3 Ways to Reduce the Financial Stress of Final Arrangements
While thinking about death can be uncomfortable, pre-planning funeral arrangements can provide some important benefits. You can ease some of the [...]
4 Tips for Decorating Your First Home On a Budget
Purchasing your first home can make you feel like you are on a roller coaster. At first, it’s extremely intimidating to enter the market with a [...]
April 10, 2019 /
Financial Planning
Do You Still Need Life Insurance When You Retire?
Are you in the final years of your career? Or did you recently retire? If so, you may be in the process of evaluating your financial strategy and [...]
Spend or Save? Smart Money Management to Enjoy Life in Retirement
For retired baby boomers, creating a financial plan can be tricky. You’ve saved up for retirement and want to make sure you stay on secure [...]
Is Your Retirement Built on a Solid Financial Foundation?
Are you just starting to save for retirement? Many Americans are woefully behind in saving for their future retirement. A recent study found that [...]
7 Holiday Budgeting Tips To Help You Stay On Track Financially
The season for giving is upon us. Even with the joy of the holidays, there can often be a source of stress: paying for all the things the seasons [...]
December 5, 2018 /
Financial Planning
How Long Will Your Retirement Savings Last?
A long lifespan is usually a good thing. Most people dream of living a long, happy retirement. But what happens when your retirement is too long? [...]
Watch for These Red Flags In Your Retirement Plan
Worried that you’re behind when it comes to planning for retirement? You have company. According to a recent Gallup study, more than 50 percent [...]
How Much Life Insurance Coverage Should You Have?
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, so now is a great time to review your insurance needs, and make sure you are adequately covered. [...]
3 Savings Mistakes That Could Sink Your Retirement
Ready to get serious about saving for retirement? That could be a smart idea. According to a recent study from Gallup, many Americans are worried [...]
Understanding the Basics of Long-Term Care Policies
Those nearing their senior years need to make sure to plan for long-term care, should it be needed. Long-term care is ongoing assistance with [...]
3 Questions About Retirement Planning Every Millennial Should Ask
According to a recent study from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, the median retirement savings for millennials is $31,000.1 That [...]
3 Big Problems With the 4% Rule
One of the most difficult challenges for many retirees is developing a distribution strategy from their retirement assets. If you’re like most [...]
How to Create a Projected Retirement Budget
Are you approaching retirement? If so, you may be in the final stages of wrapping up your career and planning your income strategy. You might be [...]
How to Minimize Your Tax Exposure In Retirement
Tax season is here again! If you are recently retired or approaching retirement and haven’t budgeted for taxes, you could be in for a surprise. [...]
3 Dangerous Retirement Planning Mistakes
Even the most diligent savers can make mistakes when it comes to retirement planning. Unfortunately, these mistakes can lead to retirees running [...]
3 Financial Resolutions to Make (And Keep) In 2018
It is the start of a new year, which means it’s time to get started on a new list of resolutions! This is the time of year when many people [...]
January 3, 2018 /
Financial Planning
The 5 Top Financial Mistakes of Millennial Entrepreneurs
Millennials are known for their entrepreneurial spirit, and many new businesses are springing up across the country as a result of the [...]
A 3-Step Strategy to Reach Any Financial Goal
There is a classic dilemma at the heart of every financial plan: Do you live for today or save for the future? The conservative and prudent [...]
November 15, 2017 /
Financial Planning
3 Tips for Boosting Your Retirement Savings
Do you feel like you’re behind on your retirement savings? You’re not alone. According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute, the [...]
3 Reasons Why Permanent Life Insurance Might Be Right for You
Purchasing life insurance can be a very wise decision for many individuals. Life insurance is a powerful financial tool that can provide critical [...]
Does Your Retirement Plan Do This?
One very useful form of life insurance that we help many of our clients with is cash-value, dividend-paying whole life insurance. We teach a [...]
Understanding Term Life Insurance: 4 Key Considerations
Are you exploring term life insurance? Or do you currently own term life insurance but are wondering whether a permanent policy may be a better [...]
[FREE Webinar] The 4 Most Important Questions to Ask About Your Retirement Plan
We are kicking off September with our monthly webinar on a very important topic: the 4 questions you MUST be able to answer in order to [...]
7 Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor About College Planning
Today’s high cost of college makes it imperative that you understand as many strategies as possible for maximizing your financial aid and [...]
