Good to Know: Who Needs Long-Term Care Insurance?

What are the odds you’ll need long-term care? Long-term care is a distinct possibility for millions of Americans. Today’s baby-boomers and their parents are living longer, but longer life expectancies are often accompanied by a need for extended long-term care.  According to the American Society on Aging, 70% of Americans 65 and older will need…

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Good to Know: 4 Dangerous Gaps in Long-Term Disability Coverage

Saying “I have a long-term disability policy” is very much like saying “I have a car.”  There’s a big difference between a new Mercedes S-Class and a 40-year old AMC Concord (for any Millennials reading this, the Concord was manufactured just after the extinction of the dinosaurs by a now-defunct automaker). Here’s my point –…

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CFP® Certificants in the News: Sarah’s Story

CFP® Certificant in the News People Helping People   “I see how much I can change the lives of Samir and her family by providing them with good financial principles and understanding.” –Sarah Barker As Americans, we can take for granted our basic understanding of how the U.S. financial system operates. For example, we know how…

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Regulation Best Interest Rule and the CFP Board

On June 5, 2019, The Securities and Exchange commission adopted the Regulation Best Interest Rule, along with other rulemakings and interpretations.  These actions were designed to enhance the quality and transparency retail investors’ relationships with advisors.  Concurrently, the CFP Board has made changes to the CFP Board Code of Ethics and Standards, which become effective…

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Does Car Insurance Follow the Car or the Driver?

Does Personal Auto Policy (PAP) insurance follow the car or the driver? The answer is… it depends! Let’s face it. This is can be a confusing topic. It’s no wonder there’s confusion – an online search of this simple question returns dramatically different opinions; some are correct, some partially correct, and some are incorrect.  But even the…

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CFP® Certificants in the News: Helping Veterans Stay Financially FIT

On Memorial Day, we honored those brave men and women who gave their very blood to protect and defend our freedoms. The sheer number of those who gave it all is humbling. Since our nation’s founding, those servicewomen and servicemen who died while serving is roughly equal to the population of Dallas, Texas – 1.3…

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To Roth or Not to Roth, That Is The Question

Conventional wisdom would have us believe that after-tax Roth IRA contributions only make sense if we expect higher taxable income and higher income tax rates in retirement than now. Is conventional wisdom wrong? Not completely but it is woefully simplistic in a complex financial world. Especially for client-facing advisors, the client implications of the Roth…

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Good to Know: Cryptocurrency Tax Myths Can Hurt You

At one time in the not so distant past, the sky was the limit (where have investors heard that before?) for cryptocurrency. Back then, it seemed like all of the cool kids had cryptocurrency and subsequently, despite ups and downs, its popularity continues. But what is the attraction of this phenomenon? Three potential explanations follow.…

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