Step 5: Estate Plan The value of an estate plan is twofold. Yes, you want to pass your assets on to heirs in a seamless and tax-efficient manner. But it is also a roadmap to help your heirs understand the full breadth of your assets, where they are located, and […]

Step 2: Clarify Goals You’re never too young to start a bucket list. That’s because some things (such as bungee jumping) you probably want to knock out in your twenties. Women may want to have children before their forties – that sort of thing. A bucket list is comprised of […]

Step 1: Develop a Budget Once you are truly good and retired – no phase-out, no gig jobs, no income-earning hobbies – most people end up living on a “fixed income.” While that income may fluctuate somewhat based on cost-of-living increases and investment gains, those increases may be few and […]

There are many steps to planning for retirement. Some are legal and financial, some are about communication, and some involve introspection – thinking about your life now and how you want to live the rest of it. By the time most people start thinking about a retirement plan, they have […]

One of the more insightful quotes of baseball great Yogi Berra was, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” When you’re young, first starting out in life and career, the path to professional success and personal fulfillment isn’t always clear. Most people start out on […]

If you would like to donate artwork to an eligible charitable organization, you might be able to take a deduction on your tax return. However, the rules are complex. There are different requirements for different values, and there are scams you want to avoid that could lead to severe consequences […]

One of the positive aspects of sustained high-interest rates is higher yields on bonds, particularly high-quality municipal bonds. It is possible that 2024 will present a different scenario as the Federal Reserve begins a schedule of monetary easing by reducing interest rates over time. The potential for this strategy, combined […]

For many, buying a home is the biggest asset they will ever own. However, you aren’t able to fully benefit from that asset until you pay off the mortgage; until then it is technically a liability. The most common length of a mortgage loan is 30 years, but most people […]

The biggest difference between managing taxes throughout your career versus during retirement is that when you are retired, you are responsible for calculating how much you owe and paying it on a timely basis. Retirees normally have several different income sources, and not all automatically withhold taxes from distributions. Retirement […]

In one year’s time, the U.S. inflation rate dropped by more than half, from 8.2 percent in September 2022 to 3.7 percent in September of 2023. If there is a downside to lower inflation, it’s a lower cost of living adjustment (COLA). This year, the inflation rate plummeted from 6.4 […]