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...
Thanks to recent inflation the IRS has increased the contribution limits for some types of retirement accounts. Unfortunately, the IRA limits did not increase, but anyone with a 401(k) will be able to contribute more in salary deferrals and Health Savings Account (HSA) limits are...
Men and women approach finance differently. For all the progress that we have made, women are still uncomfortable talking about money. Although we often have candid discussions with friends about a variety of personal topics, finance is not one of them. A lack of confidence...
Living in the Lowcountry, we frequently encounter clients and friends with multiple homes across different states. Although this allows one to enjoy the best of both worlds – a home up north and a beach house in the south – it can lead to estate...
COVID-19 has renewed the awareness of our mortality and our need for life insurance. However, currently, only about 52% of Americans carry life insurance and about half of those are underinsured by $200,000 or more. * Whether you are young or old, wealthy...