I recently met with a young couple to begin working on their financial plan; their situation was not uncommon for my WealthFusion™ clients: dual income, adequate emergency fund, retirement savings going and a 529 plan started. My initial recommendations were typical for young parents: additional life insurance and wills were first up, followed by some tweaks to their current retirement…
“We never should have done it, and the regulators never should have allowed it,” Thomas McInerney, president and chief executive of Genworth Financial Inc. since 2013, says of the pricing strategy. “That’s crazy.” Over half of my clients fall into the Baby Boomer category, and over the years I’ve had conversations around long-term care (LTC) insurance with many of them. A few of them decided…
I have to confess something…I don’t follow my own advice when it comes to CNBC. I tell clients all of the time to tune out the noise and not to even turn the station on. Yet, it’s streaming all day in my office; granted all but an hour of the day the sound is turned down so I can listen…
“Using trust as a competitive advantage, modern firms are guided by transparency, ownership of attention, and consistent communication with current and prospective clients. We call them Naked Brands.” Sorry for the click bait…what I should have said is Why I Want RLWM (soon to be RLSWM) To Be A “Naked Brand”…but that wouldn’t have been as attention-grabbing. Early in my…
Unfortunately, because my family has a medical share plan and not a traditional health insurance plan (revisit this blog to learn more), we are not eligible for what may be the most tax efficient investment vehicle available–the Health Savings Account (HSA), which also happens to be the most under-utilized investment vehicle. In this video, I cover the basics of an…
There will be NO change to your 401(k). This has always been a great and popular middle class tax break that works, and it stays! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2017 Over the weekend we learned of a proposal floating around D.C. to significantly reduce maximum 401(k) contributions to help fund tax cuts. The specifics were not shared,…
In just a few weeks, approximately 2,800 Eli Lilly employees will receive an early retirement incentive offered through Lilly’s Voluntary Early Retirement Program, or VERP. For Eli Lilly employees evaluating the current VERP, this post comes a little late–applications were turned in a couple of weeks ago and those accepted into the program will find out around November 1st. But,…
I’ll be the first to admit tax planning is not where I spend the majority of my time; I know enough to be dangerous, well, maybe a little more than that, but I am not a tax professional. I don’t do my personal and business taxes, and when it comes to my clients’ taxes, I always refer them to their…
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.61 as found in The Daily Stoic September 20th reading. I used to work for an advisor whose favorite line was, “financial planning is an art, not a science”; I’ve always liked that quote,…
This morning I read an article about how Millennials have a harder time saving than their parents, and I wanted to talk about it. Side note: The Millennials I work with have no problem saving, so I know it is possible! CNN Money: It’s Not Avocado Toast: It’s Actually Harder For Millennials to Save Money Time: New College Grads Could…