Mueller Financial Advisor
August Financial Advisor
What Exactly is Wealth Management?
There’s financial planning, and then there’s wealth management. Think of wealth management as a step up from garden-variety financial planning. One office (rather than one person) provides a range of services for a client:
How LTC Insurance can Help Protect Your Assets
How will you pay for long term care? The sad fact is that most people don’t know the answer to that question. But a solution is available.
July Financial Advisor
Bond Strategies for Varying Goals
The strategies used for bong investing will depend on the financial objectives you are pursuing. Consider these financial objectives and bond strategies:
Why Do You Need an Asset Allocation Strategy?
Your asset allocation strategy represents your personal decisions about how much of your portfolio to allocate to various investment categories, such as stocks, bonds, cash and other alternatives. When stock market returns were above average for an extended period, investors did not have much interest in asset allocation. Then, the best strategy seemed to be to only own stocks. But with the stock market volatility of the past several years, investors are again focusing on asset allocation. Some of the advantages of an asset allocation strategy include:
June Financial Advisor
Coming to Terms with Stocks
With all of the volatility in the stock market over the past few years, it can be difficult to determine how to devise an investment strategy to help reach your financial goals. To help you determine a reasonable rate of return to expect on your stock investmetns, it might be instructive to review some "facts" about the stock market.
Clamp Down on Spending
If you're trying to incease savings, remember that savings are directly tied to spending - the less you spend, the more you have to save. Some tips to help you clamp down on your spending are included.
May Financial Advisor
Keep Saving After Retirement
Just because you're retired doesn't mean you should stop saving.
Should You Convert to a Roth IRA?
Effective in 2010, all taxpayers, regardless of the amount of their adjusted gross income (AGI), can convert a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) to a Roth IRA. Amounts converted must be included in income if taxable when withdrawn (i.e., contributions and earnings in deductible IRAs and earnings in nondeductible IRAs), but they are exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
April Financial Advisor
Estate Planning and Your Retirement Accounts
Don’t Forget About Inflation Inflation has been tame for so long that it’s easy to forget how much it can affect your purchasing power over a long retirement. Over the past 10 years, inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has averaged 2.5% (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). At 2.5% inflation, $1 is worth 78¢ after 10 years, 61¢ after 20 years, and 48¢ after 30 years. Thus, you need to look for strategies to lessen inflation’s impact during retirement.
March Financial Advisor
Is 10% Enough?
A common rule of thumb when planning for retirement is to save 10% of your gross income during your working years. Since this rule of thumb has been around for a long time, it’s logical to question whether it’s still an appropriate guideline. Several trends suggest that it is probably on the low side.
Caught in the Middle
At a time when baby boomer couples should be saving for their own retirements, many feel squeezed by competing financial needs. Having started families later than past generations, their children may just now be entering college or still living at home. At the same time, aging parents may need financial assistance. It is a dilemma that is likely to become more common.
February Financial Advisor
Avoid These Life Insurance Mistakes
Life insurance can be used for a variety of personal and estate planning needs. To ensure your life insurance policy meets your needs, watch out for these common mistakes.
Finding Money to Save
Everyone knows that they should be saving at least 10% of their gross income for retirement, but that can seem like an impossible goal after paying all your bills. However, don’t just figure that goal is unachievable without first looking at the after-tax cost.
Seven Facts to Help You Understand the Alternative Minimum Tax
The Alternative Minimum Tax attempts to ensure that anyone who benefits from certain tax advantages pays at least a minimum amount of tax. There are seven facts the IRS wants you to know about the AMT and changes to this special tax for 2009.
January Financial Advisor
How often have you drawn up an ambitious list of New Year’s resolutions, only to find you’ve given up on them after a few weeks? Don’t let that happen to you in 2010. If you want to make significant strides toward achieving your financial goals, determine why your resolutions have failed in the past and find ways to overcome those obstacles. A budget serves as a road map for your spending, helping you find ways to save more money for your financial goals. For a one-month period, keep track of every dollar you spend, whether by cash, check, or credit card. Break down those expenditures by category and total them for the month. Are you surprised by how much small expenditures add up over a month? Did you realize how much you were spending on things like dining out, clothing, and impulse purchases?December Financial Advisor
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Before Retirement?
