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FERS Retirement Benefits Explained

Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), unless you were hired before 1984 and grandfathered into CSRS. One of our specialties is helping federal employees understand their benefits, so in this article, we will cover some of the...

Are Your Taxes Going to Change?

Most likely, you’ve heard what’s brewing in Washington, D.C., called by one of these names.The Build Back Better Act. Or the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Or the Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan for Working...

Fed Rescues September

A funny thing happened in the investment markets the other day. September was living up to its reputation as a volatile month, but then the Federal Reserve came to the rescue.The Fed concluded its Federal Open Market Committee meeting...

What You Can’t Afford NOT to Know About the FERS Special Retirement Supplement

A big perk of being a federal government employee is you can take advantage of the many benefits offered. Plenty of federal government employees are able to retire well and even earlier than expected because of the robust retirement...

Patriot Day 2021

On this 20th anniversary of the tragedies of September 11th, 2001, many of us will be remembering the day with prayers, observance, and acts of service.This day is designated Patriot Day. It’s come to mean joining together to...

Everything You Need to Know About the FERS Special Retirement Supplement

If you’re an employee planning to retire under the Federal Employee Retirement System, you can always take advantage of the Special Retirement Supplement (SRS). This is an awesome stand-in plan for pre-retirees who would be...

The Fed Can't Keep a Secret

If you have a secret, don’t tell anyone at the Federal Reserve Bank. They may leak the story before you’d like. In early August, multiple regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents hit the speaking tour. They made headlines...

Distracted America

Over the last year, many have seen their lives impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ways in which we work, live, and communicate have drastically changed, to say the least. It’s difficult to predict what other aspects of life...

A Wall of Worry

Have you ever heard the Wall Street expression, "markets climb a wall of worry?"It's the idea that financial markets are constantly on edge. Traders fret about how long a market rally can continue before it runs into trouble. Worry...

A Roaring Start to Earnings Season

Corporate earnings season has begun, and the results are turning heads on Wall Street.Of the 120 companies in the S&P 500 index that reported numbers as of Friday, July 23, 89% of them beat the Street’s earnings-per-share...

Economic Lessons from Used-Car Inflation

Inflation is defined as the general upward price movement of goods and services in an economy. The key word is “general.” Inflation tends to be uneven and affects the price of some items more than others.If you’ve...

A 6.1% Bump in Social Security?

The news keeps getting better for Social Security recipients.It's now projected that benefits will increase 6.1% in 2022, up from the 4.7% forecast just two months ago. That would be the most significant increase since 1983.1...

Is Your Financial Advisor a Fiduciary?

It’s easy to find a financial advisor. A quick Google search will provide a multitude of names in your area. The problem is not finding one, but finding the right one, someone you can trust to provide honest advice and help you...

How Does Your Retirement Compare To Your Neighbors’?

Rather than being the end of a career, retirement is the beginning of life’s next chapter. This season can span decades and require sizable assets to take care of all our needs during these non-working years. If retirement is...

The 5 Biggest Financial Mistakes I See

There are many different ways that people prepare for their retirement. Some people implement healthy financial habits early that generate solid financial outcomes and strong wealth management plans. Others don’t know the best...

How We Helped A Couple Organize Their Finances And Retire With Confidence

We recently met with clients who were experiencing some uncertainty surrounding their wealth management plan as they approached retirement. This couple had been our clients for five years and were wanting to retire in six months, which...

The Power Of Compound Interest (And Why It Pays To Start Saving Now)

The concept of making your money work for you so you don’t have to work so hard isn’t new. Compound interest, however, is a relatively new phenomenon. It has changed how we build wealth and has actually made wealth-building...

If I Could Only Teach One Financial Lesson

As a financial advisor, I have come across dozens of financial strategies during my decades in the financial services industry. Many of these strategies are sound pieces of advice I use with my clients to create comprehensive financial...

It’s A New Year! Is It Time To Reevaluate Your Financial Plan?

Where do you begin your journey to financial independence? The beginning of a new year is as good a time as any to start! Even though 2021 holds plenty of uncertainty, you can still take control of your finances and make progress...

How To Protect Your Wealth During A Recession Or Depression

I think it’s safe to say that we were all caught off guard at the beginning of 2020. By now we know we can’t predict exactly when economic instability or down markets will begin or end. Although this has certainly been a...

