Using Home Equity to Fund Long-Term Care
Have you thought about whether you might need long-term care as you get older? The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that 70% of adults who survive to age 65 will need long-term services and support before they die and that 48% of those people will receive some paid care over their lifetime. […]
The Rewards of Successful Planning
For many of us, financial planning can be difficult. Maybe we’re young and we want to have a good time now and worry about the future later. Maybe we’re older and can’t bear to see how far behind we are in saving for retirement. Maybe we feel constrained by plans and want the freedom to […]
Are You a Consumer or an Owner?
The difference between a consumer and an owner is probably fairly intuitive, but let’s use one example just to compare them. If you purchase stock in a company, you’re an owner. If you purchase that company’s products, you’re a consumer. Naturally, everyone is both a consumer and an owner. However, when it comes to building […]
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank are the two U.S. banks that failed in the last few weeks. Were the depositors at risk? Normally, if deposits were $250,000 or less per depositor, per insured bank, an independent government agency called the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ensures that depositors will promptly get all of their […]
Tax Refunds — Good or Bad?
Few of us can really say we enjoy filling out our tax forms each April. One bright spot in this process is if we have a refund coming rather than having to write Uncle Sam a check. This month we’ll take a look at whether tax refunds are really such a good thing after all. […]
SECURE 2.0 Tax Law Changes
In our January article, we talked about some of the tax law changes coming in 2023. Days before the end of the year, the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 passed the congress with bipartisan support and was signed by the president. The bill contains many provisions that are intended to strengthen the country’s retirement savings. […]
2023 Tax Law Changes
First of all, Happy New Year! As you make your plans for the coming year, it’s important to take note of the changes in contribution limits and other tax changes in 2023. Social Security Inflation creates a number of financial problems, but high inflation does signal a healthy increase in Social Security payments. Rates will […]
Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification is often thought of as resisting an immediate reward in exchange for a greater reward in the future. However the essence of delayed gratification is simply resisting an immediate reward in preference for a later reward. This act of self-control can be useful in many different aspects of our lives, including our financial […]
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Most of you know that what we pay for an investment is called its basis and what we sell an investment for is its realized gain or simply its gain. If we sell an investment at less than its basis, we produce a loss. Okay, simple enough, but what is tax-loss harvesting? It just means […]
Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
If you are already on Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage, you probably know that October 15 – December 7 is the Open Enrollment Period. That’s when you can make changes to your health insurance. Maybe you started out on Original Medicare and you’ve started to wonder if Medicare Advantage might be better for you. Or […]