CREATING CLARITY & CONFIDENCE IN A COMPLEX WORLD
The Memorial Day weekend is usually the beginning of the summer driving season, and — not coincidentally — often a high point in the annual ups and downs of gas prices. This year, almost 37 million drivers hit the road…
Most Americans will receive Social Security and Medicare benefits at some point in their lives. For this reason, workers and retirees are concerned about potential program shortfalls that could affect future benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security…
The FOMC concluded their monetary policy meeting today, which, as expected, resulted in no change to the fed funds rate—currently targeted to a range of 1.75-2.00%. There were no dissenting votes. The formal narrative again was positive in its assessment…
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report came out last week and showed that the economy grew at a rate of 4.1% last quarter; the highest growth rate in the last 4 years. A common question we get from our clients…
Do you have a student loan (or two)? Interest rates on federal student loans are set to rise for the second year in a row. This table shows the interest rates for new loans made on or after July 1,…
Once a quarter, we like to give a team update to let you know what’s going on in our lives both personally and professionally. Here’s what the second quarter of 2018 looked like for us. Taking advantage of all the sunshine we have…
Did you know that one of five people in our community go to bed hungry every night? Marion Polk Food Share is working hard to change that. Their programs range from emergency food supply, managing Meals on Wheels, coordinating incredibly fertile community gardens and…
Happy summer! The second quarter of this year brought with it some more of the volatility we experienced in Q1. While the market movements weren’t as wide as the first quarter, political rhetoric and interest rate changes continued to keep…
Productivity continues to be a debated topic, and the subject of both academic and more practical white papers, with no clear-cut conclusion reached, although hopes and expectations for improvement from current low levels are widespread. A recent report by consultant…
Prior to our client meetings, we send out a brief questionnaire to understand what we can prepare in advance to assure our time together is valuable. In a recent questionnaire, a client asked a great question, “How will the latest tax reform…
Talk About Trade The majority of the market questions we’ve received over the last three months have been on trade. The back and forth between the White House and China (and most recently, Canada and Mexico) have some of you…
In working with their estate planning attorney, many of our clients choose to name a child or other family member as their successor trustee. In most cases, that individual has little to no experience serving in this important capacity. Here’s…
You know how when you buy a new car, you suddenly see ‘your’ car everywhere, though you never really noticed it before? That’s what’s been happening with me and the Roth IRA lately. They’ve been around for over 20 years but…
The June FOMC meeting concluded with members deciding to raise the fed funds target rate by 0.25%, for the seventh time this cycle, to a new range of 1.75-2.00%. As the probability of this happening was over 95%, in light…
Dear Graduates, As you make your way into the workforce, you might feel eager to take on the first job offer that comes your way. But I encourage you to proceed with thought, caution and with the best interests of…
Dear College Graduates, Most of you will walk away from your education with more than a diploma. Around 68% of you graduating with a bachelor’s degree are carrying $30,000 in student loan debt. For graduate students, that number is closer to…
Dear College Graduates, This will not be like other advice columns. I won’t condescend, nag, or remind you about irritating millennial or Gen Z stereotypes that you’ve been working to overcome. My goal in this three part series is just to…
Oil prices have a stealthy way of luring investors into the complacency of a trading range, before taking a dramatic turn on the cusp of a single geopolitical factor (often in the Middle East) or variety of coinciding factors. With…
Last week, I sat down with one of my long time clients. She and I were discussing the volatile stock market as of late, and I was sharing with her that corrections and pullbacks are a part of a normal,…
The Fed met today and ended their meeting with a unanimous vote of no action on the interest rate front, as predicted, with the fed funds rate target remaining at 1.50-1.75%. The formal statement showed little change from the March edition,…
If you receive Medicare, you will be getting a new Medicare card in the mail. To help prevent fraud and fight identity theft, Medicare is removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards. Your new card will have a new Medicare…
The first 80 degree day of 2018 and there were still over 50 women who came to learn what they can do to improve their financial and estate plans. This is the second time we’ve co-hosted and co-sponsored this unique event.…
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%…
Yesterday, while the rest of the staff was busy working, I had the opportunity to attend the annual luncheon supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties. While I’ve had a long connection the Boys and Girls…
Market volatility has obviously been ramping up as of late, with one of the catalysts being the announcement of various layers of tariffs by the U.S. administration. This rhetoric has been targeted at China, which has responded with a series…
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…
Once a quarter, we like to give a team update to let you know what’s going on in our lives both personally and professionally. Here’s what the first quarter of 2018 looked like for us. Last month, Michelle wrapped up the extensive volunteer…
