At this time of the year many people think about charitable giving. The obvious and easiest method is to simply write out a check and send it to the charity of your choice. Another method is to give highly appreciated stock. In this case, you get an enhanced tax break because you get the deduction for the full value of the stock, but you don’t pay the capital gains tax.

As October seems to have gone by at warp speed, we find the holiday season rapidly approaching.  While many can feel overwhelmed, with good planning, the season can be enjoyed both personally and financially.  Setting a realistic holiday budget and making sure to stick to it are the first steps to a more affordable and less stressful season. 

The markets around the world had a very bad third quarter, with a great deal of volatility. Most markets moved down substantially. China admitted that their economy was growing much slower than was necessary to sustain their economy. At the same time, most other nations saw their economies slowing down as well. While China is a large nation, with a major influence on the Pacific Rim nations, it plays a very small part in the U.S. economy. As mentioned in my previous blog, China represents about 0.06% of our GDP, effectively zero impact!

With the recent volatility in the markets, some clients feel uneasy that we have not reacted by making changes to their investments.  At times like these, it is important to remember that employing a “buy-and-hold” strategy generally earns better returns than trying to “time” the market by jumping out when the outlook appears bleak.  Short-term volatility can certainly be restrained if an investor liquidates an investment during a down market, but then you are selling at the lowest point and missing the chance to rebound if the market goes back up.  Should you decide to get back into the ma

On August 10th the S&P 500 was at 2104. By August 25th it was at 1868. In other words, the S&P had fallen by 236 points, or 11.22% in 11 trading days. What caused this and what does it mean?

In my study of financial planning, one of the first concepts I learned was to create a future income stream for retirement using three imaginary buckets of money. The first bucket would contain tax-deferred savings. The second would contain a combination of after-tax and tax-deferred savings. The third bucket would contain after-tax dollars potentially growing tax-free.

During this past month, the problems and difficulties of both Greece and China have been major news. At the June 17^th meeting of the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), they were already discussing the issues of these two countries and how they might impact the U.S. economy. Apparently, from the released report, the likelihood of the Fed raising rates is still in play.

We all have different ideas about which budgeting strategies work best for us, but some general guidelines are often helpful when determining a reasonable budget.  Guidelines offering ratios between income and expenditures can help you keep numbers in balance, especially if you are considering buying or renting a different home or making major changes such as retirement.

We tend to look at what we own and what we owe in a rather abstract way.  Perhaps we own a home, car(s), some investments, a retirement plan(s), a vacation home or time share, art work, personal items, life insurance, pets, and other assets we don’t really think about.  We rarely think about what all this stuff is really worth.  We may understand that we can give away, as a gift, up to $14,000 annually to as many people as we like, and if we have a spouse that would amount to $28,000.

This blog will cover one of many topics to be considered when planning for a student’s college education. Cost is certainly a major concern when a student is creating a list of possible schools, along with other factors that will determine the value of the education.