There are financial terms that, as advisors, we often use as if they are a part of everyday conversation. Some clients will get a bit giddy when we use terms like asset allocation, beta, correlation, and diversification. The other 95% will nod their head as if in agreement while thinking, “Please make it stop!” As…
Women are powerful. They represent the primary breadwinner in 44% of U.S. households and manage over $14 trillion (51%) of wealth today.[1] Even with that kind of influence, the relationship between women and finances isn’t always an empowered one. Only a little over half of you feel comfortable about your retirement, compared to 68% of…
Do you know the difference between Medicare, Medigap and Medicare Advantage? What about supplements A, B, C, D and the rest of the alphabet soup? My parents are approaching Medicare age and late last month, I tagged along to attend a free educational class they were attending, hosted by SHIBA (Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance). This introductory…
Recently, one of our client families came to us with questions around how best to finance a down payment for their future home. A young couple, their home was perfect back when it was just the two of them. But several years and a couple of kiddos later, they feel they’re outgrowing it. Rather than…
Our team of financial planners is special. We’re diverse, we’re experienced and we’re of the belief that knowledge is power. Last fall, in partnership with Willamette Valley Hospice and Collier Law, I had the great privilege of speaking to a room full of intelligent women about financial planning. We had such a wonderful response that we’re doing it again. Might you…
For some of our client families, this time of year means tax planning. For others, we’re focused on how to help them complete the charitable resolutions they set back in January. In today’s blog post we discuss how to achieve both by comparing gifts through Qualified Charitable Distributions, appreciated stock or Donor Advised Funds. For…
For those with a charitable heart, they know the secret: that the very act of giving makes us happier. They want share that secret with everyone, especially their families. No matter what your family looks like, you can instill values that will live on through generations of givers. As a firm, we are incredibly grateful to give…
What biases affect your financial decisions? Now that Richard Thaler has won the Nobel Prize in economics for his groundbreaking research in the field of behavioral finance, perhaps we’ll all be more aware of our often-flawed decision making. Dr. Thaler and other researchers in the field, such as Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, went against…
If you’ve spent the month of September evaluating your online presence and security measures, you’re not alone. The Equifax data breach has served as an unfortunate reminder of just how public our “private” information is. This breach has also rekindled the scrutiny of Social Security as our defacto national identification system. What are our options?…
Our clients often express concern about the debt that they, their kids or their grandkids are saddled with straight out of college. In the last several years, news about the possibility of student loan forgiveness has surfaced. If ever there were a program that fully embodied the nuance, complication and confusion that often accompanies government…