Articles
DID YOU NOT USE UP ALL THE FUNDS IN YOUR 529 COLLEGE SAVINGS PLAN?
I’ve been helping families save for college with 529 Plans for about 20 years. A tax-free way to accumulate money for higher education? Sounds like a “no-brainer” to me. People have a multitude of questions, though, and everyone is afraid of having money left over...
SAVING FOR COLLEGE IN 529 COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS
According to www.collegetuitioncompare.com, average tuition for the 2023-2024 school year at public 4-year institutions was $11,823.00 for in-state residents and $21,802.00 for students who hail from out-of-state. Private 4-year schools come in at $28,417.00 for...
WILL YOU BE ONE OF 54% OF AMERICANS WHO DIE WITHOUT A WILL OR TRUST?
According to the latest information from Gallup.com, a full 54% of Americans die every year without estate planning documents (a will or a trust) meant to speak to how their property will be divided up amongst their loved ones. That’s incredible! Whatever the reason,...
IT PAYS TO GET YOUR IRA BENEFICIARY RIGHT
According to a December 2023 article in the New York Times, there is over $35 trillion in retirement accounts in the U.S. and about $16 trillion of that will be transferred in the next decade. There’s no doubt about it: the “Great Wealth Transfer” is upon us and it...
WHAT THE HECK IS THE SAVER’S CREDIT?
Formally known as the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, the “saver’s credit” is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of taxes a moderate or lower income consumer may owe just by saving funds for retirement. Financial types like to talk about tax...
WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO “FREEZE” OR “LOCK” YOUR CREDIT
Identity theft is splashed all over the news and is on most peoples’ minds. Consumers are afraid to click links in emails, use their credit cards for online purchases and even answer their phones. What is a cautious citizen to do? Today, we’ll dive into two...
ARE YOU UP FOR A “NO SPEND CHALLENGE”?
I know, I know. It’s January and all those holiday purchases that seemed so smart and so right for all of those on your gift list are now coming back to haunt you with the dreaded bills in the mail. You tell yourself every year that this time it will be...
THE PROS & CONS OF BUYING LIFE INSURANCE FOR A CHILD
There is a great deal of confusing information out there about the advisability of buying life insurance for a newborn or young child and I’m going to try to help dispel it here by giving you a full rundown of the pros and cons so you can make the best decision...
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (HSAs)
If you qualify, one of the best gifts the IRS gives consumers is the Health Savings Account or HSA for short. They’re what I’d call a “triple-whammy”: savers use pre-tax money to fund them (lowering your income tax bill in the year you made a contribution), they grow...
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY ABOUT TARGET-DATE MUTUAL FUNDS
Mutual funds are “baskets” of assets that provide diversification for investors so that they don’t fall prey to “having all their eggs in one basket”. For instance, a mutual fund could hold shares of ten different pharmaceutical companies, eight different oil and gas...
HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES “FINANCIAL ADVISORS”
It’s a niche in the market that is the “Wild, Wild West” all over again: who are all these people calling themselves financial advisors, what are their credentials and with what can they help me? There are hundreds and hundreds of individuals in the field of...
THE DOWNSIDE OF DEBIT CARDS
You probably love your debit card. It’s convenient, accepted everywhere, helps keep your spending in check (you can’t spend more than is in your account), there are no annual fees and you can get cash back. What’s not to like? The majority of Americans agree with you....
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