How much is a tax deduction worth? Maybe less than your money scripts would have you believe. Here are some common ways that over-emphasizing deductions may reduce your clients’ tax bills but cost them more money than they save.
Our economy is recovering; the stock market is booming. Yet I'm hearing investors express much more fear now than they did last March when the stock market was falling off a cliff. I see a couple of reasons for this.
Meeting on-line requires a "new language" and awareness. Here are some tips for making the most of virtual meetings.
"If I was your financial adviser, I would tell you that engaging me is not a good deal for you." I’ve told hundreds of prospects this over my nearly 40-year career as a financial planner.
One of President Biden’s early executive orders extended the temporary national moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent that begin on September 4, 2020. The moratorium is intended to help renters struggling to make rent payments because of the economic impact of the pandemic.
President Biden’s coronavirus stimulus package has the intention of flooding the economy with money at a time when economic growth is sputtering. Ironically, it contains one provision likely to create exactly the opposite of what he intends: raising the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 per hour.
In conversations with financial planners or therapists who ask about the specifics of my practice, I am inclined to answer, “I am in the wellness business.” This results in a deep and theoretical dialogue.
When there's drama in the stock market, I often learn about it at the gym. Case in point: the recent headline-grabbing hullabaloo about GameStop and Reddit.
"There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch," my grandpa once told me. The adage suggesting you can't get something for nothing seems to have bitten millions of unwitting investors who used a popular trading platform, Robinhood.
How much money do you need to have to be considered rich or wealthy?
As devastating financially as a frivolous lawsuit may be to one’s wealth, it’s nowhere near what I consider the number-one destroyer of financial wealth – divorce.
One of my saddest professional experiences came recently when one of my long-time clients, a man in his late 80s with no immediate family and few close friends, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s.
With the 2020 elections, we are hearing a lot about socialism. Many fear that, should the Democratic party sweep the White House and Senate, an inevitable march toward the US becoming a socialist country will begin.
A financial advisor that you feel you can trust is not automatically one who is trustworthy. Making that distinction is crucial to your financial well-being.
Every once in a while, a breaking news story is on a topic that I actually understand. The September 27 New York Times article about Trump’s taxes was one such story. Many reactions to it show considerable misunderstanding and confusion on how the tax system works.
Given Biden's current lead in the polls and the possibility of Democrats gaining control of the Senate, his tax plan may eventually be passed by Congress. Regardless of your political views, it's not too soon to consider the possible implications for your financial planning.
Companies should apply for PPP loans without the added weight of public scrutiny based on incomplete knowledge of their financial conditions.
Those whose work focuses on two other components of wellbeing – emotional and financial – are not risking their lives caring for their clients. Yet their worlds look very different today than they did a few weeks ago.
In a move that has bewildered many CFPs, the CFP Board of Standards took a giant step backward in transparency. It chose to no longer inform consumers searching for a CFP of advisors' compensation models.
Nearly 40 years of financial planning experience has taught me that retirement is one of the most impactful emotional transitions in life. As your clients face the shift from earning a paycheck to relying on sources other than work for income, difficult emotions and deeply buried money scripts will surface.
I advise against variable, indexed (i.e., equity-indexed and fixed-indexed), and other similar annuities that pay high commissions, have high surrender charges or have high annual fees. But SPIAs may have a role in retirement plans.
If lawmakers in several states and cities have their way, the traditional security deposit for housing rentals may become a relic of the past.
The Grinch who stole Christmas is alive and well this year – in the U.S. Congress. Our representatives and senators passed a bill that negatively affects the middle and working class by changing the rules of passing an IRA to one’s heirs.
For frequent travelers, who often choose credit cards based on reward programs, accumulated points can be worth thousands of dollars. Whether points are an asset that can be transferred to an heir is another matter.
While most Americans support providing free medical care to those who need it most, not imposing an additional cost on the middle class has never been accomplished by any country that has universal health care.
The entrepreneurial mindset of determination and perseverance can bring significant financial rewards. Expanding that mindset to include a broader, more diversified view of investing for the future will turn those rewards into long-term financial independence.
Few things strike more fear and disbelief into the heart of an employer than learning a trusted employee has embezzled thousands of dollars. Here’s how businesses can protect against such a catastrophic loss.
The physical protection of a bank vault, plus a system of access requiring two keys kept by the customer and the bank, would seem to provide a great deal of security. Yet several recent news articles suggest safe deposit boxes are not as safe as they seem.
Annuities have no place being owned by an IRA or, as the SECURE Act would allow, a 401(k) plan.
A national fixed minimum wage poses a gross inequity when adjusted by local cost-of-living expenses and taxes.
The core polarization that pervades so much of today's society also shows up in people's beliefs about money.
"Medicare for all" or some form of "free" universal health care is certainly an appealing idea. Who among us wouldn’t appreciate someone else paying our medical bills?
Two types of tax increases are being promoted by several presidential candidates and members of Congress. The less common idea, which I wrote about recently, is a wealth tax on net worth. The more common proposal is a significant increase in income taxes.
The CFP Board proposal on fiduciary duties are a good first step towards a fiduciary standard. Yet, they fall well short of basic fiduciary practices and, equally as important, what ordinary investors clearly want from an investment advisor or financial planner. Significant common sense revisions will align the CFP requirements with true fiduciary practices. Alternatively, the Board can realign its promise to the public to fit its current standards. Webinar attendees will learn:
