Investing can be complicated to the average “Joe or JoAnn.” However, having just the simplest knowledge of what it is and how it works can help you manage your money with confidence. Let’s break it down in a way that makes it easier to understand. This is the...
Current Events
To Convert or Not to Convert? That Is the Question!
What am I talking about, you ask? Roth conversions. What is a Roth conversion? A Roth conversion is taking all or part of an existing traditional IRA and moving it into a Roth IRA. The main difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA is that traditional...
Is It Time to Change Your Investment Strategy?
Uncertainty is a fact of life. With uncertainty comes fear. Without a doubt, the global pandemic has escalated uncertainty and fear in our lives. Learning to cope with uncertainty is essential to a resilient life. But how do we do this? Some thoughts: Have a financial...
Basic Investing Building Block #1
This is the first in a series of postings where the focus will be around investing. We will touch on some of the core building blocks of investing. It may be a reminder for many of you or new to some, but if you find these useful, please share it with others. Whether...
CARES Act Economic Impact Payments: Great Expectations
One of the provisions of the CARES Act signed into law last month that has received the most press is the economic impact payments. These payments, also referred to as stimulus checks or recovery rebates, are desperately needed by many individuals at this time and are...
Find Courage By Acknowledging The Good News During The Pandemic
In these troubling and uncertain times, is there any good news out there? As very real pain and suffering, physical and financial and emotional, spreads across the globe, is there any good news? Let’s consider: Gas prices are down, way down (even though we have...
How The CARES Act Will Impact Retirement Plan Distributions
Opportunity Alert! The CARES Act impact on retirement plan distributions in 2020 Are you planning on a retirement account distribution this year? Whether you had planned on required distributions but wish you could leave funds alone, or you now need a distribution to...
College Planning Tips From The Other Side
In the midst of today’s such unique circumstances (COVID-19) it’s easy to forget some of the normalities of life. However, for the students preparing themselves mentally and physically for the college transition it can add an extra layer of anxiety to an already...
We Will Get Through This Market Pandemic
Well, this seems crazy, almost surreal like one of the (always popular) Armageddon movies. My sister, who lives in Los Angeles, said people are lined up down the street to get in gun stores (presumably to take up arms to guard their toilet paper). But seriously, the...
What do we really know about the financial markets anyway?
Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, reminds us to "forget about what the stock market is going to do. Instead, focus on what you, as an investor, ought to do…" So what do we really know about the financial markets? First, what we don't know: The full...