Making Cents: Downsizing Doesn’t Always Mean Down Costing
If you are amongst the millions who have an extra bedroom or two, the thought of downsizing the home seems to be “the” topic at backyard barbeques. Now that the kids are grown and gone, or almost gone, you may be asking why you should continue to pay the property taxes, heat and other costs…
Making Cents: Do Your Homeworking When Picking A Financial Advisor
If part of your plan for the New Year is to hire or change financial advisors, it is never too early to start that process. Many people do not ask enough questions when vetting out a new advisor, and simply hope for the best. Ask is what the prospective planner feels is his or her…
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…
Making Cents: How To Pick A Trustee
A trustee is generally a person or a company who oversees the governance and maintenance of a trust. For some trusts, you may be your own trustee while for others, you may need or want an independent trustee. For simplicity sake, realize that if you are your own trustee and have the power to reach…
Making Cents: One Thing About The Internet, You Can’t Take It With You
Sometimes things that are designed to make life simpler seem to complicate matters further. Take the ever growing presence of the internet. How many websites, user IDs, and passwords can any one person endure? Especially in this world of changing passwords and identity protection. Mainly due to security reasons, the internet, which was supposed to…
Making Cents: Expanding Your Annual Financial Check Up
As the calendar marches toward the final quarter of the year, there are certain financial rituals that many astute investors embrace. They routinely scour their portfolios for gains or losses to harvest, see that their allocations align with their expectations and they plan for ways to reduce the income taxes that they’ll pay for the…
Making Cents: Managing Risk
Many say that an analysis of risk should be the first step of the financial planning process after you’ve compiled your financial statements and enumerated your dreams, goals and objectives. The reason for starting with risk is because the occurrence of an unplanned risk may prevent your best laid plans from ever having a chance…
Making Cents: Why Get Your Financial House In Order?
Perhaps the most common reason for the gaping holes in one’s financial plan is the lack of focus on what you are trying to accomplish. Why get your financial house in order? During the course of my week as a financial professional, we frequently see people with gaping holes in the financial plans. Some have no…
A Great Day For Sportsmanship
Last Sunday here on the Irish Riviera (one nickname for Scituate, MA) was not a great day for outdoor activities. The day was a complete washout reminiscent of South Florida style storms complete with thunder and lightning. Frequently on days like this, I have a saying that it is “a great day for indoor sports”….
Making Cents: When It Comes To Money, Treat Family Like Anyone Else
Most people seek out financial guidance to help protect wealth for their lifetime and to preserve it to the extent possible for future generations. But it seems that the more financial independence that you have, the more you begin to feel and look like a target by your friends and family to help them with…