Charitable Giving Strategies To Consider
The onset of the pandemic in 2020 inspired many individuals to be more generous with their charitable giving. According to a recent Giving USA Report released in June, individuals gave an estimated $309.66 billion to charities in 2020. This was a 4.7% increase from 2019 and was the 2nd highest total dollar amount ever recorded. […]
How to Choose a Credit Card
In our last blog, we discussed the benefit of using your credit card vs your debit card. But what credit card should you choose? There are endless varieties of credit cards, and one card may benefit you more than another. If you feel overwhelmed when picking a credit card, you are not alone. What follows […]
Should I Use My Credit Card or Debit Card?
Most of us have our fair share of plastic in our wallets, purses or money clips. We have one or more credit cards issued by organizations such as American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa as well as a debit card, typically issued by your bank. When we go to pay for a purchase, we are […]
What Is The Best 529 Savings Plan For You?
When saving for educational expenses, one of the key decisions you must make is what savings and investment vehicle is best. We have previously written a blog “How Should I Save For College?,” which talks about which vehicle might be best for you. In many cases a 529 savings plan is the best option, but […]
President Biden’s Recent Tax Proposals
A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog discussing potential tax changes that might occur under our new President given his election and Democratic control of the Senate and House of Representatives for at least the next two years. That blog reviewed some of the changes President Biden proposed during his campaign. Since that […]
What Does It Mean To Have A Diversified Portfolio?
There are many misconceptions about diversification and what it means to have a diversified portfolio. One of the questions I get a lot is: “I own XYZ stock. Is it a good time to sell it?”. Usually, my immediate follow up, even before looking into the stock, is how big of a position is the stock in your portfolio […]
Disappearing Pensions Make Investing All The More Vital
It is somewhat hard to grasp today, but the concept of retirement has not been around for very long. Morgan Housel illustrates this well in his most recent book, The Psychology of Money: “The entire concept of being entitled to retirement is, at most, two generations old. Before WWII, most Americans worked until they died. […]
The Emotional Preparation for Retirement
As a person nears retirement, much of the conversation is frequently centered on financial preparedness. If you have done all the right things, you have been saving for retirement for many years leading up to this point and you have a financial plan in place, you have adjusted your portfolio, analyzed Social Security strategies, and planned for various what-if scenarios. That part is all mapped out for you. What is often a last-minute […]
Importance of Long-Term Investing
A common term tossed around in the investing industry is “long-term investing,” but what is “long-term” and why is it important? In the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, long-term capital gain treatment is afforded to those assets held for more than one year. When investors discuss long-term investing, they are talking about 10-20-30 years […]
When You Should Contribute to a Retirement Plan
Often the mantra you hear when it comes to contributing to retirement plans such as 401(k) or 403(b) plans is to “max out your plan”. And, if you have the annual income necessary to meet these thresholds, you should absolutely take that approach. But there are many people who cannot “max out” their plan and […]