Blog
Many financial blogs and articles contain a lot of jargon that is incomprehensible to folks that don't have their head in the industry all day long.
If you are looking for something along those lines, THIS IS NOT IT.
This blog will be published every week or so with
- Practical tips on improving your financial life
- Stories where a simple change has made a significant difference in someone's life
- Things you might have been completely unaware of that may make your life better or more enjoyable.
They will not be too long and they will be understandable.
October is National Financial Planning Month
Tips to help you find a financial professional and financial planning firm The financial professional and financial planning firm you pick to manage your assets and advise you on key financial decisions can affect your retirement and...
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Regain Confidence and Restore Your Retirement
Sectors hit include air travel, insurance, oil production and entertainment The path to retirement can often seem daunting, with the end goal appearing distant and difficult to reach. This sentiment has only grown in recent years, as...
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Members of the Military - Personal Financial Planning
Service branches offer campaigns and educational programs to servicemembers and their families. The Air Force, Navy, and Army each require that respective members receive financial education, training, and counseling....
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Record Keeping for Your Own Business
Keeping good business records will not only help you stay in business but may also help you increase profits. Your business records let you analyze where your business is and where it's going. They point out potential trouble spots...
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Navigating the 4 Phases of Retirement
Retirement seems like a long way off, but it arrives faster than you think. The big question is, are you ready? What exactly does retirement entail? Analysts suggest there are four designated phases of retirement that a person often...
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401(k) Options for Small Business Owners
Regardless of the business's size, small business owners have 401(k) retirement savings plan options that may be suitable for their situation. Business owners must plan for retirement by utilizing retirement savings vehicles that may...
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Regain Confidence and Restore Your Retirement
The path to retirement can often seem daunting, with the end goal appearing distant and difficult to reach. This sentiment has only grown in recent years, as indicated by a recent report on the Economic Well-Being of US Adults,...
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Investing for Major Financial Goals
Go out into your yard and dig a big hole. Every month, throw $50 into it, but don't take any money out until you're ready to buy a house, send your child to college, or retire. It sounds a little crazy, doesn't it? But that's what...
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5 Tips for Saving and Investing as a Small-Business Owner
As a business owner, putting all your profits back into the business may be tempting, especially during the lean years. However, when it comes to saving and investing as a business owner, there are other paths you could consider for...
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Value Investing and Today’s Affluent Portfolio
A Philosophical Question Every consumer likes a good bargain, particularly value investors, who seek out stocks trading for less than their intrinsic value. By choosing companies the market has undervalued, or investing in mutual funds...
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5 Ways to Improve Your Financial Awareness
Regardless of what you do or how much you earn, you deal with money on a daily basis. The more you understand about finances, the more effectively you will be able to manage yours. Yet, many people lack financial literacy skills. One...
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The Role of Insurance in Your Financial Plan
A critical part of financial planning that is often overlooked is insurance. Having various insurance policies will provide different benefits to your financial plan, ranging from protection to tax breaks. In fact, insurance is a...
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Securing Your Future with Life Cycle Planning
The need for regular saving and investing spans many life stages. Through the years, your goals will change and your strategies will shift, but don’t be alarmed. You’re just progressing through the normal stages of life,...
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Financial Planning for a Couple’s Age Gap
Couples usually don’t retire at the same time when they have an ‘age gap’ between them. An age gap relationship is one where there is eleven or more year’s age difference between them. Age-gap relationships are...
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Financial Freedom, Market Volatility, and You
If recent market volatility has you questioning your opportunities for financial freedom, you are not alone. Due to rising inflation, higher interest rates, a volatile stock market, and recession fears, many investors find themselves...
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529 College Savings Plans: For Education and Estate Planning
529 College Savings plans are essential for saving for higher education expenses, and if used for education, accumulate tax-free. Since 529 plans came into existence in 1996, their popularity has continued to increase, with 529 plan...
