Summer is a great time for kids to catch fireflies, perfect their backstrokes, daydream, and learn some great lessons about money and financial literacy. Sound like a hard idea to sell to kids in vacation mode? Not if you make it a rewarding part of summer fun. Here are some tips to incorporate smart money…
10 Things to Discuss Before the Big Day You are excited, in love, and planning the wedding of your dreams. Probably the only money questions on your mind are the down payments for the caterers and the florists! Yet – whether your wedding reflects a minimalist sensibility or is a no-holds-barred extravaganza – it’s better…
Last week, in response to confusion surrounding the 2018 tax law that was passed in December, the IRS released an updated online Withholding Calculator. The tool is designed to help taxpayers make sure they are not wildly underpaying or overpaying what they will owe. The new law is highly complex and made changes that included…
Are you saving for your child’s education with a 529 account? If you are already contributing to a 529 plan, reduced deductions in the new 2018 tax law mean you may want to increase your contributions – or even create a second 529 account – to offset higher state taxes. If you haven’t yet opened…
Saving on taxes, while saving for your child or grandchild’s college education, just got a little trickier thanks to important changes in the “Kiddie Tax”. The tax bill that was signed into law in December made some significant changes to how Uniform Gifts to Minors Accounts (UGMAs) and Uniform Transfers to Minors Accounts (UTMAs) are…
Imagine this: you are in a car and it is sinking. You try pulling on the door handles but they won’t open because the pressure on the outside of the car is much greater than the pressure inside the car. What do you do? More likely than not, you are now panicking and you can’t…
This past weekend my family has made the move into a new home, which needless to say, has been a chaotic process. It really got me thinking, though, about real estate/home ownership and how it fits into client portfolios and their financial plans. The mantra of the middle class is buy a home. But is…
You’ve made the commitment to start “adult-ing,” a very important first step. Don’t start to build from the roof down, though: make sure that you’re laying a strong financial foundation. In our last post we talked about 8 Financial Mistakes to Avoid in Your 20s and 30s. Here are five more money mistakes to watch…
Your 20s and 30s are an exciting time. You’re starting to build the life you envision for yourself, or perhaps you’re still seeking out new experiences to learn more about yourself and your goals. These are years when we expect to learn and grow by exploring jobs and careers, cultural experiences, social experiences and other…
Financial differences rank among the leading causes of divorce among couples, both young and old. The statistics are alarming, but perhaps not surprising. How we handle money is not usually a topic of that comes up while we are dating. As a result most couples don’t discuss financial compatibility before saying “I do”. When the…