Financial Planning

You may think of life insurance in very simple terms: you buy a policy so that your loved ones will have some financial assistance when you die. Its functionality doesn’t end there. If it looks like your accumulated wealth will be subject to estate taxes someday, life insurance may be a very useful tool for…

How well off do you think you are financially? If your career or life takes an unexpected turn, would your finances hold up? What do you think will become of the money you’ve made and saved when you are gone? These are major questions, and most people can’t answer them as quickly as they would…

Times have changed – and so have financial advisors. Today, people don’t want financial advice from a salesman. Instead, they want a relationship with a financial professional who is candid, trustworthy and thoroughly educated, and who provides personalized financial consulting for each client. That search often leads them to a fee-based or fee-only financial advisor…

Americans have a great deal of disposable income relative to many other nations, yet our free spending can take us further and further away from the potential for financial freedom. Some people fall into crippling spending habits and injure their finances as a consequence. Bad habit: failing to save. Saving – saving even $50 or…

The playing field is level – but only at the federal level. A year after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in U.S. v. Windsor, financial options have definitely improved for gay and lesbian couples who have married or intend to marry. Irritating residency issues remain, however, en route to true equality. Residing in a state…

Positive moves to counteract negative cash flow. The financial analysis website nerdwallet.com keeps track of the various debts common to the U.S. household. As of April 2014, they’ve found an average mortgage debt of $154,365. They have also discovered an average household has $7,087 in debt from credit cards, but when the numbers are revised…

Are student loans holding our economy back? Certainly America has recovered from the last recession, but this is an interesting question nonetheless. In a November 2013 address before the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Director Rohit Chopra expressed that college loan debt “may prove to be one of the…

I just finished a new book titled, “The Age of Oversupply” by investment banker, Daniel Alpert. His thesis is that the current economic malaise the U.S. and other countries around the world are experiencing is the result of three factors: 1. Oversupply of labor 2. Oversupply of capacity 3. Oversupply of capital He goes into…

When was the last time you looked at your life insurance coverage? Why not do it now? Life insurance can be a remarkable utility as an estate planning and tax-saving tool. Whether you have no life insurance, or you haven’t reviewed your policy in a while, it is always a good idea to be aware…