Independent Wealth Management
Who scrutinizes your investments and portfolio managers, designs and tests your retirement and education plan, searches for new investment ideas, patrols insurance agents and mortgage brokers, shows you how to reduce your investment costs and income taxes, monitors your 401(k), promptly responds to your email, provides one monthly statement, day-to-day net performance across all of your accounts and does all of your paperwork so you can retire and enjoy that trip to Italy? We do! (Please contact us for a no cost, confidential consultation.)
Entries in Financial Planning (9)
College Savings Options
529 Plan - These investment programs are designed with one basic purpose in mind – providing families with an easy and effective means to save for future college costs. But they also have tax, retirement and estate planning implications that extend far beyond this basic purpose. Unlike most other tax-advantaged programs, 529 plans are open to everyone; no matter what their income level or the age of their children or grandchildren.
You won’t get a federal tax deduction for your contribution to a 529 plan, but you will receive the benefit of tax-deferred earnings. Any growth in your account...
Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
As the U.S. population continues to age, the number of individuals requiring extended care for chronic, debilitating conditions increases. Chances are that you, a relative, or someone else you know will be among them. Nursing home costs now average between $30,000 and $90,000 per year depending on your geographic location. As a result of these high costs, an extended nursing home stay could quickly ravage your income and savings. Medicare typically begins to provide benefits at age 65, but only for some skilled care for a short time period -- not for the ongoing assistance that many elderly people ultimately require.
Because of this widespread need and drastic increase in the cost of nursing home care, long-term care insurance (LTC) has become a popular method for transferring the potential financial burden. If you are middle-aged or younger, buying long-term care insurance may not be high on your list of priorities. However, the worst...
Advice for 401(k) Retirement Plans
Remaining inactive in the stock market is one of the keys to investing. There is an increased probability of error when looking at the stock market when prices are setting new lows or highs. A better idea; find something to take your mind off of the “noise” in the financial markets. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway plays bridge and his partner Charles Munger works on his mental models to fill the time. Challenge yourself to delay decisions at least one day, as this is an effective tool for investors to make sound decisions. Warren Buffett once said, “It is better to do nothing at all than to do something stupid.”
Buy Disability Insurance?
If you or your family members count on your income to meet current, normal cash flow needs, how would that income be replaced if you were no longer able to earn it due to a disability? Replacing that income is the purpose of disability insurance. There are several sources of disability insurance...
Rafael Velez
in Financial Planning
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Buried Treasure in your 401(k)
More than one client has asked us; "Why am I stuck in my employer’s 401(k) plan? The plan only has only a few or poor investment choices!" In most cases, plan participants are stuck. But check the fine print of your plan, there may be a way out. To learn more, look at the "Summary Plan Description". This is a document you receive when you enroll in the plan and provides all of the details about how your plan works. If you do not have this document, you can request a copy from your human resources department or the plan administrator. It is likely to be available as a PDF file for immediate access.
The provision you are looking for contains the language about "in-service, non-hardship withdrawals." In other words, you want to access your money while you are still working for the company and not because of a hardship such as disability. The ability to make this kind of rollover...
Retirement Income Studies
You could spend as much time in retirement – 30 or even 40 years – as you have spent saving for it. That is why planning for your retirement savings to generate income is critical. Developing a solid plan and appropriate investments for years of income is well worth your efforts.
Buy Life Insurance?
Life insurance can be critical in one person’s financial plan, and may not be needed by another. The difference is the financial and tax issues that would arise as a result of the dearth and the absence of the individual’s income that other family members may count on to meet their current and ongoing expenses. How much is enough and what type of insurance is best, can only be...
Rafael Velez
in Financial Planning
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Strategies for Improved Credit
It's a modern twist on the classic chicken-or-the-egg conundrum: You can't get credit until you have a history of repaying credit. For millions of young people just starting out in their financial lives, getting approved for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage or other line of credit can pose a challenge. If you don't have a record of making payments or managing credit, lenders don't know whether you're reliable. They'll likely turn you down or charge you higher interest rates until you can prove your creditworthiness.
Identity Theft
Do you use email? Online bill payment? Look at your brokerage account online? Utilize a wireless network at home, work or while traveling? In an effort to protect your personal and financial information, consider the following items...
