Who is eligible for benefits? Social Security is a significant payroll tax as well as an important source of retirement income for many US and non-US citizens, alike. Workers pay into Social Security while they are working and receive the benefits when they retire. The size of Social Security benefits depends on your earnings history as well as when you begin to take benefits. But what if you are…
The United States of America always pays its debts. Since the Revolutionary War, the U.S. government has been borrowing money to fund its operations, and it has never failed to make good on its obligations. According to the award-winning financial history, This Time Is Different, no other major power can make that claim. The founding father of this legacy is Alexander Hamilton, who as Secretary of the Treasury argued…
College is expensive. Being prepared and putting money aside in a qualified 529 college savings plan can help you get ready for the onslaught of expenses you and your child will face when your child is ready to leave home for the college experience. Our friends at American Funds have put together a summary list of qualified and non-qualified distributions from a college savings plan for college expenses, updated for…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read our…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read…
If you have children nearing high school, you may feel anxious as you prepare to help pay for college expenses. Some mitigate this feeling by starting the planning process early by opening and funding college savings accounts (529 savings plans). Those who get a jump start, carve out a piece of their monthly cash flow, put it aside and allow it grow as their child gets closer and closer to leaving the house….
What is financial shape? What does it mean? Being in good financial shape is a lot like being in good physical shape. It generally means you are routinely doing things to improve your current state. It doesn’t mean you have the biggest savings account balance, largest investment portfolio or are an early investor in Uber. It means you are doing the right things, consistently, so you can meet your personal…
Finding ways to save money is not an easy exercise. There are ways to make it less painful, such as setting up automatic savings plans. However, if you haven’t done a long-term plan to determine what you are saving for and how much you need to save, then the commitment to maintaining a savings plan is greatly diminished.
We often get questions about the various ways to save and pay for college expenses. Many people are aware of the benefits and availability of 529 plans (either pre-paid tuition plans or college savings plans). However, did you know you can also use Roth IRA funds for educational expenses?? In fact, for purposes of Qualified Higher Education Expenses (QHEE), you can withdraw funds from a Roth IRA prior to the…
It is around this time of year, starting in October, I sit with my clients to review their long-term financial plans. Planning is tedious, often frustrating, but one of the most important elements to a person’s long-term financial security. Financial security is different for everyone, some want to only plan for retirement, some want to have funds set aside for emergency or a rainy day fund. Others would like to…
