Investing a large sum of money can be daunting, especially with the uncertainty of market fluctuations. Enter dollar-cost averaging (DCA), a strategy designed to help investors manage risk by spreading their investments over time. By consistently investing a fixed amount, regardless of market conditions, DCA offers several key benefits that can enhance the investment experience. Key Benefits of Dollar-Cost Averaging: Reduce the Risk of Bad Timing: Investing a lump sum can be risky if done right before a market downturn. DCA mitigates this risk by spreading purchases over time, ensuring you do ..read more

This month we want to highlight some of the key takeaways from our quarterly update video as well as expand on a couple of areas that may be in focus in the months ahead. Signs of life in the global economy and US manufacturing. While the US appears to have sidestepped a recession, the global economy slowed materially from the post-Covid growth peak in 2021. China reported some of the slowest growth in decades, and some major economies like Germany likely experienced recessions. While still weak in many cases, sometimes “less bad” bad data is often good enough to gain solid footing in markets ..read more

Many companies conduct performance reviews and announce employee pay raises toward the end of February or in March. As a smart, creative go-getter, you most likely have great news on the way! But how do you put your higher pay to the best use? You may have experienced a scenario like this in the past: you get a healthy raise, continue with your busy life for the next few months and then find that you don’t “feel” any wealthier. Where did the extra money go? We don’t want you to fall into that trap this year – especially after you worked so hard to earn a pay increase! Instead, now is a perfect ..read more

A 529 account is an excellent vehicle to save money for kids’ education. The contributions grow tax-free, and withdrawals from the account are tax exempt as long as they are used for qualified educational purposes. A list of qualified educational expenses can be found on the IRS website.  The challenging part has always been to keep track of the expenses when you start using the funds. It becomes especially hard when your college kid is making the purchases while away from home, in college and you ask them to save the receipts. That’s a huge ask for an 18-year-old! Come tax season, you re ..read more

The IRS recently announced that the maximum contribution for various investment accounts has increased for 2024. 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, Thrift Savings Plan Employee contribution limit: $23,000 That equals $958.33 per paycheck if you get paid twice a month That equals $884.62 per paycheck if you get paid every two weeks Catch-up contribution for those 50 and older = $7,500 So, the total employee contribution for those 50 and older is up to $30,500 That equals $1,270.83 per paycheck if you get paid twice a month That equals $1,173.08 if you get paid every two weeks Total overall ..read more

Parents often have questions about the best ways to help their kids develop wise money habits. Common questions relate to when and how to start teenagers down the path of responsible credit card use. Teens under 18 cannot open a card in their own name, but parents can add them as authorized users on their credit cards.  Some companies set the minimum age requirement at 16, and others allow teens as young as 13 to be authorized users. This is a great way to help your teenagers start building credit in their name before they turn 18. To help them establish a good credit history, make sure ..read more

Through much of the year, strong year-to-date gains have been touted, and even despite a near 10% selloff since July, the S&P 500 remains up over 8.5% year to date. However, that strength has come from an ever narrowing list of companies. Their performance has been so fantastic they’ve been dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” in large part fueled by AI’s mainstream explosion this year. They also represent the seven largest constituents within the S&P 500. After a pause during last year’s rout in technology and growth stocks broadly, their outperformance has created a significant concentrat ..read more

Early fall is open enrollment season for employer-provided benefits, as well as for Medicare. Open enrollment is a crucial time to review – and possibly update – your selections for health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and more. Which open enrollment timeline applies to you? W-2 employees: Typically runs from mid-October to the end of November.  Self-Employed: Using the health insurance marketplace, open enrollment begins November 1, 2023 and runs through January 15, 2023. Medicare Enrollees: Open enrollment for existing Medicare enrollees starts October 15, 2023 and en ..read more

Thinking about buying a real estate investment property? With interest rates on investment property mortgages near 8%, it is more difficult to generate positive cash flow on these properties than even a year ago. Investors who can pay for a property with all cash will have much better cash flow, but in either case, the most important question to ask  is “how does this investment compare to my best alternatives?”. To figure that out, we have to 1) identify a reasonable investment alternative, 2) figure out the expected returns on both investments, and 3) understand the risk of each. This e ..read more

Having a pile of cash in the bank is usually a good thing, but it requires some stressful decision making. How much can we spend (YOLO!)? How much should we save? What about taxes? Should we pay down our mortgage? The cash could be from a bonus, an inheritance, a business distribution after a profitable year, a gift, vested company stock, equity from the sale of property or a business, an insurance or lawsuit settlement, or even winning the lottery! If you don’t have a plan, the money may disappear and, years later, you may be disappointed that you don’t have much to show for it. Here is a sim ..read more