Bull Market–Two Years and Running

Bull Market–Two Years and Running

Two years and running Last month, the bull market turned two years old. Since bottoming on October 12, 2022, the S&P 500 Index has advanced 60% through the last day of October, according to S&P 500 data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 Index...
7 Ways to Pay for Long Term Care

7 Ways to Pay for Long Term Care

Millions of older adults and younger individuals with disabilities require assistance with daily activities that many take for granted. According to LongTermCare.gov: About seven out of 10 people turning 65 today can expect to need some form of long-term care services...
Protecting Yourself from Online Criminals

Protecting Yourself from Online Criminals

It’s Saturday afternoon, and you are watching a movie at home or running errands, and your phone vibrates. You take a peek and see a text from a phone number and area code you don’t recognize. “Hey Jackson, when are you coming to my house to fix my a/c? It’s hot in...
Health Care Planning in Retirement

Health Care Planning in Retirement

It’s not surprising that a survey last year by T. Rowe Price found that health care costs are the biggest financial worry among retirees. On the surface, the numbers are unsettling. According to a 2022 analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a couple with...
Get Creative as You Gear Up for College

Get Creative as You Gear Up for College

A four-year college degree is expensive. How expensive? While the numbers vary depending on whether you attend a public or private university, or in-state or out-of-state institution, the data are sobering. The average cost of college is $38,270 per student per year,...
Elder Care and You

Elder Care and You

Margaret Newcomb, 69, is a retired teacher, and she is trying to protect her retirement savings by caring for her 82-year-old husband, who has severe dementia. At times, he has wandered away from his home. She attaches a tag to his shoelace with her phone number in...
Estate Planning—Don’t Delay

Estate Planning—Don’t Delay

We’ve all read or heard the stories. Someone passes away without a will, and potential heirs sharpen their knives in a free-for-all that can take years to play out in court. The emotional toll is immeasurable, with relationships incurring irreparable harm that can...
7 Disciplines That Lead to Happy Retirement

7 Disciplines That Lead to Happy Retirement

Much has been written about saving for retirement, and we adhere to the principle that financial security is a key component to a successful retirement. Many of you are on that road right now, while others are accessing the savings accumulated over a lifetime. Knowing...
Maximizing Your Social Security

Maximizing Your Social Security

Social Security provides retirees with a basic income. It was never intended to fully cover the cost of living in retirement. But it acts as a supplement to your resources. Social Security includes disability, dependent benefits, and survivor benefits for minor or...
Best Practices to Minimize an Audit

Best Practices to Minimize an Audit

Taxpayers invest about 13 hours preparing their tax returns, according to the IRS’s instructions for Form 1040. More specifically, the IRS says that the average nonbusiness taxpayer spends nine hours preparing a tax return, which includes three hours of record...