After the shock and joy immediately following the baby’s birth then all the other emotions set in as you mentally fast forward through the sudden expenses to be expected in the future...one of the biggest being the cost of education. Now, more than ever, a bachelor’s or a trade degree is essential for a future. As your baby grows and makes its way past Kindergarten graduation, to the awkward middle school years, high school sports...
It's now a secret that the typical American works long hours. But despite this long work week, Americans are terrible at taking vacation.
The figures out last year show that the average amount of student loan debt a student graduates with is $18,625. Most graduates are carrying multiple student loans from multiple sources, and the cost and complexity of managing them can become overwhelming, especially if they are unable to secure steady employment with sufficient cash flow to make the payments. One option that has always been available to indebted graduates is a college student loan consolidation which...
Many investors, especially those still reeling from the 2008 – 2011 stock market roller coaster ride, have developed a low tolerance for volatility. As a result they have moved a significant portion of their investments into bonds or other fixed yield vehicles. What many investors may not realize is that wholesale switches from one asset class to another in order to avoid volatility can actually increase it. Secondly, for investors with a long-term perspective on...
Without fail as Tax Day approaches every year, the mind whirls while you check boxes and fill in numbers about everything you could have, should have, would have done to save more money on taxes. Could you have saved more? Invested better? Been smarter at charitable giving? Probably. It’s too late for some money-saving measures in the last minute lead up to the deadline for filing your taxes, but one you can take on simple...
If you’ve been listening to the financial media of late you have no doubt heard some of the so-called experts prognosticating on the prospect of the next big bear market. Unquestionably, the stock market is at another crossroads, and its 7 percent increase year-to-date belies the concerns that most people have over the global economy. So, gloom and doom forecasts by a media anxious to sell papers or air time, should not be at all...
Summer’s finally here. The sun is out, it’s warm, the days are longer, and your worries seem just a little bit further away. But, folks, I’m sorry to say, sometimes storms roll in on the sunniest of days. And if I’m honest, the world is a bit of a scary place at the moment, with politics impacting the economic climate, and warmer temperatures affecting agriculture all around the world, the future is perhaps not as...
Your student is planning on following in your footsteps and will be receiving that admissions letter of acceptance sooner than you think.
If you’re a fan of political dramas on televisions, you’ll know that the turbulent world of politics has an affect on the global financial markets. But what about in real life? How much does art - if you can call shows like Scandal, Veep, and House of Cards art - imitate life, and vice versa? The truth of the matter is that 2017 is turning out to be a bit of an unpredictable political year...
Without fail as Tax Day approaches every year, the mind whirls while you check boxes and fill in numbers about everything you could have, should have, would have done to save more money on taxes. Could you have saved more? Invested better? Been smarter at charitable giving? Probably. It’s too late for some money-saving measures in the last minute lead up to the deadline for filing your taxes, but one you can take on simple...
If you’ve ever played the Game of Life board game, it becomes clear that compressed into the colorful path there are various stages of life. Each stage holds its own major financial challenges as well as prospective profits in addition to surprises (new baby!) and forks in the road. In the real world game of life, much is the same, but with sound financial planning throughout the different stages of life, you can have much...
The annuity industry must have studied the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears because, after recognizing that investors weren’t very keen on low fixed yields or the vicious volatility of the stock market, they came up with a product, that for most people, would seem to be just right – Indexed Annuities. Often described as a blend of fixed and variable annuity, it really is an asset class unto itself. Essentially, it is a...