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Why Life Insurance Is Important at Any Age
Many people know that life insurance is important to have, and yet not enough actually get it. Some decide they’ll get it later in life while others feel it’s a waste of money because they don’t have any health issues...
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The Benefits of Getting A Second Financial Opinion
When it comes to medical or legal advice, the value of getting a second opinion is fairly well established and defined. What about financial decisions? At what point does it make sense to get a second (or a third) opinion on money...
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The History of Mom-and-Pop Shops and How To Support Them Today
The History of Mom-and-Pop Shops and How To Support Them Today Mom-and-pop businesses have held a special place in the hearts of American consumers since the beginning of retail commerce in the USA. These family-owned, small...
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Making the Most of Your Relationship with a Financial Professional
Making the Most of Your Relationship with a Financial Professional Heading to your first meeting with a new financial professional may be a lot like going on a blind date. Can you have anything in common? Can you click?...
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Understanding Your Credit Mix to Avoid a Credit Mix-Up
Understanding Your Credit Mix to Avoid a Credit Mix-Up Paying your bills on time and only using a portion of your available credit may help your credit score. However, these good habits are not the only factors shaping your credit...
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Silicon Valley Bank Is the 2nd Largest Bank Failure
The FDIC-seizure of Silicon Valley Bank is the second-largest US bank failure in history as it held $209 billion in assets at the time of its collapse. Even after adjusting for inflation, by assets it trails only Washington Mutual,...
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5 Last Minute Considerations Before Tax Day
5 Last Minute Considerations Before Tax Day With April’s federal tax filing and payment deadline on the horizon, Americans are dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s as they prepare for the countdown to Tax Day. But...
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Women’s Financial Empowerment: The Challenge of Financial Wellness and Why We Need Women’s History M
Women’s Financial Empowerment: The Challenge of Financial Wellness and Why We Need Women’s History Month March is Women’s History Month, a month-long celebration of female empowerment1. This effort includes...
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Don't Let Your Retirement Savings Goal Get You Down
Don't Let Your Retirement Savings Goal Get You Down As a retirement savings plan participant, you know that setting an accumulation goal is an important part of your overall strategy. In fact, over decades of conducting its annual...
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Show Loved Ones You Care This Valentine's Day With An Updated Estate Plan
Show Loved Ones You Care This Valentine's Day With An Updated Estate Plan Hopefully, you’re planning to give all of your loved ones plenty of affection this Valentine's Day. But what if you weren’t around? To make...
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3 U.S. Presidents Who Still Influence Your Retirement Planning Today
3 U.S. Presidents Who Still Influence Your Retirement Planning Today Each year, Presidents' Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February, paying tribute to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the other U.S. presidents...
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3 Reasons to Review Your Beneficiaries Now
3 Reasons to Review Your Beneficiaries Now Most types of financial accounts allow you to designate a beneficiary, from checking and savings accounts to life insurance policies, 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and trusts. But when was...
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Plan a Date for a Heart-to-Heart Couple’s Talk About Retirement Planning
Plan a Date for a Heart-to-Heart Couple’s Talk About Retirement Planning Retirement planning may not be your idea of an exciting date night. However, retirement strategies and goals are so varied that couples in committed...
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Protect Financial Information from Prying Eyes on the Web
As more and more consumers search for financial information on the Internet, they may inadvertently leave themselves open to being “tracked” by certain companies and individuals.
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Be Your Most Organized Self This Year
A planner can be a game-changing tool—one that really causes you to not only plan for change, but to stick to it. It’s something you can go back to when you need a reminder of your daily tasks, long-term goals, or any weekly plans you have.
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A Path to Setting and Reaching Your 2023 Goals
What if you focused on your system instead of just your goals? Setting goals for a new year can feel overwhelming. We all know that resolutions don’t last, but we also feel the energy that comes with a new year of possibilities.
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Your Financial Fresh Start: 12 Resolutions in 12 Months
Change may be difficult, especially when you try to change your financial habits. The process might be easier if you take an incremental approach. Do you want to get on top of your finances this year?
