Resolutions
It’s that time of year when we all take stock of our lives and come up with a list of resolutions to make ourselves better for the coming new year. On the financial side of things may I offer a few suggestions. If you do not have a formal written financial plan get one. Your […]
What Duration Means to Your Bond Portfolio
Duration has a special meaning in the investment world. It is a measure of interest rate sensitivity in bond portfolios. You can calculate the duration for an individual bond or for a portfolio of individual bonds and you can derive an average duration. Why is this important? Because in a rising rate environment, like the […]
Thanksgiving
Once a year we have a holiday dedicated to giving thanks for the many blessings that we have received. Who knew that being thankful could make you happier! Here are Eight Ways Gratitude makes you happier_. Sometimes we get things backwards and think that happiness is what makes us grateful, but it turns out that it is […]
Social Security Winners and Losers
If you are at least 62 by the end of 2015 you are a winner! Everyone else, not so much. As part of the budget agreement passed by the Senate and House of Representatives and signed by President Obama “loopholes” in Social Security rules were closed. These “loopholes” included the ability to file and suspend […]
A Blinding Flash of the Obvious
CNBC was on in the background, I wasn’t really paying attention, but then I heard it. “No bear market has ever occurred in the US stock market without a recession” There it was a blinding insight into the obvious. Who was that masked man? I may never know. He was gone before I could focus […]
The Perfect Time to Invest
Is today the perfect time to invest in stocks for the long term? Maybe, history shows that the price of the permanent ups in the market is making it through the temporary downs. No matter what happens in China, we will still be drinking tea from Nestle’, driving cars made by GM on tires manufactured […]
What the Heck is up with Greece and Why Should I Care?
What’s up with Greece? It’s in the news a lot these days and keeps getting blamed for every dip in the Dow or drop in the Euro. Why is Greece such a big deal? The easy answer is Greece really isn’t that important. It has a population of just over 11 million which is a […]
How Social Security Benefits are Impacted by When You Claim
Many times folks get in such a big rush to claim their Social Security benefit that they lock in reduced benefits without considering how this decision fits in with their long term needs and other sources of retirement income. Just because you can claim Social Security benefits at age 62 doesn’t mean that you should. […]
Social Security – file and suspend
File and suspend is a strategy available only to those who elect to wait until at least their normal retirement age to begin receiving Social Security benefits. It is a tool that allows the coordination of benefits between spouses and is a bit like an insurance policy for anyone deferring benefits. It works like this. […]
How to Use Transfer on Death Accounts
Many times I have had clients ask about having a child named as a Joint Tennant with right of survivorship on an investment or banking account. The reasons the client cites is usually to provide liquidity for the estate, avoid probate, and have someone who can access funds should they not be able to write […]
