In the past, when it came to income taxes, people who were charitably inclined could make charitable gifts to reduce their taxable income. While that opportunity is still available under the new tax law, the standard deduction is now much higher ($12,200 for single and $24,400 for couples under 65 in 2019) and, as a…
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As a financial planner, I am always intrigued by the behaviors regarding money that I routinely witness during this time of the year. As soon as the Thanksgiving dinner is cleared from the table (sometimes even before), conversations center around the holidays – the perfect gift for your spouse, tokens to remember colleagues and teachers, the…
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Annual contribution limits for retirement savings accounts for 2018 and 2019, as established by the IRS, are listed below. Please keep in mind that contributions to Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs can be made up until the time your tax return is due, including extensions. 2018 2019 Maximum Annual Traditional IRA contribution (under…
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When you deposit money into a bank account, the bank uses those funds to make loans. In the unlikely event that too many loans go bad or the banks become insolvent, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) will make account holders whole up to $250,000 per account. That is why you may have heard that…
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As a financial planner, one of the topics that I always bring up with my clients, although most of them don’t like to discuss it, is estate planning. Estate planning is relevant for everyone, no matter how much money you have or how old you are. Typically, people think of Wills when it comes to…
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We all know that to receive a return on your investment, first you must invest and then, you must stay invested. Investing 101 teaches us that risk and return are related – to earn returns, you must put your assets at risk in ventures that are expected to compensate you for your faith that they…
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As you may recall, under the Obama administration, the Department of Labor passed the Fiduciary Rule which addressed the standard of care that an advisor has to their clients in regard to retirement plan accounts. A fiduciary standard means the advisor is ALWAYS required to act in the client’s best interest, whereas a suitability standard…
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It’s been approximately a decade since the Great Recession began. By year-end 2008, the Fed had lowered the target federal funds rate to almost zero and embarked on an aggressive quantitative easing campaign. Now, after several years of economic recovery, the Fed has begun to reverse course, restoring its policies and targets closer to historical “norms” through quantitative tightening and gradually rising interest rates.
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Most people do not even know what NAPFA stands for let alone why NAPFA advisors are recommended. As a NAPFA advisor since 2009, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about the organization.
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Over the past few weeks, markets have been experiencing more volatility than what so many have come to expect as the norm and what has characterized the markets over the past several years. It is ironic because when it comes to investing, it is market volatility that is actually the norm – what we have experienced over the last several years is what is unusual.
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