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Creating a Legacy of Change through Charitable Giving
Philanthropy today is different than it was in the past. It was once common for donors to distribute their wealth through smaller grants to numerous organizations. Over time, best practices for charitable giving have evolved, and...
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Examining Donor-Advised Funds
Making it Easy to Make A DifferenceAmericans donate billions to charity annually. If you give to charity, you need to know about one of the best tools to facilitate generosity: Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs).DAFs date from the 1930s but...
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The 12 Days of Year-End Planning: Things to Consider Going into “The New Year" (Year-End Planning Ch
At the end of the year, it is necessary to reflect on your financial picture, review the last 12 months, and plan for the future. With all that is involved, it can seem overwhelming. Consider breaking up the responsibilities over...
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5 Do’s and Don'ts for Charitable Giving During the Holidays
The fourth quarter holidays are often seen as one of the prime times to take out your checkbook — not only do many charities put in extra efforts helping others this time of year, but donating is also a smart financial move....
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Make a Positive Impact This Giving Tuesday With Impact Investing
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday center on consumer deals, Giving Tuesday—the Tuesday after Thanksgiving—has a different focus. Each year, individuals and corporations are encouraged to use the day to support charities...
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High Net-Worth Individuals: Are You Missing Opportunities in Your Financial Planning?
High Net-Worth executives and those that have been self-employed, can experience common problems in their financial planning journey. Often, they have missed opportunities in their financial planning because they haven’t planned...
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End of Year (EOY) Deadlines Checklist
For many of us, a new year is an opportunity for fresh starts and discovering the best versions of ourselves, but some things—like tax contributions and retirement deadlines—don't change much, if at all. And with that shiny...
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Retirement’s Second Act: Setting the Stage for Encore Entrepreneurship
An encore entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business or venture after age 55. They represent more than half of all business owners in the U.S., and for a good reason.1 These entrepreneurs have decades of work and life...
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Entrepreneurs aren’t Born, They’re Made
Who are entrepreneurs? Sometimes they are the people who leave the corporate world to pursue their own dreams. In many cases, they may be individuals who have found themselves dislocated or “downsized” from a previous job....
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10 Easy Financial Planning Steps for Beginners
If you've never engaged in financial planning and are unsure how to get started, this article is for you. A financial plan starts by evaluating your current financial situation and future expectations and can be created...
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An Essential Guide to Estate Planning Preparedness
A recent survey by Caring.com found that a whopping two in three American adults do not have an estate plan1—an alarming statistic, considering that an estate plan can protect your assets and ensure that they go to the right...
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Ten Things You Must Know About Medicare
Heading into your retirement years brings a slew of new topics to grapple with, and one of the most maddening may be Medicare. Figuring out when to enroll, what to enroll in and what coverage will be best for you can be daunting. To...
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A Fall Financial Checklist
For many, autumn is the best time of year. The return of cool breezes, comforting foods, and pumpkins can be invigorating. It’s also a bookmark of sorts, especially for your finances—a perfect time to take stock of your...
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How to Protect Your Wealth as You Get Older
As you get older and closer to retirement, your financial practices need to shift slightly as you transition from working and saving to relying on your nest egg. As you approach this stage of your life, you need to take steps to...
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6 Important Components of Estate Planning
Basic estate planning is something that everyone should do, regardless of your age, marital status, the value of your assets, and if you’re a parent or not. According to a 2021 poll by Gallup, less than half of U.S. adults...
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Are You Maximizing 401(k) Contributions?
The more money that you can save when you are working, the easier it should be for you to retire and enjoy your golden years. Unfortunately, Social Security may no longer provide a sufficient income to live on during retirement. To...
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Making Decisions About Medicare
As you near age 65, you may start to think about Medicare. How do you sort through your coverage options? When (and how) do you enroll? And what if you have other health insurance? Here is some information to help you when it's time to...
