Financial planning blog

Timely and free financial planning advice

Investment opportunities and market fluctuations in bonds

July 1, 2021

The Death of a 40-Year-Old Bond Market

The Death of a 40-year-old Bond Market Read this Periscope for historical perspective on bonds—but it won’t be boring! Macroeconomic Investment Strategies We lean on our research partners at Athena Invest and Litman Gregory to make our investment decisions. Athena’s patented investment process identifies 10 themes, or 10 general ways that all investment managers make...

June 23, 2021

Fraud Protection with the FBI Recap

Read this Periscope for a few tips from the FBI about how you can protect yourself from fraud and theft. How to Protect Yourself from Fraud On Wednesday June 16, Supervisor Special Agent Brian Blauser from the FBI shared some stories and advice about fraud happening right now. The FBI does not allow us to...

Podcast on real estate investment advice

June 22, 2021

Episode 31: Asset Protection

Learn from the expert network team in a podcast or an online movie. Karl Frank, Nathan Merrill, Mike Miller and Jeff Krommendyk about ways to protect your assets during these crazy times! There are four types of asset protection. We help you protect: 1. Financial assets 2. Property 3. Confidential information 4. Personal security in...

June 15, 2021

Should I Worry About Inflation or Go on Vacation?

Read this Periscope for our insights about the current inflation situation, what we are doing about it and what you can do too! Introduction Inflation means increasing costs for the goods and services we purchase. Economists largely agree that the more money there is in the world, chasing a finite supply of goods and services,...

June 10, 2021

How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Fraud

Asset Protection Video and Podcast Learn from the expert network team in a podcast or an online movie. Karl Frank, Nathan Merrill, Mike Miller and Jeff Krommendyk about ways to protect your assets during these turbulent times! Subscribe to the podcast or watch the video on our website. There are four types of asset...

June 4, 2021

What is the Return on the News?

Watch the investment commentary movie from Dr. Tom Howard at Athena Invest. Learn about what we believe is shaping the markets and how the research team at Athena is positioning their portion of our investment portfolios. Here is a summary. If you want, you can click to an area of interest. First, Dr. Howard...

Jar of coins with hands—symbolizing savings & investment.

May 26, 2021

Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): A Tax-Efficient Way of Donating From your IRA

Learn how to make a charitable contribution out of your IRA. This special tax benefit allows you to avoid income tax and for your charity to receive the full distribution without paying any taxes!

May 12, 2021

Top 3 Tips for Managing Money During Life Transitions

Life Transitions Create Big Emotions When life changes, our emotions go up. And money usually increases the stress we are already feeling! Changes include: Career change or other employment-related changes Retirement Divorce Death in the family Sale of a business Marriage Children-related: births, kids leaving home, etc. Financial—inheritance, windfall, etc. Money usually increases the drama of things! Importantly, the stress is real...

May 5, 2021

What do Biden’s Proposed Tax Increases Mean for Your Investments?

Read this Periscope to learn about the President’s proposed tax increases, including a huge increase in the long-term capital gains rate. Also, increases to the income tax rate, the step-up in tax basis, higher taxes on corporations and a gotcha for real estate investors. Second-largest Percentage Tax Increase in US History The proposed tax increases,...