Financial Planning

Here are some things you might consider before saying goodbye to 2019. What has changed for you in 2019? Did you start a new job or leave a job behind? Did you retire? Did you start a family? If notable changes occurred in your personal or professional life, then you will want to review your finances before this year ends and 2020 begins. Even if your 2019 has been … [Read more...] about End-of-the-Year Money Moves

A longer repayment time can be an advantage. The conventional wisdom about taking a loan from your 401(k) plan is often boiled down to: not unless absolutely necessary. That said, it isn’t always avoidable for everyone or in every situation. In a true emergency, if you had no alternative, the rules do allow for a loan, but they also require a fast repayment if y … [Read more...] about 401(k) Loan Repayment

Three important factors when it comes to your financial life. Regardless of how the markets may perform, consider making the following part of your investment philosophy: Diversification. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has real value when it comes to investing. In a bear or bull market, certain asset classes may perform better than others. If your a … [Read more...] about Diversification, Patience, and Consistency

Supporting family can put a crimp in your strategy. Families are one of the great joys in life, and part of the love you show to your family is making sure that their basic needs are met. While that’s only to be expected from birth through the high school years, many households are helping their offspring well into their twenties and beyond. However, you may have c … [Read more...] about Retirement and Adult Children

Not making a move may not always be the best move to make. A decision not made may have financial consequences. Sometimes, we fall prey to a kind of money paralysis, in which financial indecision is regarded as a form of “safety.” Retirement seems to heighten this tendency. If you are single and retired, you may be fearful of drawing down your retirement savings too s … [Read more...] about The Problem of Money Paralysis

An underappreciated fundamental in financial planning. You’ve probably heard the saying that “cash is king,” and that truth applies whether you own a business or not. Most discussions of business and personal “financial planning” involve tomorrow’s goals, but those goals may not be realized without attention to cash flow, today. Management of available cash flow is a k … [Read more...] about Cash Flow Management

A look at grants, scholarships, 529 plans, and other methods. How much could a college education cost in the 2030s? You may want to take a deep breath and sit down before reading the next paragraph. A MassMutual analysis projects that four years of tuition, room, and board at a private college will cost nearly $369,000 in 2031. An article at CNBC offers a slightly … [Read more...] about Ways to Ease the Cost of College

Why financial professionals are changing their business models. A major shift has occurred in the financial world. More and more financial professionals have moved away from the industry’s traditional compensation model to a new one – in the eyes of many of them, a better one. Increasingly, financial professionals are introducing their clients to fee-based accounts. T … [Read more...] about The Move Toward Fee-Based Advisory Accounts