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Efficiency Rules: 3 Simple Steps for Improved Planning and Productivity
Do you wish that there was more time in a day? Do you want to have time to drink a cup of coffee in the morning, or get to the gym before or after work? Well, we can’t change how much time there is each day, but we can help you...
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Now Might Be a Good Time for a Roth Conversion
One silver lining in the current bear market is that this could be a good time to convert assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Converted assets are subject to federal income tax in the year of conversion, which might be a...
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The Principles of Financial Literacy
Financial literacy refers to the skills and knowledge that allow an individual to make informed and effective decisions through their understanding of finances. Financial literacy starts by building a basic understanding of 'money...
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3 Golf Tips to Keep Your Retirement Plan on Course
In golf, as in finances, there are a few rules of thumb that may improve your game: keep a level head, avoid traps, practice before trying something new and stay the course. Applying lessons from the golf course to your financial life...
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8 Reasons Small Businesses Should Hire Veterans
Hiring employees is sometimes a difficult task. You may need to find employees who fit the business culture and have the skills to get the job done. The good news for small businesses looking for employees with various skills and a...
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Five Things to Do Before Meeting With an Advisor
Americans' financial lives are increasingly complex. It's not unusual to have checking and savings accounts, a 401(k), IRAs, and other personal investments. Keeping track of all your savings and investments has prompted many...
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6 Retirement Tips for Surviving the Sandwich Generation Squeeze
Adults caring for aging parents and children simultaneously have now become known as the "sandwich generation." While each generation comes with its own array of financial challenges, the sandwich generation often feels...
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4 Financial Lessons from America’s Founding Fathers
America’s Founding Fathers created the foundation of a nation like no other. Each had goals and dreams, many with high expectations of what the United States of America could become. For today’s citizens, it may be possible...
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After the Military: Tips for Your Financial Transition to Civilian Life
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Continuing to Work After Drawing Social Security? What Retirees Should Know
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Tax Prep Checklist: Everything You Need to Be Ready for Tax Season
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Examining Your Ghosts of Christmas Pasts
Analyzing your past financial decisions is essential to changing behaviors As Charles Dickens tells us in his celebrated Christmas fable, the self-defeating ways we behave financially are rooted in the past. Digging them out is the one...
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End of Year Financial Planning
For some, it’s easy to put personal finances on the back burner during the last few months of the year. However, before the year comes to an end, it’s essential to review your finances. By doing so now, you can make the...
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Christmas Shopping Lessons for Investors
Is that investment an innovation or an improvement on an existing product? As Christmas sales loom, we face an endless array of sparkly, shiny and occasionally innovative items. As an investor, you run into a similar phenomenon that...
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2021 Year-End Planning for Retirees
For some, 2021 has flown by—and as we approach the last quarter of the year, it's a good time to begin planning for the next one. Year-end planning is especially important for retirees and those hoping to retire in 2021 or 2022....
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10 Best Financial Benefits for Military Families
difference in their families' personal finances. Here are ten of the top financial benefits available to service members and how to make the most of them to manage your family's financial future. My husband was an Army doctor for 21...
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A Financial Review Can Pay Off at Year End
Today, many people find themselves bombarded by a constant stream of financial news from television, radio, and the Internet. Yet, does all this “information age” data really help you manage your finances any better now...
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What Veterans Should Know About Retirement Planning
Veterans' retirement benefits are among some of the most generous out there, in large part due to the risks and sacrifices that come from military service. But navigating this array of benefits may seem complicated. What should...
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A Letter to Our Clients: November 2021
November 4, 2021 Dear Valued Investor: The past year and a half have tested all of us, but overall, the economy continues to strengthen, COVID-19 trends are greatly improving, and this still relatively young bull market is alive and...
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Vets, Don't Miss Out on 'Hidden Benefits'
After his grandfather died more than a decade ago, Lamarr Couser and his family were caught by surprise when the funeral director asked whether the World War II veteran was covered by a life insurance policy from the Department of...
