Child Tax Credit Changes for 2022
I’ve learned many things as an Enrolled Agent with the IRS, but the one universal truth I know is that the only constant with our tax system is that things always change! So let’s address those changes for the Child Tax Credit…
Buckets- Family Budgeting
My wife and I have thirteen savings accounts. Yes, thirteen. Given how we use them, we call them escrow accounts.
Buying Your Home
You’ve found your dream home, and you’re feeling both excited and nervous to put in an offer. Then you find out you need a pre-approval letter. But what exactly is a pre-approval letter?
Interest Rates
I never thought we would see 30-year home loans touching interest rates in the high 2s, but 2020 was a weird year for all sorts of things.
3 Buckets in Retirement
Early on in your efforts toward retirement savings, it’s easier to accept market volatility given the potential for growth over a long period of time. When actually preparing to retire however, your mindset needs to change. You are no longer looking only for the best performing investment, but for the most consistent investment. In retirement, volatility has the potential to accelerate the depletion of your assets, especially during a declining market, and since statistics show most 65 year olds will live to be 85 or 90, you need your savings to go the distance.
College Planning
Saving for college is very similar to saving for retirement. In both scenarios, we aim to have a certain amount of money put away by a specified period of time before beginning withdrawals. Here’s three things to keep in mind when saving for college:
Debt and Planning
In the U.S., more than 189 million Americans have at least one credit card, and on average, most consumers have four with an average balance of about $8,400. In our experience, most credit card debt stems from two issues: either someone doesn’t have a budget and has overspent, or they do not have an emergency savings for when a major expense comes up. Let’s talk about that second reason today.
Outliving Your Money – Live Plan
One of the greatest retirement fears people have is outliving their money. Rather than focus on the fear, let’s focus on making sure that doesn’t happen. Here are a few tips:
Social Security
Below are four important questions to ask yourself before collecting on social security:
Written vs Live Financial Plan
Gone are the days of compelling financial data, printing it out, organizing it in a three-ring binder, and sending you on your way. And that’s a good thing. You see, the moment the paperwork comes out of the printer, the documents are already outdated, because your financial investments are constantly moving.