The start of a new year is a great time for a financial check-up and to consider the various factors influencing your financial planning. In addition to reflecting on the prior year, many are motivated in January to consider making financial resolutions for the...
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Checklist: What Issues Should I Consider at the Start of the Year?
The start of a new year is a great time for a financial check-up and to consider the various factors influencing your financial planning. In addition to reflecting on the prior year, many are motivated in January to consider making financial resolutions for the future.
Don’t Fall Victim to These 5 Financial Mistakes as a Young Adult
By Marc C. Shaffer
With a few short days left in my 30s, I’ve been reflecting on the choices young adults make in their 20s and 30s that can either set them up for success in their mid-life decades or could potentially set them up for failure. Here are a few potential mistakes I would talk about with people in this age group.
Annual Limits and Important Numbers for 2023
There are lots of important numbers that relate to your financial affairs, and they come from many sources. In some cases, those numbers are annual limits that change each year. Other times, the figures do not often change, but are used frequently or you want to be able to easily access them when needed.
Get Financially Prepared for the New Year
By Marc C. Shaffer
With a new year peeking around the corner, now is a good time to review the financial strategies that are working well for you, your goals for the future, and take inventory of where you stand financially.
What to Do When Your Wealth Reaches 7 Figures
Did you recently add a second comma to your bank balance? Has a recent financial event raised your net worth to the next level? It’s an exciting time, whether it’s the result of your long-term goals such as diligent saving and investing, the sale of a business, a windfall transfer of wealth, or a key promotion.
You’re probably already considering how to protect and manage your wealth.
Are You Prepared for an Estate Tax Sunset?
The federal estate tax threshold rose to $24.12 million in 2022 for married couples and $12.06 million for individuals, as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Like several TCJA provisions, the higher estate tax limit is due to sunset in 2025. Barring congressional action, the exemption amount will return to about $6.2 million, adjusted for inflation, in 2026. Similarly, the current 40% maximum gift and estate tax rate will increase to 45%.
For high-net worth individuals, this could influence wealth transfer strategies. Although this sunset is coming, the good news is that it’s still a few years away.
When Your Plan Doesn’t Go as Planned
By Marc C. Shaffer
Life does not go as planned. It’s a wonder I survive as a financial planner who lives by a calendar and a process, because this statement rings true for everyone, even me. I have seen it in both my personal life and in the lives of the people we help every day. It’s probably the biggest reason I get asked, “So, what happens if…?”
You could have a plan for retirement that includes contributing to your employer-sponsored 401(k) account, only to decide to start your own business. You and your spouse may plan to have one child, only to find out twins are on the way, or you may plan to have several children, only to find out the costly process of IVF is your only option for natural childbearing. You could plan to use a vehicle you purchased for several years before passing it down to your teen only for it to be totaled the very next day. You could create a financial plan that sounds good on paper but does not fit with your lifestyle or financial behaviors.
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Important Birthdays Over 50
Most children stop being “and-a-half” somewhere around age 12. Kids add “and-a-half“ to make sure everyone knows they’re closer to the next age than the last.
When you are older, “and-a-half” birthdays start making a comeback. In fact, starting at age 50, several birthdays and “half-birthdays” are critical to understand because they have implications regarding your retirement income.
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