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Our goal is to keep you, your family, and your friends up to date on everything from finance to health care. We strive to help you make the most informed financial decisions to help you achieve financial success, so you can enjoy everything life has to offer. That’s what our blog is for!

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

In June 2022, the inflation rate soared to 9.1%, marking the highest recorded since 1981. This surge may raise alarms, conjuring memories of economic turmoil from decades past. However, it’s essential to keep perspective. While 9.1% is indeed significant, it pales in comparison to the inflation crisis of 1980 when average annual inflation skyrocketed to a staggering 13.5%. This historical context illuminates that while inflation remains a concern, the current rate is not unprecedented.

How Legal Settlements and Fees Are Taxed

How Legal Settlements and Fees Are Taxed

Let’s say you are involved in a serious auto accident. You may sue the other driver to pay for damages not covered by the insurance companies. Perhaps you even receive a large settlement. Are you on the hook for taxes on that lawsuit payout? It depends. According to the IRS, monies received for personal injuries or illness are exempt from income taxes. If you receive a settlement for mental and emotional distress, that may also be tax exempt if it is directly related to a physical injury or illness.

Balancing “Real Life” With Caregiving

Balancing “Real Life” With Caregiving

During 2020, more than 65 million American women provided unpaid care for their children, family members, and elderly relatives. It’s easy to imagine that many of them likely juggled caring for a combination of these types of dependents. If you’ve ever provided ongoing caregiving duties for a parent, partner, child, sibling or someone else, you may recognize common feelings of being overwhelmed, exhausted, out of your depth and even somewhat resentful — and then feeling guilty.

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

You may have noticed higher prices on the things you buy regularly, like groceries and gas. However, many consumers may not realize that economic factors such as backed-up supply chains, extreme weather events, labor shortages/higher wages, and higher demand are not currently reflected in many consumer prices.

How to Evaluate a Stock

There are moments in history when people have claimed investment choices don’t matter because if the market is up across the board, you cannot fail. That is not true. In fact, that should never be guiding financial advice. However, there is no doubt that the market has been up for many years — notwithstanding the market correction in March 2020, early in the pandemic. For 2021, year to date, the S&P 500 has climbed more than 20%, double the historical average return of about 10%.

Sustainably Investing in Our Future

While extreme weather events typically affect only certain parts of the country, there is increasing concern that climate change will affect the overall economy – including our investment portfolios. For this reason, the federal government is making composition changes to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), the retirement plan for federal employees. The TSP currently holds more than $762 billion in assets, making it the world’s largest defined contribution plan.

Market Thoughts: Looking Ahead and Abroad

The mid-year U.S. economic recovery numbers look strong. On Wall Street, analysts predict that our economy will expand by trillions of dollars and create 2 million good-paying jobs throughout the next 10 years. However, despite nearly 1 million jobs reported in July alone, the White House cautioned that the resurgence in COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated Americans could set us up for an economic relapse in the remainder of the year. While the U.S. lags in vaccination numbers, other countries are starting to pick up the pace.

Young People: Who Said You Have to Be Wealthy to Invest?

Young adults have weathered difficult times the past two decades: mass school shootings, extreme weather conditions, student loan debt and a global pandemic. But now they’re witnessing an unprecedented job market, where even those with little to no work experience can dictate their own terms. It’s important that we steer our young adults to good saving and investing habits now, while they have the capacity to earn increased income. This job market may not always be the reality, so it’s good to build a treasure chest when they have the opportunity.

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Th Top 10 Things to Consider When Preparing For Your Retirement Guide

Top 10 Actions When Preparing For Retirement

Planning for retirement income may seem like a daunting task, but can help you get a handle on preparing for your financial future.

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

In June 2022, the inflation rate soared to 9.1%, marking the highest recorded since 1981. This surge may raise alarms, conjuring memories of economic turmoil from decades past. However, it’s essential to keep perspective. While 9.1% is indeed significant, it pales in comparison to the inflation crisis of 1980 when average annual inflation skyrocketed to a staggering 13.5%. This historical context illuminates that while inflation remains a concern, the current rate is not unprecedented.

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U.S. Health Care in a Post-COVID Era

U.S. Health Care in a Post-COVID Era

As many workers returned to their offices this fall, employers took on much of the expense of paying for weekly COVID testing, as well as insurance coverage and paid leave for sick and quarantined workers. These extra expenses may well lead to higher insurance premiums for everyone.

Who Wants To Work?

Who Wants To Work?

An important economic driver for America — working consumers — is dwindling. For example, the Denver International Airport recently hosted a concessions job fair to fill around 1,000 openings at the airport for jobs at stores, restaurants, and other businesses.

Pets and Pet Insurance

Pets and Pet Insurance

One of the silver linings coming from the pandemic is that when pet shelters had to close temporarily during lockdowns, a call went out for foster homes so animals would continue receiving the necessary attention. Many of those pets were so loved that they were adopted rather than returned to shelters.

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

You may have noticed higher prices on the things you buy regularly, like groceries and gas. However, many consumers may not realize that economic factors such as backed-up supply chains, extreme weather events, labor shortages/higher wages, and higher demand are not currently reflected in many consumer prices.

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

How to Evaluate a Stock

There are moments in history when people have claimed investment choices don’t matter because if the market is up across the board, you cannot fail. That is not true. In fact, that should never be guiding financial advice. However, there is no doubt that the market has been up for many years — notwithstanding the market correction in March 2020, early in the pandemic. For 2021, year to date, the S&P 500 has climbed more than 20%, double the historical average return of about 10%.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

Navigating Inflation: Understanding Its Impact and Strategies for Protection

In June 2022, the inflation rate soared to 9.1%, marking the highest recorded since 1981. This surge may raise alarms, conjuring memories of economic turmoil from decades past. However, it’s essential to keep perspective. While 9.1% is indeed significant, it pales in comparison to the inflation crisis of 1980 when average annual inflation skyrocketed to a staggering 13.5%. This historical context illuminates that while inflation remains a concern, the current rate is not unprecedented.

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This is Your Brain on Technology

This is Your Brain on Technology

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that the company is rebranding as “Meta.” The initiative is designed to focus the company’s vision on virtual reality (VR) in the future, through what Zuckerberg refers to as the “metaverse.”

U.S. Health Care in a Post-COVID Era

U.S. Health Care in a Post-COVID Era

As many workers returned to their offices this fall, employers took on much of the expense of paying for weekly COVID testing, as well as insurance coverage and paid leave for sick and quarantined workers. These extra expenses may well lead to higher insurance premiums for everyone.

Who Wants To Work?

Who Wants To Work?

An important economic driver for America — working consumers — is dwindling. For example, the Denver International Airport recently hosted a concessions job fair to fill around 1,000 openings at the airport for jobs at stores, restaurants, and other businesses.

Pets and Pet Insurance

Pets and Pet Insurance

One of the silver linings coming from the pandemic is that when pet shelters had to close temporarily during lockdowns, a call went out for foster homes so animals would continue receiving the necessary attention. Many of those pets were so loved that they were adopted rather than returned to shelters.

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

Who’s Paying Higher Prices?

You may have noticed higher prices on the things you buy regularly, like groceries and gas. However, many consumers may not realize that economic factors such as backed-up supply chains, extreme weather events, labor shortages/higher wages, and higher demand are not currently reflected in many consumer prices.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »