Summer’s here, and the time is right for vacations, outdoor activities, and fun. It’s also a good time to consider a few financial matters. Here are some questions to ask yourself mid-year. Goals still the same for 2022? Has market volatility affected your goals? Note any changes since the first of the year that may…
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We have all been completely blind-sided by this Pandemic and the weight of it is carrying through to almost every aspect of our lives. Needless to say, in many areas, Pre-Pandemic thinking may need rethinking. Day-to-day living has changed beyond imagination – not only are we trying to stay safe, we are trying to stay…
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Have you ever met anyone that doesn’t have at least one area of clutter in his/her house? I would bet that even the tidiest of homes has a closet or drawer that gets cluttered from time to time. Life gets busy. We throw stuff here and there, planning to deal with it later. Then before…
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Did you know you can often choose when to pay tax? By default, you can often choose how much you will pay. There is no trick or “gotcha.” It is simply a result of understanding how taxes work for or against your situation. “The hardest thing to understand in the world is income tax.” —Albert…
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I recently read an article offering a few statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and one in particular caught my eye: Did you know that the average age of a farm operator in the U.S. is 57.5 years old?!1 At age 57, every farmer or rancher should be considering – or have already considered –…
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If two retirees both average 6.6% return over 30 years and take the same income in retirement, shouldn’t they both end up with the same amount of money? You may find the answer very surprising. In fact, wouldn’t it be sad if one of these retirees ran out of money well before the 30 years…
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The biggest fear for retirees is, and has always been, the same—running out of money before running out of oxygen. The root of that fear is what changes from person to person. No two situations are alike. Everyone has a different set of goals, expectations, family dynamics, obligations, etc. And everyone has a different timeline.…
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Refer to any news media and the headlines are teeming with news about COVID…and has been for 2 years. It is no wonder that important information about other areas of interest is getting buried. After placing a few phone calls regarding various legislation that passed at the end of 2019, I thought it might be…
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A fellow advisor once told me a story about trying to help his grandmother with her life planning. “She refused,” he said. “She insisted that John, who had been her advisor and friend for years, was doing just fine for her. Besides, she couldn’t take away the business from a lifelong friend.” He continued by…
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Wow! 2021 has been a whirlwind… sometimes literally in paper. It seems we have had a new proposal almost every day from lawmakers. Social Security alone has been addressed in 10 different bills this year. And taxes? Keeping up with introduced or impending changes is a full-time job. The good news is that we are…
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