If you have a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) then a Health Savings Account (HSA) could be a fantastic, tax savings tool to incorporate into your health care plan. To be considered an HDHP, two conditions must be met. The first is that your annual...
A couple of years ago, as I was coming off the typical Holiday binge-eating period, I decided to do something about it besides the all-too-common New Years resolutions, which usually die on the road to February. This time was different. I decided to get some...
Ideally, your financial plan includes real estate, which offers the kind of attributes that will often take the pressure off the rest of your portfolio to perform. Having the right allocation of real estate in your portfolio provides enhanced diversification and non-correlation, (assets behaving in...
Hiring your children, and the associated tax benefits of doing so is not new. But the new tax law, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, makes it an even better proposition. There are several reasons to consider this if you own...
Every now and then, there are ideas and so-called rules of thumb about retirement planning that creep their way into the mainstream consciousness and then back into oblivion. Sometimes, however, they linger no matter how inaccurate they might be, like undesirable guests at a party...
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein. It is the foundation for success. This applies to the succession of your business or your family or loved ones’ businesses. We have seen many businesses go...
Many of you will remember Jack Benny, the deadpan comedian. Jack was famous for acting out the story of a holdup. He was robbed at gunpoint and the thief was not joking as he uttered: “Your money or your life!”. Jack would look at the...
Can you predict the future? I suspect most of you reading this would say no. For those that would say yes, perhaps you need some therapy (humor intended). What if I asked you: “do you feel connected to your financial future?” Behavioral finance, like any young...
For many people already in retirement, Social Security benefits and home equity constitute their biggest assets in retirement. In recent years, professional journals have shown articles by leading experts recommending strategies using the home’s equity in producing needed income, not just as a last resort...
The best way to explain these concepts is by asking some of the questions my clients ask me: What do you get when you put the words “THE” and “IRS” together. THEIRS. They will get THEIRS one way or another, but you do have a say...