401k Amendment - Act now to make sure that your plan keeps up with new laws & regulations. The clock is ticking. Between now and April 30, 2016, 100% of 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, and other tax-qualified plans that use an IRS-approved prototype plan document must be amended and restated.1 If this doesn’t occur by [...]
A little frugality may lead to a lot of financial progress. Americans have a great deal of disposable income relative to many other nations, yet our free spending can take us further and further away from the potential for financial freedom. Some people fall into crippling spending habits and injure their finances as a consequence. [...]
It is projected to grow even larger. What does that imply for the economy? In 1835, something financially remarkable happened: the federal government paid off the national debt.1 It hasn’t happened since. Through myriad presidential administrations and economic cycles, the national debt has persisted. Wars, depressions and recessions have all helped send it higher, and [...]
Donating Stock - It can give you a tax break. It can give a charity a tax break in the future. Why sell shares when you can gift them? If you have appreciated stocks in your portfolio (and you hold them in a non-qualified account that doesn’t get special tax treatment), then you might want [...]
What do you do with big money? A first-world problem, and nothing more? Not quite. Getting rich quick can be liberating, but it can also be frustrating. Sudden wealth can help you resolve anxieties about funding your retirement or your children’s college educations, and newfound financial freedom can lead to time freedom – greater opportunity [...]
Investing Mistakes - How many can you prevent yourself from making? Year after year, in bull and bear markets, investors make some all-too-common blunders. They have been written about, talked about, and critiqued at some length – and yet they are still made. You can chalk them up to psychology, human nature, perhaps even a [...]
Why not plan to lighten your financial burden? Positive moves to counteract negative cash flow. The financial analysis website nerdwallet.com keeps track of the various debts common to the U.S. household. As of April 2014, they’ve found an average mortgage debt of $154,365. They have also discovered an average household has $7,087 in debt from [...]
Politics aside, how could coverage improve for you & your loved ones? Health care reform has many fans and many detractors. Amid all the sound and fury, the plain facts risk being blurred. So here is a look at where the reforms stand, and what they potentially offer you. Here is how the health care [...]
When was the last time you looked at the content of your portfolio? When turbulence hits Wall Street, are you stressed out? If you have taken on too much risk in your portfolio – which can happen through intention or inattention – stock market volatility may make you anxious. So from time to time, it [...]
How might they affect investments, housing & retirees? How will Wall Street fare if interest rates climb back to historic norms? Rising interest rates could certainly impact investments, the real estate market and the overall economy – but their influence might not be as negative as some perceive. Why are rates rising? You can cite [...]
