None of us planned for this crisis. It probably seems like a long time ago, but our first blog post of the year, titled Return on Life vs Return on Investment, gave us the foundation for dealing with the current challenge of the COVID-19 and market volatility. The key is not letting heightened emotions and […]
I was explaining to a new client recently how we invest our client assets. They wanted to know if we use individual stocks, Mutual Funds or ETFs (Exchanged Traded Funds.) I told them we don’t use individual stocks or securities, as this adds a level of risk that does not necessarily improve the risk/reward return. […]
With the unexpected passing of my husband, I’ve had a lot of unplanned decisions required of me. I’ve been very intentional about not making emotional decisions, but to be honest, how do you remove emotion? There are both rational and emotional elements to making financial decisions. “Research has found that negative emotions hit us with […]
Your total medical expenses, including premiums, must surpass 10% of your AGI to be deductible. Here’s a little backstory to help you understand this deduction in context. In 2019, the IRS allows taxpayers to deduct the total qualified unreimbursed medical care expenses for the year that exceed 10% of their adjusted gross income (AGI). Note […]
Several years ago, my wife and I set an ambitious financial goal for our family. As a way to temporarily increase my income, I decided to embark on the millennial rite of passage known as the “side hustle.” While the term “side hustle” is used broadly to describe part-time or temporary work in addition to […]
Life gets busy and things inadvertently get postponed, but getting your credit report should not be one of those items. However, you may find yourself asking, “Why should I care about my credit score or what’s on the report? I don’t like debt and I’m surely not getting a loan anytime soon!” To better answer […]
Bills, mortgages, bank statements, brokerage statements, credit card statements—being an adult certainly does require a lot of paperwork. Here is a guide for how long you should keep different kinds of financial records before putting them through the shredder (and yes, it should be the shredder, not the trash). Tax Documents: Keep tax-related records for […]
With tax season not quite in the rearview mirror, it seems like an opportune time to mention some takeaways from the changes brought about by the Tax Cut and Jobs Acts (TCJA) as well as revisit some tax-related topics. While it may be too late to make any significant changes to your 2018 return, it’s […]
For many people the start of a new year is a chance to re-focus on things that are important to them, whether it is health, relationships or finances, a turning of the calendar means a fresh start. So as we prepare for a New Year, I wanted to share a personal story that challenges the […]
