If you’re living with a long-term partner but have no plans of getting married, you’re certainly not alone. The number of “cohabiting” adults has grown in recent decades—more than doubling, from 4% in 1990 to 9% in 2020.  While having a legally-recognized spouse does provide some basic benefits—more favorable tax treatment in some situations—staying unmarried doesn’t mean you can’t plan your financial future in tandem. However, it does mean you and your partner will need to apply a bit more strategy to your finances, especially in terms of estate planning. A spouse is often considered ..read more

Just as it’s important to schedule annual check-ups with your primary care physician, regularly assessing and updating your financial plan is an important strategy for long-term financial success. As your life evolves, your financial plan can fall out of alignment with your needs, or become less of a focus altogether. Life moves fast and priorities change, but that doesn’t mean your financial health should take a hit, and it’s never too late to rebalance and reevaluate your goals. Taking a proactive approach to protecting your finances can help you stay on top of issues like debt accumulati ..read more

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are initiatives commonly used in the workplace and across various professional communities to help better hear the many voices that make up our diverse world. At Abacus, we understand that diversity and inclusion are essential to the success of any organization or industry. We also acknowledge that the financial services industry, in many ways, has often fallen short in both its awareness and its ability to evolve.  As we continue our commitment to running an inclusive financial planning firm and building a more diverse and equitable profession, we ..read more

People inherit an average of $46,200 during their lifetime, though this number can vary greatly depending on the size of your family’s estate. While many of us may receive an inheritance, it can be overwhelming to unexpectedly receive a large sum of money, especially when we’re still mourning the loss of a family member. Grief is a powerful emotion and it tends to cloud judgment. It is important for us to take time to grieve during this process. At times grief can overshadow people’s ability to make practical financial decisions, even if they want to use their inheritance in a meaningful wa ..read more

Women earn around 83 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. Just let that sink in for a minute.  Meanwhile, this startling fact only scrapes the surface of the full impact gender wage inequality has on women in the workplace. It doesn’t account for women of different races, different ages, or who work in different industries. For example, Black women earn 70 cents to a man’s dollar and Hispanic women earn 65 cents, highlighting an even more alarming discrepancy for women of color.  Gender wage inequality is certainly not new; it’s had a direct impact on women’s financi ..read more

We are delighted to present the inaugural edition of the Abacus Wealth Partners Impact Report. As a values-aligned financial planning and investment firm, we are committed to amplifying the impact work we have been doing – both past and present – and how we will continue to engage with this work in the future.  The 2023 Abacus Impact Report is a comprehensive overview exploring the areas where Abacus has made a substantial impact over the past year. It offers a detailed examination of our actions through three distinct lenses: financial advice, investments, and our contributi ..read more

Navigating the complexities of the vast landscape of personal and business finances can feel like trying to decipher a cryptic code. Enter the unsung hero of fiscal sanity: the accountant.  There are many financial reasons to hire an accountant, some of which people are generally aware of: financial expertise, time savings, tax planning and optimization, and bookkeeping, to name a few. And yet, there are also some surprisingly human reasons to hire an accountant. Accountants are not just numbers people. They often have great empathy and understanding as well. In many ways, a tax r ..read more

In 2009, this doe eyed financial planner fell in love. And no, I don’t mean with my husband. I’m referring to Mint.com, one of the first budgeting apps.  Mint offered everything I never knew I was looking for – data aggregation, categorization, rules-based budgeting, spending tags, spending trends, you name it. For the last fourteen years, Mint.com has been my trusty companion as my financial life changed and adapted to marriage, home ownership, job changes, kids, partnership at Abacus, you name it. Like a good friend, it’s been there through thick and thin. Sadly, Mint.com and its ove ..read more

Transitioning to retirement requires plenty of careful planning. But did you know that retirement brings a new set of tax considerations and challenges?  In your working years, you might have been a W-2 employee, which meant your taxes were automatically withheld from your paycheck. Unless you earned additional income from dividends, rental income, or contract work, you may not have had to make estimated payments or set aside some of your savings to cover additional tax obligations. But in retirement, you’ll need a tax strategy that accounts for your various income sources – especially ..read more

Fourth Quarter Market Review In the last quarter of 2023, there was a notable easing of financial conditions. The Federal Reserve, acknowledging in October that the proceeding months had witnessed a tightening of financial conditions, indicated a dampened need for additional rate increases. This sentiment was reinforced by the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady throughout the quarter. By December, policymakers were projecting three rate cuts in 2024, signaling a supportive monetary policy environment. Against this backdrop, the disinflation trend gained further momentum, as shown in ..read more