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We often encounter recent events or get timely questions that people want to learn more about. We bring you interesting and enlightening information that can help you become a savvy, more confident financial consumer. Thank you for checking in!
Answers To Four Questions I'm Being Asked Regarding Recent Bank Closures
As you may have heard, a recent spate of bank closures has rattled the financial sector and the markets. The closing of Silverlake Bank on Thursday March 9, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday March 10, 2023, and Signature Bank...
Read MoreDiscussing Finances Over the Holidays
The holiday season is upon us; from story time with sorely missed grandchildren to laughter with friends and family over long-cherished memories, there's little doubt that "the most wonderful time of the year" has arrived!
Read MoreAre You Financially Resilient?
Are you financially resilient? Achieving resiliency in personal finances, markets, and economies requires a more practical approach than in many other facets of life.
Read MoreTHE Hack For Keeping Those New Year’s Resolutions and 2022 Business Goals
Want to keep your New Year's Resolution or 2022 business goal on track? Here's a hack that can help.
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rules #9&10
Money Rule #9 Do What You Can To Support The Social Safety Net We are all aware of the opinions, divisions, and problems regarding US Government Programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This post does not deem to pass...
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Can Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #8
Money Rule #8 Make Sure You Are Protected You can have the best 401(k), be tucking away significant sums of money, and be great at sticking to your budget, but if you aren’t protected, it only takes one serious medical event to...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #7
Money Rule #7 Buy A Home When You Are Financially Ready “Interest Rates Are Still At Historic Lows (or, On Their Way Up)”, “No (Low) Money Down” Phrases like those are used to entice potential homeowners to...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #6
Money Rule #6 – Is Your Financial Advisor Licensed to act as a Fiduciary? A Financial Advisor acting in a “fiduciary standard” is required to provide you with financial advice and products that are solely in your best...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #5
Money Rule #5 – Buy Inexpensive, Well-Diversified Indexed Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds As a followup to Money Rule #4, Never Buy or Sell Individual Stocks, investing in diversified Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #4
Money Rule #4 - Never Buy or Sell Individual Stocks (aka-“The person on the other side of the table knows more than you do about their business”) This rule would seem to fly in the face of the current rise of online...
Read MoreAre You a H.E.N.R.Y.?
Allow me to introduce James, who is somewhere between 28 to 35, making bank at a good job and living what most of us consider to be “the good life”. He’s able to go out to the local watering hole or eat out whenever...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule #3
Money Rule #3 - Max out your 401(k) (or equivalent employer-sponsored retirement plan) Employee Contribution. Not able to max out? Don't let that stop you from contributing what you can toward your retirement. If possible, at least...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - Money Rule # 2
Money Rule #2 Pay Your Credit Card Balance In Full Every Month (1 of 2) Keeping a running balance on a credit card or two does not necessarily help to build a healthy credit score. When you use the card and pay it off every month, your...
Read MoreCan Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? - A Series
Can Everything You Need To Know About Money Possibly Fit On A 3x5 Index Card? University of Chicago Social Science Professor Harold Pollack, during a 2013 interview with personal finance writer Helaine Olen regarding her book...
Read MoreChanges Coming to the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) Part 4 of 4
What Divorced or Separated Parents Need to Know If you’ve been following this series, you know that enacted changes will take effect July 1, 2023, which marks the start of the 2023-2024 school year. That means families...
Read MoreChanges Coming to the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) Part 3 of 4
Good News For Grandparents! Good news in a change affecting grandparent or non-parent owned 529 Accounts. Currently, parents are supposed to indicate on the FAFSA if anyone outside the immediate family has given money to the school or...
Read MoreChanges Coming to the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) Part 2 of 4
The End of the EFC Enacted changes described in these posts do not take effect until July 1, 2023, and will appear in the FAFSA beginning Oct. 1, 2022. Remember, tax returns for 2021 will be used in determining financial aid in the...
Read MoreChanges Coming to the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) Part 1 of 4
Information Parents and Grandparents Need to Know – Part 1 of 4 In the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed over the holidays late in 2020, Congress enacted changes to the FAFSA that could significantly impact families with...
Read MoreRobinHood vs. FICO - A False Comparison
A recent article by Rich Duprey published by Motley Fool examined the credit scores of Robinhood users and opined that those with low credit scores should not be investing in capital markets. Hold on, here… As a financial...
Read MoreThe American Rescue Plan's Child Tax Credit
The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit Expansion On March 11, 2021 President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. One important piece of this legislation was the increase in the Child Tax Credit for tax year...
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