCharitable Giving Strategies for 2022
Despite the challenges of the past few years, Americans continued to give to charities at impressive rates. According to a Bank of America study, in 2021, individuals gave $484.85 billion, a 4% increase from already record levels in...
Read MoreYear-End Financial Strategies
The year is almost over, and it’s safe to say that the financial markets and economy have faced their share of challenges. As financial professionals, part of our job is to support the financial well-being of families and align...
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The more pessimistic investors are, the more bullish you have to be.
The more pessimistic investors are, the more bullish you have to be: Don Luskin Oct. 27, 2022 - 5:25 - TrendMacro chief investment officer Don Luskin provides insight on the United States' GDP on 'Making Money.'
Read MoreHow Does the Inflation Reduction Act Impact Healthcare? A Guide During Open Enrollment Season
With the holiday season fast approaching now’s the time to pause and consider something else that takes place this time of year: open enrollment. Open enrollment for private and marketplace health insurance plans typically takes...
Read MoreIt's Cybersecurity Awareness Month: 7 Steps to Protect Yourself
Over 50% of consumers have fallen victim to a cybercrime, with a third of those attacks taking place in the past year alone. So there are 263 million American consumers. 131.5 million have been hit by cybercrime, with 44 million...
Read MoreWill Your Social Security Check Be Taxed?
Most people are used to having a percentage of their paycheck withheld for Social Security. The withholding rate in 2022 stands at 6.2% for individuals and another 6.2% for their employers, for a total of 12.4% per person.1 But...
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What just happened in the stock market?
You may have heard by now that the markets experienced their biggest drop on Tuesday since June 2020. The S&P 500 fell 4.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped more than 5%.1,2 What happened?Persistent inflation is continuing to...
Read MoreTruths About Life Insurance That Will Inspire You to Get Coverage
Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy...
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Bond Diversification Hasn't Worked at all this Year
Through August, investors running a classic 60/40 stocks-bonds portfolio were sitting on a brutal -14% total return. As shown below, that's the worst first 8 months of the year since at least 1976. Typically, declines in stocks are...
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Weekly Market Insights: Powell comments spur sell-off on Wall Street
A comprehensive sell-off on Friday following comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell drove stocks to losses for the week.The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 4.22%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 4.04%. The Nasdaq Composite...
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A Snapshot Of The U.S. Dollar
As of 8/26/22, the 10-, 20- and 30-year averages for the U.S. Dollar Index registered readings of 92.71, 88.49, and 91.61, which is a relatively tight range over a span of 30 years. The average of the three averages is 90.94. It's at 108.74
Read MoreWhat You May Not Know About 529s
The end of summer and the start of the school year always seem to be a catalyst for conversations about college savings and where they fit into larger, long-term financial strategies. In particular, the 529 college savings plan, with...
Read MoreAll Recessions Are Not Created Equal
With inflation at 40-year highs, the Fed is aggressively hiking interest rates; but it's a tricky proposition: raise rates too much and many fear the next recession is right around the corner. Markets have been reflecting that fear,...
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The Fed's Inflation Nowcasting Tool
Does waiting 30 days for a government report seem a bit unreasonable? After all, we live in a world of instant messages and real-time quotes. Why should we wait a whole month between updates on the Consumer Price Index to see what's...
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Is Now a Good Time for a Roth IRA Conversion?
Is Now a Good Time for a Roth IRA Conversion?We know that taxes are one of life’s two inevitables. So, the question is not if you will pay taxes on your retirement accounts, but when and how much. That’s where Roth IRAs...
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Our Plan? Resist the Impulse to Capitulate – Same as Always
The first six months of 2022 saw the S&P 500 decline of -20.0% including dividends from its all-time high at 4,796.56 on January 3 to a closing low of 3666.77 on June 16, 2022. It ended at 3,785.38 on June 30.More noteworthy even than...
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