When you hear or read that the market is up or down, what does that really mean? More often than not, it reflects movement in the two best-known stock market indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. In fact, there are hundreds of indexes that track various categories of investments. While you […]
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Housing Market Trends: Are They Helping or Hurting the Economy?
In an unusual twist, U.S. home values climbed to an annual record of $389,800 in 2023, even as mortgage rates rose to the highest levels in a generation. The median price of existing homes rose 4.4% for the twelve months ended in December 2023 to reach $382,600. (Buying activity and prices tend to peak during […]
New SAVE Repayment Plan Offers Key Benefits
In July 2023, the Department of Education launched a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan for federal student loans called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The SAVE Plan is the most generous IDR plan to date, and like all IDR plans, it calculates a borrower’s monthly payment amount based on income and family […]
Why Family Businesses Should Have Succession Plans
In recent years, the family drama surrounding an aging media mogul — and his unresolved succession plans — have been at the center of a hit television show. For family businesses, succession plans are designed to ensure the orderly transfer of ownership and leadership to the next generation. But relationships among family members are sometimes […]
Braving the Housing Market? An Assumable Mortgage Might Be the Solution
This past year, the housing market has experienced a perfect storm, with high interest rates and inflation resulting in reduced purchasing power for homebuyers. In addition, many current homeowners were reluctant to sell — and give up their lower mortgage rates — leading to lower housing inventory and higher home prices. If you have been […]
Individual Bonds vs. Bond Funds: What’s the Difference?
Individual bonds and bond funds can both provide an income stream, but there are important differences. An individual bond can offer more certainty and stability than a fund, while a fund can offer diversification that might be difficult to obtain with individual bonds. Coupon, maturity, and yield An individual bond has a coupon rate — […]
Beware of These Life Insurance Beneficiary Mistakes
Life insurance has long been recognized as a useful way to provide for your heirs and loved ones when you die. While naming your policy’s beneficiaries should be a relatively simple task, there are a number of situations that can easily lead to unintended and adverse consequences. Here are several life insurance beneficiary traps you […]
The Federal Reserve’s Key Meeting Dates in 2024
The Federal Reserve’s rapid series of interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 — initiated in an effort to bring down red-hot inflation — rippled throughout financial markets and the broader economy. People pay attention to the “Fed” to see where interest rates are headed, but also for its economic analysis and forecasting. Members of […]
SoSEPPs Allow Penalty-Free Access to Retirement Savings at Any Age
You’re probably aware that a 10% penalty tax generally applies to distributions from qualified retirement plan accounts prior to age 59½, unless an exception applies; however, you may not be aware of the exception that allows retirement account holders to access their savings at any age, penalty-free.1 Specifically, this exception allows distributions through a series of […]
Extreme Weather and Your Home Insurance: How to Navigate the Financial Storm
With wildfires in Maui, Hurricane Idalia in Florida, and the heat wave that blanketed the South, Midwest, and Great Plains, 2023 was a record-setting year for extreme weather in the United States. In fact, last year the U.S. saw more weather and climate-related disasters that cost over $1 billion than ever before. 1 As a result […]