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The Implications of Financial Freedom
The celebration of Independence Day for our nation has passed, but freedom’s bell continues to ring on in many areas of our lives. There are many freedoms we can enjoy, but freedom is not always available depending on political or personal oppression. The freedom to worship, political freedom, individual freedom to live and to prosper are just a few freedoms that all come at a great cost. But one freedom is sometimes neglected and available to [...]
LifeStyle Newsletter – Working While Retired
Would you accompany a group of high school students studying photojournalism and social change in Argentina? How about a group learning about language and culinary traditions in France? Does working for a season or two in a great place – Mount Rushmore, Glacier National Park, or the Virgin Islands National Park – appeal to you? Two-thirds of Americans plan to work during retirement, according to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey.1 If you’re one of them and [...]
Holiday Greeting – Fourth of July Quiz
Our Founding Fathers structured American democracy and left a legacy that has greatly influenced the world. This Fourth of July, see what you know about the Founding Fathers by taking this brief quiz. 1. Who were America’s Founding Fathers?1, 2, 3 a. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin b. John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Marshall, [...]
When Your Children Leave Home, Will You Save More for Retirement?
You may be asking yourself whether that’s a trick question. After all, almost one-third of 18- to 34-year-olds are still living at home with their parents. It is, in fact, the most common living arrangement for this age group and a circumstance that hasn’t occurred in more than 130 years, according to Pew Research Center.1 If your children are at home, you may be wondering whether they’ll move out before you retire. (If they don’t, [...]
Holiday Greeting – Dad: Breadwinner and Caregiver
For several years, researchers at Boston College have been studying the experiences and expectations of fathers. As you might suspect, the way in which men understand the role of ‘Dad’ has been changing. While some still believe their primary responsibility is providing financial support for their families, the majority of men say they are both breadwinners and caregivers.1 Men’s perceptions of their roles are often related to their age, according to The Shriver Report [...]
Retirement Alchemy: Turning After-Tax Plan Contributions into Roth Savings
In medieval times, alchemists sought methods for transforming ordinary metals into gold. Today, just about every adult searches for a means of transforming savings into a retirement’s worth of income. Recently, they received help from an unexpected source – the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In 2014, our nation’s tax collection agency engaged in a bit of retirement alchemy when it issued Notice 2014-54. Despite being tagged with an uninspired moniker, the notice gave participants [...]
Holiday Greeting – Put the Memorial Back Into Memorial Day!
Before the big barbecue, take time this Memorial Day weekend to honor the men and women who gave their lives fighting for our country. If you’re looking for a way to remember those brave Americans, here are a few suggestions:1 • Raise your American and POW/MIA flags • Attend a Memorial Day parade • Visit a battlefield • Go to a memorial service organized by a veterans group • Observe the National Moment of [...]
Holiday Greeting – The Neuroscience of Motherhood
Scientists have been mapping our mothers’ brains! They haven’t found eyes in the back of her head, or a way to help her worry less, but they are beginning to understand the mother-child bond better:1 “After centuries of observing behavioral changes in new mothers, scientists are only recently beginning to definitively link the way a woman acts with what's happening in her prefrontal cortex, midbrain, parietal lobes, and elsewhere. Gray matter becomes more concentrated. [...]
Stock Markets and Election Years
Super Bowl winners, the length of hemlines, and Sports Illustrated covers – all of these have been used to develop theories about the direction in which stock markets may be headed. Presidential elections and terms have also inspired a significant number of theories. Rational and not-so-rational decision making Historically, economists believed people’s financial decisions were grounded in rational thought and single-minded pursuit of their best interests. Economic theories were built on the terra not-so-firma [...]
What Distinguishes Us from Other Advisors
One of the best ways to determine if a financial advisor is right for you is to do your research. To help you with yours, we've outlined a few ways we're different from other advisors. 1. Other advisors’ financial counsel may not provide the holistic, stewardship-based type of counsel that ours does. 2. Most of the time, other advisors’ financial planning is not nearly as comprehensive as what we do. While their planning usually focuses only or primarily on [...]
6 Transcendent Financial Planning Principles You Can’t Live Without
tranˈsendənt/ : beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience; surpassing the ordinary; exceptional, of God, existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe. Our friends at Kingdom Advisors certainly chose a fitting adjective when they described these five financial principles as "transcendent." Surpassing the wisdom of this world, these principles promise not only to increase your opportunities for generous living, they also promise to [...]
LifeStyle Newsletter – Beware Scammers Claiming to Be the IRS
If you receive a voice or email message from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or you field a phone call from an IRS agent informing you “you owe back taxes” and “you better pay now or be arrested (or deported),” you should assume it’s an IRS Imposter Scam. That’s true even if:1 • The caller ID shows the “IRS” is calling • The “IRS agent” offers a badge number • The “IRS agent” knows the [...]
