Variable annuities and other excessively expensive investment products are often like my full-sized pickup. They are really only necessary for one or two specific duties, and fuel economy isn’t one of them! If that is the case, why do so many people own variable annuities? Why do so many people drive gas guzzling full sized […]
The term recession seems to be gaining a lot of airtime lately. Fears of an economic slowdown seem to be everywhere. Many folks are tuned in to the fearmongering, and allowing it to affect their daily lives. “Recession” gets tossed around in the media like a radioactive hot potato. The prospects of a recession seem […]
If you want a great return on your money you need to take on more risk. The investment firms on Wall Street have been conditioning the general public to accept this as reality for decades. There is truth to the risk reward relationship. However, there are ways to increase your return without exposing your hard-earned […]
Should you carry a mortgage, service the debt, and invest the difference in retirement? We will explore the popular “carry a mortgage and invest for a higher rate of return” position many advisors seem to take in this month article. Google search “Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early,” and you will likely find many […]
“Home is where the heart is.” ~ Gaius Plinius Secundus, a Roman philosopher better known as Pliny the Elder The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of the popular idiom reads “Your home will always be the place for which you feel the deepest affection, no matter where you are.” The website Quora.com (which advertises itself as “A […]
Deconstructing the pro-investing argument against paying off your mortgage: In next month’s newsletter we’ll deconstruct several of the pro-mortgage viewpoints. We’ll stress test various rates of return assumptions in an attempt to determine where mortgage intertest rates and portfolio returns cross over from advantageous to disadvantageous. In doing so I hope to identify the level […]
Imagine this. It’s early afternoon and you’re at the grocery store with list in hand. Your cart is overflowing. Only a few items remain, and soon you will be headed to the checkout counter. Did you bring your checkbook? Oh, I see. That’s too old fashioned for you, huh? How about your credit or debit […]
When wealth transfers from one generation to another often times there’s an opportunity for mistakes to be made, especially when passing appreciated non-retirement assets. In the last six months we’ve come across two separate cases in which an error could’ve cost these families well over $500,000 in unnecessary taxable gains, and it was of no […]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 was one of the largest sweeping set of tax code changes in history. Among one of the lesser known changes was an alteration to the rules impacting the utilization of 529 savings plan assets. It opened the door for change in the way families utilize 529 plan […]
Two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom and you get an amazing substance! H2O, AKA water, is a shape shifter. It can be a gas, invisible to the eye. Physically harmless to touch. It can be a solid when frozen into ice. Get wacked with that, and OUCH! Leave your hand on it too long […]