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4 Financial Skills All Business Owners Should Learn
Running a business requires gaining expertise in many things over a short period—especially financial matters. If finances do not come naturally to you, you may quickly feel like you are in over your head. Fortunately, mastering...
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A Refresh for Your Finances
When spring rolls around, your thoughts might turn to organizing your closets or giving your floors a good deep clean. But how much thought have you given to cleaning up your finances? If the answer is “not much,” you might...
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Silicon Valley Bank Is the 2nd Largest Bank Failure
The Silicon Valley Bank failure rocked the tech industry and sent tremors throughout Wall Street as it largely serves start-ups and venture capitalists. Those with deposits at the bank – namely start-up founders and venture capitalists – wo
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Why Business Owners Need Financial Planning
If you're a business owner, you are likely the Chief Everything Officer at work and have many responsibilities. A business owner's situation is unique since they are asset-rich and cash-poor since their wealth is in their...
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More Money, More Responsibility and Strategic Financial Decisions
Strategic financial planning is important for everyone but especially for high-income earners that have their compensation tied directly to the success of the business. Executives and entrepreneurs both rely on accessing their wealth...
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3 Practical Time Management Tips for Investors
For many, spending more quality time with loved ones and friends is a New Year’s resolution or work-life balance goal. But for investors who are accustomed to keeping a close eye on their assets' performance, balancing one's "to...
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Tax Prep Checklist: Everything You Need to Be Ready for Tax Season
Regardless of whether you prepare your taxes yourself or use a professional's services, it's a good idea to gather the information and documentation you need well in advance of your actual tax filing date. Below, we've listed some key...
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Kick off the Big Game With These 7 Super Investing Lessons From the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is more than just a game. It's an American holiday. As you prepare for this fun day, you may also want to think about how to create "big wins'' in your investment strategy. Get ready for Super Bowl Sunday by checking out...
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Are You Fiscally Fit? 5 Ways to Check the Health of Your Wealth
Just as it is important to be physically and mentally fit, it is also important to be fiscally fit. Fiscal fitness is not only about how much money you earn or the balance in your savings or retirement accounts. Instead, it is...
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How Behavioral Economics Can Help You Keep New Year's Financial Resolutions
If you are someone who makes New Year's financial resolutions and often doesn't keep them, behavioral economics can help. Behavioral economics studies psychology as it relates to economic decision-making. Ideally, people would make the...
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Your Financial Fresh Start: 12 Resolutions in 12 Months
Change may be difficult, especially when you try to change your financial habits. The process might be easier if you take an incremental approach. Do you want to get on top of your finances this year? Are you looking for ways to...
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10 Tips to Develop Financial Wellness This Year
Financial wellness is a state of being when one is in control of their finances, can cover expenses, and save for future goals. Consider financial wellness as your relationship with money; it can be either healthy or unhealthy....
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A Path to Setting and Reaching Your 2023 Goals
What if you focused on your system instead of just your goals? Setting goals for a new year can feel overwhelming. We all know that resolutions don’t last, but we also feel the energy that comes with a new year of...
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New Year's Financial Resolutions to Implement Now
When it comes to New Year's Resolutions that include financial goals, writing them down and being visible is essential to your success. After you’ve written down what your financial resolutions for the New Year are, tell others...
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Charitable Giving: Making a Positive Difference
There are countless benefits of charitable giving. Through generous donations, you can make a difference in your community and society. You may also feel happier and even save on your taxes. Here are some key things to need to know...
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A Business Plan Can Be Your Guide to Growth
Whether you're a current business owner or a budding entrepreneur burning with the next great idea, one of the most important steps you can take on your road to success is creating a business plan. Why? A well-thought-out and...
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Year End Planning Considerations for Business Owners
The end of the year can be a chaotic time for business owners. It is a time to compile data, review the numbers, evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and determine growth opportunities for the future. A business owner would be keen to...
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Thanks and Giving: How You Make a Difference on Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is a day to extend the goodwill that the holiday season may bring to help others. With so many in need, the holiday season is a reminder to help those less fortunate. Whether you want to donate your time or contribute...
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Being Thankful for Financial Wellness
‘Tis the season to give thanks for the many blessings that you have received throughout the year and blessings that help you as you move into the future. One thing to be truly thankful for is financial wellness. When you are...
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A Year-End Wealth Planning Guide
As we approach the end of the year, you may want to review areas that may impact your wealth and estate planning next year. In this year-end planning guide, we examine four critical areas to consider that may affect your finances:...
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Seeking Simplicity: Understanding SIMPLE IRAs and SIMPLE 401(k)s
For those who don't have a 401(k) option through their employer—which includes some small-business owners—how to save for retirement might be challenging. In a competitive employment market, offering retirement options to...
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Financial Freedom vs. Financial Independence: Key Differences and How to Work Towards Both
Working towards financial independence can often be a lifelong process. But for many, financial freedom may come far sooner—and include some fun along the way. What are the differences between financial independence and financial...
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Factors to Consider When Setting a Retirement Savings Goal
Many Americans realize the importance of saving for retirement, but knowing exactly how much they need to save is another issue altogether. With all the information available about retirement, it is sometimes difficult to decipher what...
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Financial Planning at Every Age
In 2013, a Gallup poll found that only about one in every three U.S. households maintained a budget.1 A 2021 survey of 1,000 Americans found that 80% now say they have a budget.2Americans are budgeting more due to the pandemic....
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The Financial Planning Process: Why and How
Planning personal finances used to be the worry of the wealthy and their worry—usually preservation of wealth—was attended to by teams of trust officers and lawyers. Many of today’s middle class families have...
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8 Things Financial Planning Can Help You Address
Financial planning is unique for each person; no two financial plans look the same because everyone's life and personal goals are different. Regardless of what your goals are, financial planning can help you work towards achieving them...