What Is Your Strategy to Manage These 3 Retirement Risks?
Retirement is your time to enjoy the good things in life! You are finally free from the demands and schedule that come with a career. Once you [...]
3 Important Things to Consider Before Filing for Social Security
Retirement is a major life change. If you’re nearing retirement, you probably already realize you have some big decisions ahead of you. One of [...]
The Ins & Outs of Annuities – Explained
Are you making your final financial preparations for retirement? If so, you may be busy analyzing the various tools and products that can be used [...]
[July Webinar] What Baby Boomers Should Know About Social Security & Retirement Planning
This month’s webinar covers a topic that is very important for a growing segment of our population. There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring [...]
How to Fund Your Early Retirement
Is early retirement a part of your plans? If you can afford it, early retirement certainly has its advantages. You get to leave the working world [...]
[Webinar] Tax Advantaged Wealth Accumulation & Retirement Planning:
In this month’s episode of our “Lunch & Learn” webinar series, we will be covering some valuable information to help you [...]
Will Your Spending Go Up or Down After You Retire?
Many people assume their spending will go down once they stop working. Some financial professionals even make this assumption while calculating [...]
3 Important Questions About Disability Protection – Answered
Any solid financial plan is built on a foundation of risk protection. It is much more difficult to reach your financial goals if you are [...]
May 17, 2017 /
Financial Planning
Estate Planning With IRAs: Exploring Beneficiary Options
Beneficiary options with retirement assets can be more involved than initially thought. Usually, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) pass by [...]
5 Tax Law Changes for 2017 That Could Impact Your Finances
Tax season is just around the corner, but even if you have already filed your 2016 taxes, you may be wondering what new changes to the tax law [...]
Could Your Job Change Derail Your Retirement Savings?
Starting a new job is always a very exciting time. Your new job may bring a sizable raise or a new title. It could mark the beginning of a new [...]
3 Common Questions About Estate Planning – Answered
Many of our clients have estate planning needs and often ask us questions on this topic. Local estate attorney, Dirk Winkler, answers three of [...]
Do You Have a Health Care Funding Strategy for Retirement?
Are you nearing retirement age? If so, you may have some big decisions to make regarding your health care plans. Many retirees assume Medicare [...]
Should You Use Life Insurance to Pay For College?
A recent article in U.S. News & World Report discussed the recent rise in the use of life insurance policies as college savings vehicles. [...]
3 Signs You Should Review Your Retirement Plan This Year
Most people made some New Year’s resolutions last month, but many of them may already have fallen by the wayside by now. However, one [...]
How to Pass Your Roth IRA to Your Loved Ones
In 2013, the Roth IRA officially became the IRA of choice for those saving for retirement. That year, contributions to Roth IRAs topped $6 [...]
A Smarter Giving Strategy This Holiday Season
Well, the holiday season is here. Your calendar is probably full of seasonal activities, like buying gifts for loved ones, attending holiday [...]
December 21, 2016 /
Financial Planning
4 Reasons Not to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
If you follow financial “gurus” such as Dave Ramsey, you’ve probably heard the advice that “all debt is bad debt,” [...]
December 1, 2016 /
Financial Planning
How Will the Election Affect Your Retirement Plan?
Regardless of which side of the aisle you find yourself on, the recent election results have thrown many things into question. While the markets [...]
5 Retirement Planning Tips for Millennials
The generation known as “Millennials” is facing many potential challenges when it comes to retirement planning. In general, young [...]
Danger Ahead: What You Don’t Know About Retirement Can Hurt You
You have probably heard lots of news stories and statistics about how Americans are not saving enough for retirement. But even if you are one of [...]
5 Savvy Ways to Retire With More Money
With longer lifespans and skyrocketing healthcare costs, saving plenty of money for retirement is more important than ever. However, inflation, [...]
Why You May Want to Consider a Reverse Mortgage
If you’re like many older Americans, you’re probably working hard to pay off your mortgage before you retire. While this is a [...]
Are Social Security Benefits Taxable?
We work with a lot of clients nearing retirement, so we get a lot of questions about Social Security. Social Security can be an important piece [...]
5 Smart Ways to Spend Less & Save More In Retirement
It’s no secret that most Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement. Statistics show that most Americans nearing retirement have less [...]