Some investors choose to invest their savings in stocks while other others favor investing in directly real estate. Below is a brief list of the advantages and disadvantages of each. Advantages of Directly Owned Real Estate Leverage: The primary advantage of real estate is the ability to use leverage. Leverage is an investment strategy where…
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In the hierarchy of tax-preferenced savings vehicles, the Health Savings Account (HSA) sits at the top. Unlike an IRA or 401K, an HSA offers a triple tax benefit: contributions to the account are tax-deductible, earnings grow tax-deferred and distributions are tax-free as long as they are used to pay for qualified health expenses. In contrast,…
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In the past, when it came to income taxes, people who were charitably inclined could make charitable gifts to reduce their taxable income. While that opportunity is still available under the new tax law, the standard deduction is now much higher ($12,200 for single and $24,400 for couples under 65 in 2019) and, as a…
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2018 was an unusual year. On the one hand, the US economy posted perhaps its best year since the global financial crisis of 2008: worker productivity surged, wage growth accelerated, and household net worth rose above $100 trillion. And for the first time in American history, the number of open job listings exceeded the number…
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As a financial planner, I am always intrigued by the behaviors regarding money that I routinely witness during this time of the year. As soon as the Thanksgiving dinner is cleared from the table (sometimes even before), conversations center around the holidays – the perfect gift for your spouse, tokens to remember colleagues and teachers, the…
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Most of us have heard of asset allocation – the process of dividing a portfolio’s assets across various parts of the market according to an investment plan that takes into account an investors goals and risk tolerance. Asset location, on the other hand, is a tax minimization strategy that takes into account how different…
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If you have ever met with a financial advisor, it is likely that they have several letters after their name. As a consumer, it is important to understand exactly what these designations mean – they are not all the same and they do not all indicate the same type of expertise or accomplishment. Some require…
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As a financial planner, one of the topics that I always bring up with my clients, although most of them don’t like to discuss it, is estate planning. Estate planning is relevant for everyone, no matter how much money you have or how old you are. Typically, people think of Wills when it comes to…
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When helping people plan for their financial future, the overriding principle that governs the advice we give is to “control what we can.”, and one of the things we have the most control over is how much we spend and how much we save. For those that are preparing for retirement, so much focus is…
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One of the major changes that were made to the tax code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was the expansion of the Standard Deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples. This means that going forward, many more taxpayers will be taking the standard deduction rather than itemizing.
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