We’ve spent the last 6-12 months telling you to anticipate an increase in market volatility. We have a feeling many of you were recalling those conversations as you rode through the market volatility of the last quarter. For the first time…
On St. Patrick’s Day, we were thrilled to join about 2 dozen other sponsors who gathered to support Liberty House. Their annual Celebrate Spring dinner and auction raises funds to support the important work this organization does. Liberty House is…
Markets were in the news again, with media headlines implying panic selling, akin to what we saw in early February when the market experienced its first correction in years. Headlines especially focus on the drop measured in the number of…
The juxtaposition of a bull and a bear to describe capital markets is thought to have originated in the early 1700’s. Even though several stories exist, there is no definitive answer as to which, if any, is correct. The following…
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…
At the end of last week, the news was dominated by President Trump’s announcement to implement tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products. This has a lot of us wondering how those tariffs would look in practice. Our on-staff Chartered Financial…
Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of visiting Willamette University. I spoke with a group of brilliant students who were in their third or fourth year. Some of them were looking forward to graduation in June, others were gearing up for…
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…
At a recent meeting with one of our long time client families we were asked for some tips on how to best maintain and protect their online profile in this ever changing digital world. “How do we manage all of…
And a good time was had by all! Last Saturday, our whole team gathered at the Salem Convention Center to support The Salem Rotary Foundation. The annual GoodWorks Auction hosted by our club raises money for the foundation to support local…
For the last several months, the USA Today insert in the local newspaper has had an ever-shrinking, almost non-existent “Money” section. I’d wager to guess that may not be the case in tomorrow’s edition. Today’s news of the Dow Jones…
Today, Janet Yellen attended her last meeting of The Fed as chair. As anticipated, it was uneventful with no increase to interest rates for the time being, keeping short-term rates to a targeted range of 1.25-1.50%. New chairperson Jerome Powell…
As you’re pulling together information to prepare your 2017 tax returns, you might be looking through your paper files wondering, “Do I really need all this?” It’s a good time to revisit the essentials of what you should keep and…
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…
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The market highs set in 2017 may have you a bit nervous. How much longer can this bull market go? Here’s Larry’s take.
This weekend, I ran into a couple of experienced mom’s who shared some holiday advice. “Whatever you do, do NOT start the Elf on a Shelf thing,” said one. The other added, “OR let grandma set up an expectation for…
Last month, our team of financial advisors wrote about cryptocurrencies and bitcoins. We gave you an overview on the mysterious investment and highlighted some of the dangers. Today, cryptocurrencies are making headlines again. With exponential gains in bitcoins dollar price (currently…
Ron Kelemen and his wife and Kathy retired on November 2, after 35+ years in the financial advisory business. Before they got too far down the retirement path, we interviewed Ron about his years in this industry. How did you…
As a member of our Salem community, we are proud to support a number of deserving organizations, several of which come with the gift of beautiful music. If you’re looking for an event to get you and your family into…
Tax reform took a lurch forward over the weekend with both the House and Senate passing different versions of the bill. You’ll find a lot of similarities between the two: overall tax rates are lower for individuals and businesses, child…
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…
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…
The Federal Reserve Board can seem mysterious. With signs of the stimulus program unwinding and the recent nomination of Jerome Powell to replace Janet Yellen next year as chair of the board, there’s renewed interest in unpacking this opaque government…
For over 35 years, Ron and Kathy Kelemen have worked in the financial advisory business. Last Thursday marked their final day of work as they join several of our client families in retirement. Check out this fun, surprise video our…
As fee-only-Certified Financial Planners, clients often ask us our opinion about various investments. It seems like we get this question every time there is a new investment fad or a new IPO offering. Because we are investment fiduciaries, we always…
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…
With the Dow at over a record 23,000, we just passed the 28th anniversary of the October 19, 1987 stock market crash, in which the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6% in one day. That would be the equivalent of…
As fee-only financial advisors, the fall often means some hands on year-end tax planning for our clients. Couple that with recommendations of early filing in the wake of the Equifax data breach and news of a tax reform proposal, and…
The long‐awaited fall is finally upon us. We are pleased to present our review of the third quarter of 2017. Once again, it’s been a good quarter for stocks, except for some rough patches during August. The past 12 months…
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…
Another week has passed since we’ve checked in with you on the Equifax data breach. We hope by now that most of you are starting to feel better about the identity safety measures you have put in place. Aside from the…
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…
