Making Cents: Preparing to Sell Your Home
With the arrival of spring, now’s the time when many who have thought about selling a house get a little more serious. If the house needs some work to get the attention of today’s buyers, speak to a professional about which repairs may give you the best return on your investment. That professional could be…
Making Cents: The Rule of 168
The rule of 168 isn’t some fancy way of seeing how fast your money doubles or a code section from the IRS, it is a law of life. The law is that there are only 168 hours in a week, and you need to use them wisely if you want to live the ideal life…
Spring Has Sprung
Maybe a day earlier than many remember, but at 3/20 just after 11 PM, the Spring Equinox is upon us! All that really means is that the days are now longer than the nights, and for many of us that is a welcoming sight. This is officially my 68th spring, and I think that it…
Making Cents: Temporary Renting of your Personal Real Estate Has Many Possible Risks
Whether it’s called home or room sharing, short term rental arrangements (or whatever the regulators ultimately call it), millions of people have jumped on the bandwagon of either renting or advertising rooms for rent for as short as a single night. This may work wonders for your cash flow if you need extra money, but…
How to Avoid a Financial Family Feud
All too often families fight about money. Commonly these feuds begin over real estate, family businesses or care decisions for aging parents. No parent’s dream for the future of his or her family includes disownment or troubles among the siblings, yet parents are most often the ones to blame for the problems. Preventing future feuds can…
Making Cents: There’s More to Risk than Losing Money
When most people think about financial risk, losing money is what they think about. Memories of the real estate investment or stock investment that didn’t work out as hoped may still be stuck in your mind. But risk is much broader than just losing money, and the more money you have, the more likely it…
Making Cents: Retirement Accounts Need Special Attention in Your Estate Plan
I frequently see people who think that their will directs who gets their retirement accounts after they pass away. This isn’t necessarily true. The only time your will matters in terms of your retirement accounts is if you haven’t selected beneficiaries or if all of your chosen beneficiaries are deceased. This last choice, however, is…
The Stupid Bowl
Is it my age or is the Super Bowl losing some of its luster? My friends who are Giants fans are thinking that I’m spoiled from all the Patriot’s Super Bowl appearances, and that I just can’t accept any other teams being in the big game. That is not true, I found that when my…
Making Cents: Planning for Children with Special Needs or Dependency Issues
Between what appears to be a larger percentage of children born with special needs and the recent epidemic of opioid addiction and dependency, many parents need specialized guidance in order to best assist these children and ultimately, protect their assets from the issues that can easily drain any estate. The core issue is the child’s…
Making Cents: Price Inflation may be Higher than you Think it is
Calculating the rate of inflation seems rather simple. If you pay $10 for something today and one year later that item costs $11, you would think that the item has inflated by $1 or 10% over the past year. But when it comes to the rate of inflation, there is yet another variable to factor…