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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
…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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
There is no way around it, but through it. I wrote this down a while back. I cannot remember who said it, but it struck a chord. This is a truth we face many times in life and in many areas of our lives. From loss of a loved one to enduring hardships, it is…
Read more
Wisdom isn’t something you are born with. Yet wisdom, once gained, can be the most valuable thing you achieve and maintain – second only to your relationships with God and those you love most in life. Wisdom is achieved through years of watching, listening, observing and experiencing. Much of the value we provide doesn’t come…
Read more
Securities offered through Calton & Associates, Inc. member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Investment advisory services offered through Smart Money Group, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Smart Money Group, LLC and Kennedy Financial Services, Inc. are not owned or controlled by Calton & Associates, Inc.