Like most answers we give…it depends. The SECURE Act passed with flying colors at the end of 2019 and dictated several MAJOR changes to the rules around retirement plans. There were also some important tax planning notes. Some of these changes were much needed, some were unwanted, and some will require immediate attention. There also…
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Florence Chadwick, an American swimmer, set many international records, including breaking a standing record for swimming the English Channel between England and France. On July 4, 1952, she became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the Catalina Channel, from Catalina Island to the California coast. On her first attempt, the ocean was ice…
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For most, the holidays represent a season of giving. Although giving to family and friends occupies most of our attention, charitable giving also plays a significant role at this time of year. From a tax and financial planning perspective, incorporating charitable giving into one’s year end activities can make a lot of fiscal sense. As…
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All of their fame and money may be one thing, but when they die – as we all do – celebrities are not so different from the rest of us. The same estate planning blunders they make are the same ones we see on an every day basis. Here are the top ten lessons to…
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I have a confession to make: I love watching the talent on some of today’s reality shows. It is absolutely wonderful to see every day people working to fulfill their lifelong dreams of turning their passion into a career. Several years ago, on The Voice, Danielle Bradbery, a young lady from Texas who was 16…
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What of the purpose of investing your money? No, this is not a trick question. Of course, it is because you want to make money. The funny thing is there are two elements to investing that is often overlooked or forgotten—fees and taxes. We will leave the topic of fees for another time. I want…
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…or at least bad debt. Marlene Satter is an author at ThinkAdvisor who recently wrote a piece called the 10 Scariest Retirement Statistics: 2019. 1 The title was very fitting. Much of the statistics were centered around debt. Take a look: Credit Card interest in 2018 was $113 billion – with a projected growth of…
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Wow! Where has 2019 gone? There are only two months left—the busiest two months of the year with the holidays in full swing. The funny thing is that most people try to cram everything they intended to do all year into this hectic, compact time-frame. I guess the old adage is true—done beats perfect every…
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Could you fall victim to it? The stock market is hot right now and greed is coming out to play. Recently we had a client ask for a double digit return on her investments. This is the same lady who wanted to go to cash when the market fell apart in 2008. There is common…
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Do you know how much you can spend in retirement and stay retired successfully? Based on statistics, my bet is that most people don’t. Get this. Fifty percent of retirees are actually saving money. Another twenty-seven percent are only spending their income.1* If these numbers are accurate, this leaves less than a quarter of retirees…
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