Posts by Craig Brown
A Nike-Inspired Checklist to Help You Plan
Whether you’re a millennial, baby boomer, Gen X or Gen Z, you face financial questions besides just getting through to next payday. Here’s a simple two-step Nike-inspired checklist to help you start planning with your money. Just Plan. Critical for long-term success, your financial plan doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to…
Read MoreCan I roll a retirement plan distribution into an IRA?
If you’re asking this question, you probably have a 401(k) or another retirement plan through a former employer. The short answer is yes — most retirement plans allow you to roll your plan funds over into an IRA after you’ve left your employer’s service. However, there is more than one way to do a rollover,…
Read MoreWhy A Potential Democrat Sweep May Not Be A Market Worry
Market Blog Based on the latest polling data, there’s growing consensus that former Vice President Joe Biden potentially may win the election and Democrats possibly may sweep Congress. Some might think this could be a negative for stocks, as a higher corporate tax rate that reduces earnings could be part of the Democratic platform. Early…
Read MoreSocial Security and Medicare Face Financial Challenges
Most Americans will eventually receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds release lengthy reports to Congress that assess the health of these important programs. The newest reports, released on April 22, 2020, discuss the current financial condition and ongoing financial challenges that both programs…
Read MoreProtecting Your Savings And Investments
In the wake of turbulence in the financial markets, it’s worth reviewing the legal protections available for assets held by banks, credit unions, and securities dealers. Bank/savings and loan deposit accounts Generally, deposit accounts at banks and savings and loans insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are insured up to $250,000 per depositor…
Read MoreTeaching Money Mindfulness to Your Children
At some point in a child’s development, all parents wonder: how can I best teach my child the value of money? Parents who grew up in more modest circumstances than their own children can struggle to balance the desire to provide their children with the luxuries they never had with the importance of delayed gratification. What are some tools parents can…
Read MoreRetirement Income Investing: Beyond Annuities
One of the challenges of investing during retirement is providing for annual income while balancing that need with other considerations, such as liquidity, how long you need your funds to last, your risk tolerance, and anticipated rates of return for various types of investments. Annuities may be seen as a full or partial solution, since…
Read MoreHow Much Annual Income Can Your Retirement Portfolio Provide?
Your retirement lifestyle will depend not only on your assets and investment choices, but also on how quickly you draw down your retirement portfolio. The annual percentage that you take out of your portfolio, whether from returns or the principal itself, is known as your withdrawal rate. Figuring out an appropriate initial withdrawal rate is…
Read MoreSocially Responsible Investing
Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn’t mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially responsible investing may allow you to further both your own economic interests and a greater good, in whatever way you define…
Read More529 Savings Plans vs. Prepaid Tuition Plans
Section 529 plans are popular education savings vehicles. To choose the type of 529 plan that’s right for you, it’s important to understand how 529 savings plans and 529 prepaid tuition plans work and the differences between them. Who can offer each type of plan? At one time, only states could offer 529 savings plans…
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