What Should You Do Now About Your 401(k)?

To say that 2020 has thrown us a few curveballs is putting it mildly! You are undoubtedly experiencing some anxiety concerning your finances and retirement plans (among other things). And although much is out of your hands right now,...

4 Key Financial Lessons From The Last Recession

The past has much to teach us—if we are willing to listen. In 1905, George Santayana famously wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (1) Strong words, but ones we should take to heart...

Worried About Your Financial Plan? Schedule A Q&A Call Today

To say the coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by storm wouldn’t do justice to the severity of the situation. If it was just our health that was affected, that’s one thing. But unfortunately, we’re having to...

How To Manage Your Finances During A Crisis

By now it’s old news that we’re in the midst of a full-blown crisis: health, economic, social…the list goes on. Change is hard on everyone, and this crisis has disrupted virtually every aspect of our lives. We are...

Strategies To Grow Your Wealth During The 2020 Financial Crisis

Even multiple months after its introduction, COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc across the globe. Although some states and counties are reopening and some restrictions are lifting, we still have a long way to go to normal. As a result of...

What We Do And How We Can Help

Life is complicated, is it not? Add money to the picture and things get downright overwhelming. In previous decades, people often worked for the same company for most of their lives, lived a few years in retirement on Social Security...

Do Your Friends And Family Need Financial Guidance Through This Stressful Time?

Our lives have changed drastically in just a few short weeks. All this change and uncertainty, coupled with frequent news briefings and dramatic headlines, can cause us to panic or at least lose sleep at night. We get it. Things are...

Will Your Portfolio Withstand Market Volatility?

No one can deny that we are in the thick of things right now. Between a global pandemic, economic worries, and political uncertainty, it’s no surprise that we are seeing increased market volatility. All of this uncertainty may be...

Why I Became A Financial Advisor

Have you ever had a moment where, on the path you thought was right for you, you encounter a new idea or an open door and everything changes? That may sound like a movie script, but it’s essentially how I found my way into a...

FERS Minute - CSRS vs FERS

For more FERS minutes, click here.

Radio Interview - KVNU Elder Abuse & Healthcare

What Your Accounting System Should Provide

Regular Profit and Loss Statement A business owner can only survive with good and current information. Outdated financial statements have very little value. You might receive your year-end financial statements in May of the following...

Probate = Nightmare

The word probate should strike fear in the hearts of every executor of every estate. Probate is the court that handles the transfer of assets from a deceased person to their heirs. The biggest issue with probate is emotion, time, and...

10 Quick Tips About Financial Planning

Pension Options When choosing pension options, it is important to understand how they affect you, and how they affect your heirs. If you happen to choose the incorrect pension option, then to bad so sad. You are stuck with it. So how...

How to Solve the Biggest Problems with Retirement

It is like asking people what they like to do on a sunny day. Some (like some of my family) would rather stay inside and do “inside stuff”. Others can’t wait for the winter to end so they can do “outside...

Health Care in Retirement

Most people understand that health care will be one of, if not the biggest expense in retirement. However, according to a Nationwide study, 4 out of 5 people cannot accurately estimate how much they expect to pay for health care in...

Retirement Plans for Small Businesses

It is amazing to me, as a financial advisor, that so many small businesses don’t take advantage of setting up a small business retirement plan. In fact, a labor department study said that less then 50% of companies with fewer...

The Worst Advice We've Ever Heard About Financial Planning

How about don’t get a financial plan or you do not need one. I can debunk that with some questions: How many wealthy people do you know who do not use some sore of financial advisor or planner? How businesses survive without some...

20 Myths About Retirement

With varying information out there in regards to retirement, I would like to present to you 20 myths about retirement for your reading enjoyment. 1. Paying your house off is a must. If you are someone who has fallen for this myth, ask...

Why We Love Financial Planning (And You Should, Too!)

Almost everyone has heard the phrase “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Yet many of us do not spend the time to plan some of the most important events in our lives. One of those events is retirement or education for...

Signs of Financial Elder Abuse and Steps to Prevent It.

As more and more baby boomers begin to retire, cases of financial elder abuse are becoming more common. Even more alarming, is that a majority of seniors have a common misconception on where the abuse is likely to come from. Elder...