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The Truth Behind Common Medicare Misconceptions
Millions of people get help from Medicare every year, and this coverage can be a lifesaver. But in spite of widespread usage, there are many misconceptions about Medicare. To learn more about this government insurance program as you...
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A Retirement Planning Primer
Does your retirement seem years and years away? While it may appear this way, you owe it to yourself to look ahead and begin giving thought to a time in your life that may account for 20 or more "golden" years. Granted, time may be on...
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A Letter to Our Clients: October 2021
Dear Valued Investor: One constant in life is change. During the past year and a half, we have experienced more change than any of us bargained for. Change is disruptive—but also brings opportunities. For investors right now,...
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From Cost to Coverage: 5 Benefits of Enrolling in Medicare Advantage
Medicare part C, or better known as Medicare Advantage is a policy offered through private insurance companies that provides medical and hospital coverage. Those who are already enrolled in Medicare parts A and B, are automatically...
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Making Sense of Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D
Medicare is available to virtually all U.S. citizens and legal residents 65 years of age and over who have previously worked and paid U.S. taxes or who are/were married to someone who did. There are four key parts to Medicare —...
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Enrolling in Medicare Advantage: What You Need to Know
Now that you have decided that Medicare Advantage is an option worth exploring, you may be wondering what the next steps are to signing up. While the steps for signing up are simple, there are a few key points to remember during the...
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All About Medicare and How It Impacts Financial Planning
At its core, Medicare is a federal health insurance program for Americans who are ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities. Here are key points to know about Medicare: What Does Medicare Cover? Medicare Part A pays for...
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How To Financially Prepare for a Disaster
Natural disasters like wildfires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and long-term power outages don't discriminate—they may impact anyone at any time. However, you don't need to live your life under the constant stress of expecting...
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Changes to Medicare in 2021: What Recipients Should Know
For many people, turning 65 provides one of the keys to retirement: access to affordable healthcare. Whether you're enrolling in the Medicare program for the first time or have been a Medicare enrollee for years, it's important to stay...
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Begin Investing While Young
There’s a simple word that has profound implications for savings and investing: compounding. Like a snowball that grows as it rolls down a hill, compounding provides the potential for your money to grow, reinvesting your...
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Mid-Year Is a Good Time for a Financial Checkup
The first half of 2021 is behind us. As life emerges from the pandemic to a "new normal," a mid-year financial checkup may be more important than ever this year. Here are some ways to make sure that your financial situation is...
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Taxpayer Appreciation Day—Recognizing Taxpayers' Contributions
Though U.S. taxpayers received an extra month to file and pay their federal income taxes in 2021, some are still smarting from having to write a check to the IRS.[1] For many, it can be tough to make the connection between those...
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Why Invest?
To accumulate wealth, people may choose to invest their money into various types of investments. Investing creates opportunities that otherwise would be difficult to manage due to the consistency of contributing to the investment....
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Eight Key Facts to Know About Social Security
A whopping 70 percent of adults in their 20s through 50s fear that the Social Security program might be reduced or eliminated by the time they retire, and don’t know what to expect.1 It's important for all adults to be informed...
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Your Retirement Portfolio: Five Things to Consider Before Market Turbulence
It is human nature to seek advice when things aren't going well or when an unforeseen event occurs. Often, people seek financial advice from a professional only when the stock market and their investments are experiencing turbulent...
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A Checklist for Your Retirement Planning
Remember, it is never too early to start planning for your future The time to begin planning for your financial future is now. So, when it comes to preparing for retirement, the earlier you start, the better. Here are some steps to...
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Mid-Year Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed
LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed is designed to help you navigate the risks and opportunities over the rest of 2021 and beyond. While the speed can be exhilarating as economic growth accelerates, it can also be...
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IRA Mistakes to Avoid
If you already contribute to a 401(k) or another retirement account through work, you may not have spent much time thinking about opening an individual retirement account (IRA). However, an IRA might provide you with a way to boost...
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