Biggest Mistakes That Families Make When Appealing College Financial-Aid Decisions
...No. 1 financial-appeal mistake: Not asking for a review in the first place...
Document Retention: What To Keep And What To Shred
...Despite the ongoing shift to an increasingly digital world of automatic electronic verification of everything from transactions to identity, the reality is that today, there are still a number of documents that individuals must be able to provide to various companies, regulators, or government agencies...
Why You Should 'Trial Run' Your Retirement
...these mini breaks might be a good way to see how your spending habits might change...
An Action Plan for Long-Term Care
...The takeaway is that even people who expect to rely on government resources if they develop a long-term-care need should think through the financial and other implications of long-term care for their retirement plans. And people who expect to rely on their own resources or purchase some type of insurance to cover long-term-care expenses should be methodical about it, thinking through their prospective coverage needs and weighing their options...
3 Great Charitable-Giving Strategies for Retirees
...For Smaller Givers: Take Advantage of the Deduction Available for Nonitemizers...For Midsize Givers: Use Qualified Charitable Distributions...For Larger Givers: Donate Highly Appreciated Assets From Taxable Accounts...
Could Required Minimum Distributions Cause You to Withdraw Too Much?
...The mandatory withdrawals that must commence from tax-deferred accounts at age 72 are called required minimum distributions, not required minimum spending...
Must-Knows About Restricted Stock
...On the other hand, employer stock can introduce risk and complexity into an individual's financial plan. After all, employees have a lot riding on their companies' wherewithal even before employer stock enters the picture, because that's where they earn their paychecks. By owning company stock, employees effectively double down on their bet on the financial health of their firms. Moreover, company stock can introduce tax headaches, especially for people who aren't well versed in the tax treatment of these assets...
Must-Knows About Employee Stock Options
...One way to mitigate the risk of exercising options at precisely the wrong time is to exercise a portion of a grant at a time...
The Price You Pay for College - Recommended Book
...Where does your responsibility as a parent to your kids begin and end...
Can a Rule of Thumb Be a Shortcut to Financial Well-Being?
...When we asked participants about the ease associated with using their top rule, we found negative correlations between how difficult they perceived practicing the rule to be and their financial well-being. In other words, the easier it was for a person to make these decisions, the more financially well-off they were...
A Tax-Preparation Checklist for the Self-Employed
...These seven strategies will help keep you on the ball for this tax season and in preparing for the future... (Ed. note - speak to us if any/all apply to you as these recommendations are general, not specific to you)
The Most Important Thing - Recommended Book
...“There’s a big difference between probability and outcome. Probable things fail to happen—and improbable things happen—all the time.” That’s one of the most important things you can know about investment risk...
Financial New Year’s Resolutions
...The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect on past achievements and set new aspirations. It’s also an opportunity to determine whether you’re on track with your financial goals and revise them as needed...
How to Be a Smarter Investor in Uncertain Times - from Blue Waters Wealth Advisors
...6 Secrets to Make You a Smarter Investor...
Can You Save Too Much in a Health Savings Account?
...Even if you used non-HSA assets to cover your healthcare expenses and leave your HSA money undisturbed until age 65, you could pull the money out tax-free for any reason, provided you've saved your receipts for the healthcare expenses you covered out of pocket in the years before that...
7 Items Your Estate Plan May Have Left Out
...If your goal is to look out for your loved ones, consider tackling these estate-planning additional jobs...
Stuff to Do While Quarantined: Clean Up Financial Records
...Excavation and organization isn’t sexy or glamorous. But it can be liberating. It can be freeing. Once you’ve put in the work on cleaning things up (and admittedly that can take some time!), you’ll be able to focus on the things that really matter to you...
Using A Family Dynasty 529 Plan For Multigenerational College Planning
...individuals who have both the means and desire can ‘overfund’ one or more 529 plan accounts (either by making periodic contributions over many years or by a large lump sum contribution), effectively creating a “Dynasty 529 Plan”, which can be used to pay for qualified education expenses of not only their children and grandchildren (or any number of qualified members in their extended family), but potentially for multiple generations of family members to come...
How to keep your financial dreams in focus - From Blue Waters Wealth Advisors
...A simple way to dig deeper into the underlying reason for your financial goals is by peeling back the layers and asking yourself “why?” three times...
Hindsight bias says to abandon your plan. Here’s why you shouldn’t
...No matter the market conditions, there are always messages from the media or the investing community that a market event, such as an extreme drop or increase, was foreseen, perhaps even obvious. If you begin to believe you’ve missed opportunities or you’re at risk for losses, you might attempt to overcorrect by trying to time the markets or weighting your portfolio too heavily in one area...
