News & Blog

Planning

Long-Term Care Insurance- Is It Worth the Hefty Cost?

The odds are that if you are approaching retirement, a question you keep asking yourself is how will you cover nursing home or home care expenses. Long-term care insurance helps you make sure that you can afford one of the largest expenses a retired person may face- without burdening your children or spending their inheritance when the time comes. Still, millions of Americans skip long-term care insurance because of the cost associated with the plans…

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Business

The 1% Rule – Helping You Knock Your First Rental Property Deal Out of the Park

Something is alluring about the idea of investment real estate. The notion that you can build equity in a property while getting a steady monthly check delivered directly to your bank account without needing to do much work is a powerful one. While most landlords find that real estate is not quite a passive investment option, many agree that it is a highly lucrative asset class that features unique tax advantages.

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Planning

Bonds – New Rules for Traditional Retirement Investments

2020 is the year of “out with the old, in with the new.” That is particularly true in the world of retirement planning. The old, canned advice was for retirees and people nearing retirement to gradually transition away from stocks and towards an increasingly bond-heavy portfolio.

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Uncategorized

Forget About Bonds Helping You Retire

I started my investment career in the ‘90’s by selling 5% tax free municipal bonds over the phone to retirees. People with money, I learned quickly, want reliable income and low risk. To be confident in the bonds I recommended, I sold mostly AAA or insured bonds – not the higher-yielding, but riskier, housing, hospital, or airport bonds.
But like Mary Hopkin’s classic 1960’s hit says….

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Uncategorized

Estate Planning – Avoiding Probate by Adding Someone’s Name to a House

The single most common estate planning mistake in the United States happens when parents put a child’s name on the deed to their house. Parents do this because they want their children to inherit their property without probate costs and delays. Well-intentioned parents do not realize that there are safer, more efficient ways to make sure their kids get their home to help everyone avoid taxes and other complications. If you are about to add your child’s name to your home, keep reading to understand why that probably is not a wise decision and learn about some better estate planning strategies.

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Uncategorized

Bull vs. Bear Market: What is the difference?

On March 11, 2020, news organizations ran a story about a notable passing. It served as the main business story for just about every financially oriented newspaper, news program, and news website in the United States. The bull market’s historic 11-year run, beginning in the wake of the housing crisis of 2008-2009, had come to a close.

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Business

International Markets

International investing means selecting global (non-U.S.) investment vehicles to include in your overall strategy to take advantage of a wider variety of investment opportunities and diversify your portfolio.

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Uncategorized

New Mobile Work Life

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in too many ways to count. One of the more notable changes as far as our work life specifically is the large uptick in employees working remotely. Within only a few weeks, the number of work-from-home employees went from 31% to 62% of the workforce. Working from home or “telecommuting” is a way in which employees use Internet connection and a computer to do work in the comfort of their own home. Many firms leverage the capabilities of Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, Skype, Cisco Webex, and other digital services to communicate via webcam, giving employees access to a pseudo face-to-face environment with their other remotely working coworkers. Overall, it was been a challenging time for many workers to transition to remote work life, but there are some benefits…

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Finance

Dividends

Dividends are distributions in the form of cash or additional stock given to the investors from a publicly traded firm, mutual fund, or exchange-traded fund (ETF). Dividends come from the company’s earnings and can be allocated on a regular frequency or on an ad-hoc basis. Dividends are common in the basic materials, oil and gas, banks and financials, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and utilities industries. Dividends are less common in the technology and biotech industries as they often reinvest their earnings into company growth…

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Finance

A Primer on Dividends

When interest rates start trending lower, many of my clients come to me with questions about income-generating investments, like dividend-yielding stocks. Depending on your risk tolerance and long-term goals, dividend-yielding stocks may play a role in your portfolio. But first, let me lay out some information that may be helpful as you weigh your choices.

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