The short answer is probably, and the good news is no one pays taxes on 100% of their benefit. Many people are surprised to find out that their monthly Social Security income is not tax-free. Most Americans pay federal taxes on their benefits, and some...
The S&P 500 hit its all-time high on January 3rd, 2022. That was 16 months ago, and while the market has rallied significantly off the October 2022 lows, the index still sits about 13% below that January 2022 high. Bear markets are always difficult to...
Banks have been a hot topic this quarter. There has been negative news about bank failures, but also positive news like high rates available on CDs and savings accounts. We have received questions from clients about the safety of cash deposits in the last couple...
At age 65 if you do not have additional health insurance options through an employer or a spouse’s employer you will likely enroll in Medicare Part B. Part B covers “medical” expenses like doctors visits and outpatient care. There is a monthly premium associated with...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced the number of people who itemize deductions on their tax returns. Folks who used to itemize and gave to charity who no longer itemize due to the increased standard deduction lost the tax advantage of charitable...
After years of talk about student loan cancellation, it looks like it is happening. President Biden announced his student loan cancellation plan last week. Since then, there have been a lot of questions and I will do my best to address them below. ...
Social Security seems simple on the surface. People work, pay social security tax, and then get a monthly benefit when they retire. For some people, it is that simple, but Social Security has some interesting quirks. Here are the 6 unique or interesting things about...
Over the years we have written several times about the impact of interest rates on stock prices. While we have mentioned the mathematical effects increasing interest rates have on stocks, we have never done a deep dive on this mechanism or explained some of the...
We have received several questions from clients recently regarding alternatives to holding cash in a savings account. This is a good question to ask given the interest rates offered on savings and the current inflation rate, which just hit a 31-year high. People are rightly...
The value of your home has likely increased significantly over the last 2 years. Home values are up across the country. According to S&P CoreLogic, real estate prices were up 19.5% from August 2020 to August 2021. Also, many people who have been housebound took...