Ask yourself the question, if you passed early in your retirement, would your choices leave your spouse enough income to live comfortably and cover the increasing costs of healthcare? Choosing a spousal benefit that will protect your spouse in case something unexpected happens is extremely important.
A thoughtful client invited me to a local event at a winery recently, where a group of mindful women and a vineyard manager weaved wonderful life lessons through their discussion of the life of a vine.
The third quarter of 2017 will be remembered as a winner all around – the economy kept delivering positive news and all of the US stock markets performed very well. In fact, the markets essentially saw all regions and sectors return positive gains for investors. For the quarter ending September 30, 2017, the S&P 500 was up 4.0%, the DJIA gained 4.9% and NASDAQ climbed 5.8%.
High-stakes security breaches have made it more crucial than ever to watch your credit closely. It is a good idea to monitor your credit report at least annually. You can register for three free credit reports a year. The credit agencies have made it easier for us by creating one site www.annualcreditreport.com, where you can [...]
Markets in Review The US stock markets continued advancing in the 2nd quarter of 2017 as corporate earnings growth, consumer confidence, business confidence, the Fed and employment numbers all continued pushing the markets to new highs. For the quarter ending June 30, 2017, the S&P 500 was up 3.09%, the DJIA gained 3.95% and NASDAQ climbed 4.16%.
Retirees have special concerns when evaluating state tax policies. For instance, the mortgage might be paid off, but how bad are the property taxes--and how generous are the property-tax breaks for seniors? Are Social Security benefits taxed? What about other forms of retirement income--including IRAs and pensions? Does the state impose its own estate tax [...]
What parents need to know about saving for college If you’re saving for your child’s higher education, you probably have a lot of questions besides “When did college get so incredibly expensive?” One popular savings tool that might puzzle you the most is the 529 Plan. Started in the late 1980s and operated by [...]
What will happen to equity returns if interest rates go up or down? Wei Dai, PhD, examined US market returns and a variety of interest rates and found the empirical relation has been weak and noisy.
Americans donate billions to charity annually. If you give to charity, you need to know about one of the best tools to facilitate generosity: Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs). DAFs date from the 1930s but did not become popular until the 1990s. DAFs act as vehicles for receiving gifts, often of appreciated stock, and then [...]
We often think new year's day is when we should set new goals for ourselves. However, there is no better time than the present to begin something that is important to you. I have been working hard at making very purposeful decisions for a while now, both personally and professionally. It energizes me to [...]
