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: 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…
Making Cents : Game Changing Life Transitions that need Attention
Most people approach their financial planning on a piecemeal basis. They look at their portfolio every now and then. They talk to an estate planner every 10 or 20 years, even though it should be more frequent. They buy their life insurance in a vacuum and never look at it again. They buy and sell…
MAKING CENTS: Clever Terms to Investigate
Financial services marketers are quite clever at getting you to see their point of view. In their creative genius, they use words that sound quite appealing to most people and utilize those words to fit your situation making what they’ve got to sell sound like your only solution. The first such word is guaranteed. You…
Making Cents: Household Employees May Cause Tax and Liability Problems
A household employee is someone that you pay to perform duties in or around your home. A household employee is considered an employee for tax and liability purposes if you control when, where, how or by whom the work should be performed. This list of people commonly includes nannies, medical caregivers, housekeepers, chefs, personal assistants,…
Making Cents: What Does Your Parents’ Estate Plan Say
Speaking to your children about money is not easy, but speaking to parents can be even tougher. No parent goes through life wondering how they can ruin their finances or make their adult children miserable while settling an estate without a plan. Yet it seems that this scenario is more common than the elder parent…
Making Cents: What Is Volatility And Why Does It Matter
Unless all of your savings are stored in guaranteed rate instruments like bank accounts, you have probably felt the consequences of volatility somewhere. Volatility in the investment world attempts to measure the stability or susceptibility of your investment to sudden changes in value. These sudden changes cut both ways. Volatility can cause the value of…
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: 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…