Blog
As we enter December, it’s important to keep the past 11 months in perspective and remember your original goals from the beginning of the year. Sure, it’s been an interesting year – more volatility, market corrections, new market highs, and tax reform – but unless something dramatically altered your circumstances, remember the basics.
Here are some thoughts for you to consider as you begin looking forward to 2019:
When it comes to our credit score, Americans are doing better than ever.
Since bottoming out with an average FICO Score of 686 in October 2009 – one year after the stock market crash of 2008 – scores have risen steadily since, including for the past 8 years.
Currently, the average FICO score in the U.S. has reached 704, a new record that will hopefully continue to rise.
In the fall of 2018, FICO, Experian, and Finicity announced a new credit score called UltraFICO Score, which is when the consumer – you and me – agrees to contribute information from our checking, savings and money market accounts in order to provide an “enhanced view” of our financial behavior.
In response to the significant changes to the tax deduction rules under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many taxpayers are searching for ways to recover some of the tax benefits associated with itemizing deductible expenses that have been eliminated. Taxpayers who were previously able to lower their tax bills by itemizing may want to consider using a “bunching” strategy, which generally means either accelerating or deferring deductible expenses so that more of these expenses fall in a single tax year rather than in multiple tax years.
Please click on the following link for a full review of the 2018 Third Quarter Market Report
When legendary singer Aretha Franklin died of advanced pancreatic cancer at age 76, she did not have a will or trust, according to documents filed in Oakland County Probate Court. And now the $80 million estate of the intensely private Queen of Soul is about to become very public – and possibly very taxing for her heirs.
"The decedent died intestate and after exercising reasonable diligence, I am unaware of any unrevoked testamentary instrument relating to property located in this state as defined under the law,” the form reads.
Aretha’s lawyer of nearly 30 years told the Detroit Free Press that he was constantly asking her to do a trust, but she just never got around to doing it.
"I was after her for a number of years to do a trust," Los Angeles attorney Don Wilson told the Detroit Free Press. "It would have expedited things and kept them out of probate and kept things private."
Have you ever embarked on a home improvement project? …One perhaps that you are confident in completing, but unfamiliar with the details. A “how to” clip is usually available on YouTube, but there isn’t a practical way to reach out with follow-up questions. What you may need is guidance from a caring individual.
This is where your local home improvement store comes into play. I usually have good luck with Home Depot. The employees not only know their craft exceedingly well but are excited to share their ideas. I'm always impressed with the greeter at our local store who welcomes guests and can direct them to the exact aisle of the item(s) that they're there to purchase. You can see it in their body language and the sparkle in their eyes when they explain the nuances of a project. Plus, they are happy to share any problems you might encounter and how to sidestep pitfalls.
They are, in one word, educators. What they have taught me and what I’ve learned through various projects in life is a fairly simple concept: “Experience isn’t the best teacher–someone else’s experience is.”
Check out the recent article from GoBankingRates.com on June 4, 2018 written by Gabrielle Olya where we were quoted on How to Save Money Fast: 3 Ways to Save $1K in a Month
To save money fast, start by challenging yourself to save $1,000 in a month. Shifting your focus to saving for a 30-day period can help you make saving an everyday priority, and can set you on the right track to build up a healthy emergency fund or retirement nest egg.
In order to save money fast, you’ll need to follow three basic rules. Here are the three ways you can save $1,000 in a month:
There is a common misconception that mutual funds, index funds and ETFs are all the same type of investment vehicles. And while there are similarities, there are also some significant differences for investors to know about. Let’s explore.
Investors can select from two main investment strategies: active and passive portfolio management. Active portfolio management is exactly how it sounds: the portfolio manager(s) focuses on outperforming an index by “actively” making buy/sell decisions, adjusting asset allocation ranges and employing other portfolio management techniques.
Passive portfolio management on the other hand simply aims to replicate an index – not to outperform and not to underperform – but rather replicate. Therefore, there is no portfolio manager making buy/sell decisions.
Mutual funds are either active or passive – if passive, then they are called index funds. ETFs can also be considered either passive or active.
One of the oldest stock market strategies is to “Sell in May and Go Away.” But what does this phrase mean? Is there any supporting reason for selling stocks in May and leaving the market? What are the risks?
“Sell in May and go away” is a well-known trading adage that counsels investors to sell their stocks in May to avoid a seasonal decline in the stock market. An investor selling his or her stocks in May would then buy stocks again in November because the November through April period shows significantly stronger growth in the market than the other half of the year. However, this seasonal strategy flies in the face of the buy-and-hold strategy of investors like Warren Buffett, the wildly successful “Oracle of Omaha.”
