Bonds for Beginners

Everybody gives the same financial advice: “Diversify your portfolio!” The problem is, most folks saying that only diversify their stocks, keeping their savings in the volatile stock market. Bonds are, and have been, an essential part to any investor’s portfolio and are considered to be more conservative than stocks. But what exactly are bonds? What is a Bond? In the …

When is the best time to retire?

Nine times out of ten, folks say the best time to retire is “Yesterday!” The average retirement age in America is 62, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer. On your way to retirement, there are a few things to keep in mind to maximize your retirement income and navigate around financial termites like taxes and fees. The …

The 3 Pillars of a Retirement Plan

We are bombarded with financial advice from everywhere: news outlets, social media, even your bartender with a Bitcoin wallet. Everyone is trying to tell you what to do with your money, but they don’t have your vision for the future; “everyone” doesn’t have a plan for a secure retirement. Instead of navigating the financial world without direction, enjoy peace of …

Annuities

An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company that requires the insurer to make payments to you, either immediately or in the future.  You will buy an annuity by either making a single lump sum payment to the insurance company or a series of payments to them over time.  An annuity provides you with a predictable stream …

Breaking Down the Emergency Fund

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY FUND? The definition of an emergency fund is money you set aside for unexpected financial expenses that come your way. Such as, a job loss, a car breaking down, a medical event or something else that may happen. The money is there so you don’t have to borrow from family or friends, use a credit card …

Options for your 401K after Quitting your Job

So you are leaving your job, hopefully for a better one, or god forbid, you’ve been laid off, do you know what to do with your 401(k)?  Believe it or not, most people don’t.  Here are a few options you can do with that 401(k) to better help you in retirement. 1. You can leave it where it’s at, as …

Increased Limits for Health Savings Accounts

On May 10, 2021, the IRS decided that it will again raise the limit for Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) for 2022 to account for inflation.   First, for some that don’t know, a Health Savings Account, or HSA, is a tax-advantaged account created to help people save for medical expenses that are not reimbursed by their high deductible health care plans.  …

What’s the Difference?

In 1975, Congress introduced the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) as the first tax-advantaged retirement savings tool. Even though it is an incredibly popular option for saving for retirement, many people don’t quite understand how it all works. So what is the difference between a Roth IRA and a Roth 401(k)?  Well for starters it all depends on how much money …

Your Tax Checklist

The federal filing date for taxes was pushed from April 15th to May 17th of 2021.  If you’re reading this around our normal filing deadline, you have almost two months left before you have to file your federal taxes.  Now is the time to start getting everything together, and we’ve got a list of things to help you get organized: …

Ten Types of Retirement Accounts

Retiring isn’t easy by any means and one size fits all doesn’t always fit everyone.  There are many types of retirement accounts and you may not know which one might be the right “fit” for you and what you want to accomplish in retirement.  There may be factors such as, how old you want to be when you retire, how …