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Is the U.S. Economy in a Recession
In an early July poll, 58% of Americans said they thought the U.S. economy was in a recession, up from 53% in June and 48% in May.1 Yet many economic indicators, notably employment, remain strong. The current situation is unusual, and...
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IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rates for Last Half of 2022
Due to recent increases in the price of fuel, the IRS has increased the optional standard mileage rates for computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, medical, and moving expense purposes for the second...
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Should Investors Care at All When a Stock Splits?
The summer of 2022 could be known as the Summer of Stock Splits, as several high-profile companies have either split their stock or announced their intention to split. Google’s parent company Alphabet is the latest, as it split...
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Moving Your 401(k) to a Roth IRA Tax-Free?
QuestionI made after-tax contributions to my 401(k). When I retire, can I roll that money into a Roth IRA tax-free?AnswerYes.After-tax funds can be segregated from other funds in the account and transferred directly to a Roth IRA. In...
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Big Week For Market Watchers
Last week was epic for market-watchers. A Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike, a much anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) report, and the busiest week of earnings season got most of the headlines. There was even a surprise out of...
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Some Things Investors Need to Know About Booms and Busts
Economies and markets are cyclical. They may include periods of wealth creation and times of bursting bubbles that bankrupt companies in a major downturn."Boom and bust" cycles may last anywhere from a few months to a few years or...
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Summertime Fun with Creative Kids Crafts
Nothing quite stirs a child’s imagination like creativity, and with all the extra time available, summer is a great time to let creativity run wild. You can help fuel your child’s creativity with these easy DIY projects,...
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Wealth-Transfer Taxes Can Take a Toll on Small Businesses
Most business owners become wealthy the “old-fashioned” way—they work hard. But, suppose a business owner and his or her spouse were to die unexpectedly. Undoubtedly, they would hope their children or other family...
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What's a bear market - An economist explains
A 16th-century proverb advises: “It’s unwise to sell a bear’s skin before catching it.”That’s one of the stories used to explain why, in modern times, Wall Street types call someone who sells a stock...
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Business Continuity and Long-Term Care Considerations
As a business owner, you know the importance of planning for your company’s future. To this end, you may have taken steps to learn about buy–sell agreements and the role that life insurance and disability income insurance...
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Looking Forward
Dear Valued Investor,As the calendar has turned to July, investors would certainly like to forget the first six months of 2022. However, the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday does bring with it reason for celebration. Not only is...
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6 Ways to Stay Active in Retirement
Retirement is a new stage in life and one that is full of possibilities if you take advantage of it. Too often, those who have spent most of their life working hard may now find the abundance of time hard to fill or may find it...
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Acquaint Grown Children with Your Financial Affairs
Many parents may feel it is unnecessary to inform their adult children about their personal, financial affairs. However, as your children grow older, it can work to your advantage—and that of your entire family— to share...
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Understanding the FIRE Movement
There has been a lot of chatter about the FIRE movement – Financial Independence / Retire Early – over the last few years and you’re probably wondering whether it’s suitable for you and your family. The real...
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Securing Your Future with Life Cycle Planning
The need for regular saving and investing spans many life stages. Through the years, your goals will change and your strategies will shift, but don’t be alarmed. You’re just progressing through the normal stages of life,...
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Small-business Owners and the Value of Insurance in Your Financial Plan
A solid financial plan for small businesses is vital, and part of that financial plan should be insurance. Insurance is essential to preserve small businesses, cover their assets, and safeguard their employees. Here are some types of...
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If you are planning a trip this summer that involves flying, not driving, you may incorrectly assume it is possible to avoid the effects of rising fuel prices. Unfortunately for flying travelers, airlines also face the pressure of...
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A Bear Market is Officially Here
A bear market is officially here thanks largely to stubbornly high inflation. For many of us, it has probably felt like a bear market for a while now, but the S&P 500 Index didn’t close more than 20% below its January 3 record...
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Retirements Second Act - Setting the Stage for Encore Entrepreneurship
An encore entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business or venture after age 55. They represent more than half of all business owners in the U.S., and for a good reason.1 These entrepreneurs have decades of work and life...
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Bull Market Hangs by a Thread
The bull market that began in March of 2020 came dangerously close to an end. From March 23, 2020 through January 3, 2022, the S&P 500 Index gained 114% (excluding dividends). From that January 3 closing high through the recent low on...
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Financial Planning Tips for Young Adults
Whether you're still living at home, in school, or starting your career, your late teens and twenties present a prime opportunity to think about your financial future. Though you may not hit your peak earning years until your 40s or...
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Tips for Growing and Preserving Your Family Business
When you're first starting out with your own business, you're likely to be focused more on staying afloat than on contingency planning. But as your family business expands and grows, it's important to ensure that this is done in a...
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Cultivating a Small Business Edge
Entrepreneurs may entertain thoughts of achieving success, inspired by those companies that seem to spring forth fully grown overnight. But, it is important for business owners to ask at the outset, “What is an appropriate...
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Election 2020: Biden’s Policy Initiatives
Now that several major news groups have projected Joe Biden the winner of the presidential election—and Congress appears divided with Democrats in control of the House and Republicans the Senate—it’s a good time to...
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Long-Term Rates Are Creeping Higher
With all the election chatter and stock market volatility, it may have been easy to miss the ongoing uptrend in long-term interest rates. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is sitting just below 1%. Just a few short months ago,...
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Election 2020: A Dose of Patience
The upcoming election is prompting some people to reconsider their investment strategy.In fact, 45% of consumers with $100,000 or more investable assets expect to make changes to their portfolio due to the upcoming 2020 presidential...
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