Andrew Froelich
Why Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) are so ...

A little bit of planning can go a long way in avoiding taxes and having real world results when paying for medical expenses. Recently I experienced this after needing a significant amount of dental work that insurance wouldn’t cover. After diving deeper into Health Savings Accounts and utilizing some of these tax-saving strategies myself, I wanted to share this information.

Why Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) are so Important
Retirement
Patrick Stoa
Social Security, The Chance to Make a Huge ...

Think of Social Security as an asset to be managed. It may be a bit of an abstract thought since it is impossible to call up Social Security and ask for a withdrawal. Still, the lifetime value of your Social Security benefit is likely to be substantial, and can be dramatically larger or smaller depending on your claiming strategy, timing, and longevity.

Social Security, The Chance to Make a Huge Mistake
Andrew Froelich
The Importance of Proper Income Tax Withholding

Would you rather have a dollar today or a dollar tomorrow? What about one dollar every month or twelve dollars at the end of the year? The majority of us would take the money as soon as possible. This is based on two old economic principles; opportunity cost and the time value of money. We know that having a dollar today rather than some time in the future is more valuable because it means we can use that dollar immediately. This could mean saving, paying off debt, or even investing it for the future. Therefore, as we evaluate something of equal value received in the future, we discount its worth and prefer that same value now. This is relevant to us as taxpayers as every month we are given the option to receive more now or more when we file our taxes (assuming we are withholding too much).

The Importance of Proper Income Tax Withholding
Financial Planning
Patrick Stoa
What does Fiduciary mean, and why does it ...

Almost all our engagements and recommendations with clients are Fiduciary. Why does that matter to you? Under current regulations, all advisors are now required to act as Fiduciaries for new recommendations in retirement accounts (for example IRA accounts). However, they were not required to do that until very recently, and your account might be grandfathered under the old, weaker, “suitability” rules.

What does Fiduciary mean, and why does it matter?
College Planning
Patrick Stoa
College Planning: Grants, Work-Study, and Loans

In our prior videos (College Planning), we have talked about ways to reduce the cost of education through AP course, college selection, and scholarships.  Assuming you have done that and still have a shortfall, you are probably moving on to methods of obtaining financial aid.  Today we are going to talk about the $150 billion in federal aid that the US Department of Education offers to 15 million students each year.  The aid is provided in the form of grants, work-study, and loans.

College Planning: Grants, Work-Study, and Loans

Risk

Planning for the Future Needs to Include Insurance

Planning for the Future Needs to Include Insurance

Let’s be frank; no one likes to pay for insurance. It’s one of those things we do because we’re “responsible adults”. But in many cases we’re paying to protect ourselves against something that isn’t likely to happen. Most people don’t totally destroy their cars. Most houses don’t burn down. But when those things do happen, they can have catastrophic financial effects on those who are ill-prepared. While this is true for things like houses and cars, it’s also true when it comes to planning your financial future. Let’s take a quick dive into three areas we think are critically important to address when thinking about your financial plan.

Rebalancing

Rebalancing

Imagine a situation where you were at the playground on the seesaw with your older brother.  It works well at first.  Then winter comes. The next spring you hop on the seesaw again, but it doesn’t work anymore.  Your brother grew faster, and now the seesaw is out of balance.  He gets on, you fly up on your side, and you’re stuck with your legs dangling in the air, suspended until he lets you down.  Your seesaw is out of balance.  You need to rebalance to make it work the right way again.