The New Normal was a term to describe the financial conditions after The Great Recession of 2008-2009 by Mohamed El-Erian, currently the chief economic advisor at Allianz. The concept of the New Normal is that the economy would remain sluggish…
The Last Mortgage Refinance
I know it’s not breaking news that mortgage rates are low. They are very low in fact. At the last Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) meeting in September they elected to keep the Federal Funds Rate unchanged. The FOMC…
Tagged with: Congress, Fed, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Board, FOMC, Freddie Mac, Great Recession 2008-2009, HELOC, Home Equity Line of Credit, Home Mortgage, Home Refinance, Income Tax Deduction, Itemized Deductions, Mortgage, Mortgage Interest, Mortgage Rates, PMI, Points, Presidental Election, Private Mortgage Insurance, Refinance, Standard Deduction, Tax Deduction, TRID, U. S. Treasury Securities, W-2
All Eyes Are on The Fed
The Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) met in mid-September 2016 and again, decided to leave interest rates unchanged. The last time they have raised interest rates was in December, 2015. They raised the target federal funds rate to a…
Tagged with: 401 (k) Plan, Abenomics, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Banks, BOJ, Brexit, CD, Cental Bank, Dow, Dow Jones, Dow Jones Industrial Average, ECB, EU, Europe, European Central Bank, European Migrants, Fed, Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve Board, Great Recession 2008-2009, Interest Rates, James Grant, Japan, NASDAQ, Negative Interest Rates, Paul McCartney, Pension, Prime Interest Rate, Prime Rate, QE, Quantitative Easing, Real Estate, S&P 500, Shizo Abe, Social Security, Standard & Poors 500 Index, Student Debt, U-3
4 Easy Steps to Stay Retired
You have reached the holy grail (for some) and retired. Congratulations! You are in the Land of No Alarm Clocks. Now you can do (almost) whatever you want to do. You’ve worked your whole life to…
Tagged with: 401(K) Plan, 529 College Savings Plan, 529 Plan, Bank of Japan, Budget, Cash Reserve Fund, College, Connecticut, Connecticut Income Tax, CT, ECB, European Central Bank, Fed, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Board, Great Reccession 2008-2009, Income Tax, Individual Retirement Account, Interest Rates, Investment Portfolio, IRA, Living Expenses, Medical Bills, Medicare Tax, Money Market Account, Negative Interest Rates, New England, New Hampshire, Portfolio, Rainy Day Fund, Retire, Retirees, Retirement, Retirement Plan, Roth IRA, S & P 500 Index, Savers, Social Security, Social Security Tax, Starbucks, Swiss National Bank, The College Board
The Difference Between a 401(k) plan and a Roth 401(k) plan
401(k) plan The 401(k) plan has become one of the primary retirement vehicles many people will use to help fund their retirement. It is one of the cornerstones in 5 Easy Steps to Retirement. Pre-tax contributions and tax-deferred compounding…
Tagged with: 401 (k) Plan, 401(k) plan employer match, Auto Enrollment, Catch Up Contribution, Congress, Default Investment, Defined Benefit Plan, Earned Income, Enron, Field of Dreams, Great Recession 2008-2009, Income Tax, Inflaton, IRA, Money Market Account, Paycheck, Pension Plan, Pension Reform Act of 2006, Retirement, Retirement Planning, Risk, Roth 401(k) plan, Roth IRA, Stock Market, Tax Deferred Accounts, Tax-Free
The Difference Between a Roth IRA and an IRA
The Roth IRA and an IRA both offer different tax advantaged ways to save for retirement. If you are serious about your retirement plan take these 5 Easy Steps to Retirement. Roth IRA Investors are allowed to fund…
Tagged with: 401 (k) Plan, 401(k) plan employer match, Beneficary, Beneficiary Designation, Cash Reserve Fund, Financial Plan, Income Tax, Income Tax Deduction, Income Tax Penalty, Inherited IRA, Inherited Roth IRA, IRA, IRS, IRS Form 8606, Required Minimum Distribution, Retirement, Retirement Plan, Retirement Planning, RMD, Roth 401(k) plan, Roth Conversion, Roth IRA, Tax-Free, Wealth Transfer
The Difference Between a Roth IRA Contribution and a Roth Conversion
Roth IRA The Roth IRA (“Roth”) is an excellent tool to help provide for retirement funding. Here are 3 Proven Reasons You Need a Roth IRA. The Roth is a younger investor’s best vehicle to use. Unlike the IRA,…
Tagged with: 401 (k) Plan, 401(k) plan employer match, Adjusted Gross Income, AGI, Beneficiary, BMW, Connecticut, Connecticut Residents, Connecticut Taxpayers, CT, Estate Tax, Income Tax, Income Tax Bracket, Income Tax Rates, Income Tax-Free, Internal Revenue Service, IRA, IRS, Life Expectancy, Married Filing Jointly, Required Minimum Distribution, Retirement, RMD, Roth Conversion, Roth IRA, Tax Bracket, Tax Deferred Accounts, Taxable Estate
7 Reasons Why All Investors Over Age 70 1/2 Should Consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution
Our observation is that many people are very generous with the donations they make. It sure helps that there is likely a tax deduction for this, no question. Many people are accustomed to donating cash, writing a check to…
Tagged with: 401(K) Plan, 501(c)(3), Adjusted Gross Income, AGI, Appreciated Property, Charitable Donation, Charity, Connecticut Estate Tax, Connecticut Income Tax, Connecticut Taxpayers, Estate Tax, Estate Tax Exclusion, Estate Tax Portability, Gift Tax, Income Tax, Investors, IRA, IRS, Itemized Deductions, Medical Expenses, Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions, Mortgage Interest, Non-profit Organization, QCD, Qualified Charitable Distribution, Required Minimum Distribution, RMD, Standard Deduction
Estate Planning Lessons Learned From My Moms Estate
My Mother passed away this year at age 84. While her estate was fairly modest, here is some estate planning lessons we learned about her estate. Give While You Are Alive My mom’s estate was modest. She had…
Tagged with: Adjusted Gross Income, AGI, Appreciated Property, Capital Gains, Capital Gains Tax, CD, Certificate of Deposit, Charitable Donation, College Education, Connecticut Residents, dividends, Donation, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Estate Tax Portability, Federal Estate Exclusion, Federal Estate Tax, Goodwill, Health Care Proxy, Home Equity Line of Credit, Itemized Deductions, Mortgage Interest, POA, Power of Attorney, SImple Will, Standard Deduction
