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Catch-Up Contributions A recent survey found that 28% of workers are very confident about having enough money to live comfortably through their retirement years. At

Are You Prepared for an Estate Tax Sunset? The federal estate tax threshold rose to $25.84 million in 2023 for married couples and $12.92 million

Caring for Aging Parents Thanks to healthier lifestyles and advances in modern medicine, the worldwide population over age 65 is growing. In the past decade,

Draining The Lifeblood Of The Economy Investors use various analogies to describe the importance of small businesses in the domestic economy. Some refer to the

A Cheat Sheet for Sending Your Kid to College College marks a great milestone in a child’s life. It may be the first time he

SECURE Act 2.0 An Overview In the final days of 2022, Congress passed a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier to

Timing Your Retirement This short video illustrates why knowing when to retire can be a crucial part of your strategy. The content is developed from

A Checklist for When a Spouse or Parent Passes When you lose a spouse, partner, or parent, the grief can be overwhelming. In the midst

  Starting a Roth IRA for a Teen Want to give your child or grandchild a financial head start? A Roth IRA might be a

  SECURE Act 2.0 Passed in Final Days of 2022 Congress spent the final days of 2022 on new reforms designed to help Americans save

  Budget Check Up: Tax Time Is the Right Time Every year, about 150 million households file their federal tax returns. For many, the process involves

IRA Withdrawals that Escape the 10% Tax Penalty The reason withdrawals from a Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) prior to age 59½ are generally subject

Stop Wasting Money Benjamin Franklin once said, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” One way to find the money to meet your spending or

Outlook 2023: What’s Next for Interest Rates What does the bond market know that the Fed isn’t telling us? Fed officials recently have said that

Find That Lost Retirement Account Do you have a long-lost retirement account left with a former employer? Maybe it’s been so long that you can’t

Social Security 2023 COLA Increase Kicks In While you probably already found your notice in the mail, you may be curious about the COLA increase

Oil Prices Make a Round Trip in 2022 The financial markets are complex systems. They can move from one event to the next so quickly

Tax Efficiency in Retirement Will you pay higher taxes in retirement? It’s possible. But that will largely depend on how you generate income. Will it

Discussing Finances Over the Holidays The holiday season is upon us; from story time with sorely missed grandchildren to laughter with friends and family over

Outlook 2023: CEOs Are Cautious It appears that America’s corporate leaders are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. Almost half of S&P

Consider Keeping Your Life Insurance When You Retire Do you need a life insurance policy in retirement? One school of thought questions this decision. Perhaps

Building a Solid Financial Foundation When you read about money matters, you may see the phrase, “getting your financial house in order.” What exactly does

Is the Fed Ready to Pause? Over the years, the Fed has followed a similar pattern with interest rates. It raises interest rates, then pauses,

How Financial Professionals Are Compensated The fees that investors pay to financial professionals for their advice and services come in two basic forms: transaction fees

Four Really Good Reasons to Invest Forty-four percent of Americans do not own any stocks or stock-related investments, according to a recent Gallup poll.1 Individuals

Mortgages in Retirement Anyone who has gone through the process of mapping out their retirement knows there can be a lot to keep in mind.

Happy Thanksgiving 2022 The warmth of the holiday meal beckons. Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with loved ones and observing gratitude. So, as you

Emotional vs. Strategic Decisions Information vs. instinct. When it comes to investing, many people believe they have a “knack” for choosing good investments. But what

October CPI: Game Changer or Head Fake? October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) had some encouraging news for investors, but others asked, “Is this a game

New Retirement Contribution Limits for 2023 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released new limits for certain retirement accounts for the coming year. After months

Will the Midterm Elections Move Markets? The midterm elections have come and gone, and although the results don’t appear as one-sided as many predicted, it

When the Fed Chair Talks, People Listen The financial markets are on edge this year each time Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes the podium following

Ahead of the Midterms 2022 The midterm elections are underway. In many states, ballots have been delivered and, in several cases, already returned by Americans

Best Vacations: By Car, By Ship, By Foot, Once in a Lifetime “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”¹ – Unknown

Warren Buffett on Contrarian Investing You may have heard the phrase “contrarian investing,” but did you know that one of the most reliable contrary indicators

New Retirement Contribution Limits for 2023 The Internal Revenue Service has released new limits for the coming year. After months of high inflation and financial

Do Your Kids Know The Value of a Silver Spoon? You taught them how to read and how to ride a bike, but have you

How the Fed Has Navigated World Events I’ve always been a little cautious when people say, “it’s different this time.” But the table below suggests

How You Can Purchase I Bonds Direct from the Treasury With inflation hovering near 40-year highs, some investors are looking for investments that keep pace

Inflation & Your Money “If the current annual inflation rate is 8.2 percent, why do my bills seem like they’re 10 percent higher than last

Understanding Marginal Income Tax Brackets By any measure, the tax code is huge. It is over 2,000 pages long, and even longer with footnotes.1 And

Stubborn Inflation Tests Fed’s Resolve Stubborn doesn’t seem like a strong enough word, but that’s how Fed officials are describing inflation. Inflation’s “stubbornness” has been

The Biggest COLA Increase Since 1981 How well do you remember 1981? Harrison Ford had his first bow as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the

When Heirs are Imperfect Passing your estate to an heir with credit problems or a gambling or alcohol addiction might not only lead to that

Mutual Funds vs. ETFs The growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been explosive. In 2005, there were less than 500; by the latter half of

3 Estate Challenges for Blended Families Preparing your estate can be complicated, and if you’re a part of a blended family, estate decisions can be

JOLTS of Optimism for the Markets? We measure the jobs market in many ways, but the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS report

Have a Hopeful Halloween Lately, “inflation” seems to be the media’s favorite word. Everywhere you turn, there’s another story about the impact of inflation. For

A Primer on Dividends When looking for income-generating investments, some investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. When a company makes a profit, that money can be

Putting Interest Rates Into Perspective Traditionally, I’ve been a little cautious when people say, “it’s different this time.” After all, the past few years have