Monthly Newsletters

Who is IRMAA and Why Is She Getting My Money?

There’s a scene in the TV show Friends where Rachel gets her very first paycheck as a waitress at Central Perk. “Who is FICA and why is he getting all my money?” she poses to the gang. Some people age 65 and older might have a similar sentiment when they get their Social Security check and see a chunk missing that’s gone to IRMAA.

Monthly Newsletters

Got an HSA? Learn How to Maximize It

Are you healthy? Or are you anticipating some hefty medical bills coming up? Or do you want to save money in a tax-advantaged way for future medical expenses? If so, a health savings account (HSA) might be a good choice. An HSA is a tax-favored savings and investment account that’s used for qualified health care expenses and tethered to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs).

Monthly Newsletters

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Social Security to Run Out of Money

When a problem is 14 or 15 years away, there’s not great urgency to fix it. But when that problem comes within a decade, that’s a different story. You’ve likely read that the Social Security trust fund is going to run out of money by 2034, but with the looming Trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund Report coming out soon, it might be more like 2030.

Monthly Newsletters

3 Succession Planning Strategies for Business Owners Who Want to Protect Their Legacy

If you’re a business owner, you have far more than money invested in your work. You may be the first to open the door in the morning and walk in on a floor that you’ve mopped yourself.

Monthly Newsletters

How Financial Scams Work, and How to Keep Yourself Safe No Matter Your Level of Wealth

Editor’s Note: This article was updated in June 2021. In the late 1920s, an enterprising Bostonian started selling subdivisions in the sunny ‘burbs of Florida. Promising orange trees in the backyard and rolling waves out the front door, he sold plots – sometimes 23 an acre! – near bustling towns like Nettie. Unfortunately, the entrepreneur’s name was Charles Ponzi, and Nettie, like his other locales, was a work of lucrative fiction.

Monthly Newsletters

How to Use an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust in Your Estate Plan

Savvy investors keep one eye on Wall Street and one eye on Washington. One of the main topics of Capitol Hill conversations is estate taxes, specifically annual and lifetime exemption amounts. Estate taxes often take aim specifically at the high net worth crowd, who have more to pass on.

Monthly Newsletters

Managing Your Wealth with Life Insurance through Life Stages

Life insurance can be confusing. It’s a protection tool for your family, but can also be an investment tool. Your beneficiaries get the payout when you die, but you can draw funds from it while you’re still alive.

Monthly Newsletters

How a 529 Plan Can Help You Save for College and Invest in the Future

Despite an evolving society, college is still a right of passage for many. We pack the family SUV with suitcases and dreams and take the young hopeful on to their next adventure.

Monthly Newsletters

Tax Tips for Business Owners in a COVID World

Facing everything from empty sales floors to painful staff shortages, entrepreneurs have been uniquely hurt by 2020 and the extent of the damage isn’t fully known yet. A Yelp economic impact report released in September found that almost 100,000 small businesses in the country had closed their doors permanently while many others struggle under the current conditions.

Monthly Newsletters

Help Improve Your Financial Plan This Year with These One-time Adjustments

It’s no secret that many people do not keep their New Year’s resolutions. Every year around this time, gym memberships go up and personal planners fly off the shelves. A few weeks later, the planner gets left on the train and the gym, well, it’s just so far out of the way! New Year’s resolutions have a whopping shelf life of about a month, and only 20% or so make it further.