Click here to download the PDF version of the newsletter. In This Issue: Inflation Impact Americans are alarmed by inflation. The inflation that was first deemed “transitory” is here to stay, and consumers are feeling its effect on their pocketbook. Inflation is stubbornly high for goods and services. Some sectors have been disproportionately impacted. Used […]
Why You Should Seriously Consider Roth Conversions
What are Roth Conversions? And why use them? Before digging into the answers to those questions, lets take a quick look at the difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. Contributions to a traditional IRA are tax-deductible, however, when the funds are later withdrawn from the account, the account holder will have to […]
Post-COVID-19 Planning: Three Trends That Will Likely Stay
Suffice it to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives – hand-washing best practices, shopping on phones, school at the dining table, and sporting events in empty stadiums (I sincerely hope that the latter are only temporary). From a personal financial-planning perspective, there are three “COVID changes” that I believe […]
The Biden Tax Proposal: Three Trillion, Two Magic Numbers, and One Seismic Wave
By the time you are reading this, we are about two weeks away from what is expected to be the most contentious (and even potentially controversial) presidential election in recent history. Polls are pointing to a victory for Joe Biden, along with a “blue wave,” but as we have learned over the last few years […]
IRA Planning in the New Era: Things Account Owners Should Be Aware of When Naming Beneficiaries
Passed and signed into law in last December, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, or SECURE Act, fundamentally changed how qualified account owners should approach naming beneficiaries. What are qualified accounts? Most of us have at least one type of qualified account, which provide us with certain tax advantages and […]
The Piggy Bank Series: Education Trusts
In previous piggy bank series articles, we touched on the two most common savings vehicles for education needs – custodial accounts and 529 college savings plans. While both of them offer simplicity, low costs, and valuable tax savings, they lack the flexibility desired by certain families. For example, parents may prefer their child to have […]