A recent study found that 41% of homeowners between the ages of 60 and 69 still have a mortgage on their home. Of those, 51% had sufficient assets to repay their mortgage (Source: Center for Retirement Research, July 2009). The study found that most households would be better off paying their mortgage off, since the cost of the mortgage is higher than their investment earnings.
The Recession's Impact on Higher-Income Families
It’s commonly believed that recessions impact lower-income families more than higher-income families. However, a recent study by economists at Northwestern University found that the relative income loss during recessions for the top 10% of the population is 26% greater than the average household, while it is double the average household for the top 1% of the population. It is still probably tougher for the average family to deal with income declines, but the impact on the economy is certainly greater when higher-income families lose income.
November Financial Advisor
Grow Your 401(k) Plan
Your 401(k) plan’s ultimate size is primarily a function of two factors — how much you contribute and how much you earn on those contributions. Of course, you know you should contribute the maximum amount possible ($16,500 in 2009 plus a $5,500 catch-up contribution for individuals over age 50, if permitted by the plan). But what steps should you take to maximize your returns?
Assess Your Life Insurance Needs
Life insurance is meant to protect your family in case you die. We all hope to live to a ripe old age, to see our grandchildren marry and have children of their own, and to share old age with our spouse. But life insurance is about preparing for the unexpected. If you have dependents who rely on your income, life insurance will probably be needed to provide for them after your death.
October Financial Advisor
Staggered Retirements
The Center for Retirement Research indicates that only 20% of couples retire in the same year — 50% still have one spouse working two years after the other spouse has retired. Often, one spouse retires before the other due to health problems or a layoff, not necessarily because the spouse chooses to retire early. No matter what the reason, click here for points to keep in mind if you are in that situation.
Consider a Bond's Maturity Date
All investments seem more volatile these days, including bonds. To help control volatility in your bond portfolio, carefully consider maturity dates before purchase. Bonds can be purchased with maturity dates ranging from several weeks to several decades. Before deciding on a maturity date, review how that date affects investment risk and your ability to pursue your investment goals.
September Financial Advisor
When’s the last time you looked at your retirement plans? Don’t let the recent market declines cause you to just give up and ignore your plans. Sure, you’ll probably need to make some changes. So go back to the basics and reconstruct those plans, following these key steps.The Roth individual retirement account (IRA) has been an attractive retirement savings option since its inception in 1998. However, income eligibility restrictions have prevented many higher-income individuals from using this savings vehicle. Two recent developments are changing that — the removal of income limitations for Roth IRA conversions and tax laws making the Roth 401(k) permanent.
August Financial Advisor
No RMDs for 2009
Individuals age 70 1/2 and older do not have to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from their company retirement plans or traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in 2009. RMDs for 2009 were suspended as part of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. The suspension applies only to defined-contribution plans such as IRAs, 401(K)s, 403(b)s, and 457 plans, but not to defined-benefit plans or other traditional pension plans.
Reduced Planning Opportunities for Vacation Homes
In the past, it was possible to turn a vacation home or rental home into your principal residence so that you could later sell it and exclude gains on the sale from income. If you were planning on such a strategy, be aware that the tax rules recently changed.
July Financial Advisor
How Much Can You Withdraw in Retirement?
How much to withdraw annually from your retirement assets is probably one of the most important decisions you’ll make when you retire. Several factors need to be considered when calculating your withdrawal rate, including your life expectancy, expected long-term rate of return, expected inflation rate, and how much principal you want remaining at the end of your life. Unfortunately, life expectancies, rates of return, and inflation are difficult to predict over a retirement period that can span decades.
Reevaluate Your Life Insurance at Retirement
As retirement age approaches, it’s usually a good time to reassess your life insurance policies to see if your needs have changed. With your children on their own and no earned income to replace, you may no longer need a large life insurance policy. Especially if your insurance premiums are high, you may be tempted to cancel the policy, take the cash surrender value, and enjoy retirement. Before doing that, however, make sure there aren’t other uses for your life insurance policy.
