by Randy Chalmers on January 6, 2023.
529 Changes Previously, if you saved for your child’s college and they did not need the funds you could either transfer them to another student or withdraw the funds incurring a penalty. Under the Secure Act 2.0 (SA 2.0) you can now roll these unused funds into Roth IRAs without income tax or any tax...
by Dave Conley on January 6, 2023.
Predicting the direction of the market is like predicting when you will hit the bulls-eye in a dart game. The majority of the time throughout market history, the markets have been rising. History shows that the chance of your money growing in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds is much like the odds of your next dart hitting any number on the dartboard... except the bulls-eye. If you are going to try and time the market by moving your money in and out, you have to ask yourself how confident are you that you can hit the bullseye when you do.
by Randy Chalmers on December 12, 2022.
Like most topics, who you speak to about credit cards drastically impacts the narrative of why you should or shouldn’t use them. So instead of trying to change your mind one way or the other, let’s just look at some facts about credit cards. How does the interest rate work on my credit card? The...
by Randy Chalmers on November 18, 2022.
If you haven’t used the SMART process for setting goals in your life or business, then you probably don’t know what the acronym means. S – Specific M – Measurable A – Attainable R – Relevant T – Time-bound Specific What exactly will be accomplished and by what means? Measurable How will your goal be...
by Dave Conley on November 18, 2022.
The general economic model of a recession is that when unemployment rises, consumers are more likely to save than spend. This places pressure on businesses that rely on consumers’ income being spent. As a result, company earnings and stock prices decline, which can fuel a negative cycle of economic decline and negative expectations of returns.
by Randy Chalmers on October 28, 2022.
When conversations navigate toward the topic of retirement, one of the most common subjects discussed is IRAs. If you are unaware, IRA stands for individual retirement account, meaning it is not offered through your employer, you made a choice to start saving into a retirement account on your own. Traditional IRAs are invested pre-tax, and...
by Dave Conley on October 21, 2022.
The hamster wheel literally describes the concept of lots of activity but making no progress. In times of crisis, either real or imagined we are encouraged to do something. If your house is on fire or if you witness a car accident you must do something and quick. Why is it that doing nothing when it comes to our investments is so difficult. When clients ask "what are you doing..." sometimes the better question is "is there anything that needs to be done" related to our investments? Are you OK with doing nothing when nothing needed to be done?
by Randy Chalmers on October 14, 2022.
I’ve been asked many times “if Dave Ramsey says to fund a Roth IRA, why would I ever choose a traditional IRA”? Well, much like any advice, there is no absolute in reference to what will work best for everyone in every situation. Let’s examine the main characteristics of both types of IRAs. As...
by Dave Conley on September 30, 2022.
Just like we do not know when we are in a recession (until after it has started), the markets begin their recovery in the midst of bad news. It is critical top your wealth to understand this fact: the markets (stocks & bonds) typically reflect where the economy is headed in 3-6 months from today. If you wait for the news to tell you the markets have recovered, the economy has turned around you probably missed out on a good portion of the initial recovery.
by Randy Chalmers on September 16, 2022.
There should be no shock to you when I state that 2022 has been a tumultuous year for the stock market. Seemingly everything that could happen to negatively affect the market, has. The lingering pandemic, inflation, monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve, Russia invading Ukraine, investor panic, and the cyclical mid-term election impact….? Mid-term...