That’s right, I said YOUR plan, because I already know my kids aren’t getting any athletic or academic scholarships. At a Financial Planning Association meeting I picked up this flyer from the nice folks at College Invest. In the flyer there are several interesting statistics: 83% of Colorado parents expect their child to receive a…
If you are going through or contemplating a divorce, first of all, I’m sorry. That is a terrible time for all involved. Other than custody of minor children, the biggest sticking point is how to divide assets. There are financial planners who have extra education in this area and the most recognized certification is CDFA…
I don’t like to feed into the media hysteria when it comes to stock market drops. As I say repeatedly to clients, friends, in this blog, and to my cat, stock market recessions are a normal part of the economy. They last on average 12-18 months, so the pain is temporary. Drops in the stock…
This article reminded me of another reason it’s better to pay for financial advice separately from high cost investments. Front-end loads, 12b-1 fees, and annual expense ratios are not tax deductible. Financial advice such as tax-preparation fees, investment advisory annual fees, and the cost of creating a financial plan are tax-deductible. Client Education More Important…
Below are three retirement savings loopholes that may be here today, gone tomorrow. Tomorrow of course being in 10 years when legislation manages to get passed in our gridlocked government. Don’t panic, but just be aware that just because something is in the tax code today, doesn’t mean that it will be allowed forever. Back-door…
Even financial planners have a rough time getting Social Security information. I recently tried to log in to my Social Security account and was told that an account couldn’t be created for my Social Security Number. “Please contact us for help!” So, I called the number, interacted for about 5 minutes with the robot on…
For the first time in US history, consumer spending at restaurants and bars is more than spending at grocery stores. According to the US Census Bureau and Haver Statistics, in March $50.1 billion was spent in grocery stores vs. $50.4 billion in restaurants and bars. Zagat’s 2015 Dining Trend Survey says that the national average…
Do you ever think, “if only I made $X amount per year I wouldn’t worry about money.” Or maybe, “if I had $1million in the bank, I wouldn’t worry about money.” Guess what? It’s not true! According to a MartizCX Wealth Online Survey of over 1,000 investors with at least $100,000 in investable assets, even…
This last method of spending down different accounts is probably the most popular. Method #3 I’ll call the Pro-Rata System. Simply put, you take a proportionate percentage out of each type of account every year. For example, say you have 50% of assets in tax-deferred accounts, 25% in taxable accounts, and 25% in Roth accounts,…
Last week, we talked about spending down retirement money starting with already-taxed assets, then tax-deferred accounts, and ending with Roth IRAs. This week, we look at spend down Method #2: Tax-deferred (Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s) first, taxable (non-retirement) accounts second, Roth IRAs last. Pros: Spreads the taxes owed on tax-deferred accounts out over a longer period…
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