Blog

Countdown to College

Carol Schmidlin

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

As a parent, you of course want to give your child the best opportunity for success, and for many, attending the “right” university or college is that opportunity. Unfortunately, being accepted to the college of one’s...

Mid-Year Financial Check-Up

Carol Schmidlin

Thursday, July 8, 2021

With June officially behind us, it’s time to face the facts: we’re headed toward the second half of 2021. While there’s still plenty of time to enjoy the rest of summer, we encourage you to slow down and check up on...

The Cryptocurrency Conundrum

Carol Schmidlin

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Recently, you may have seen a number of major cryptocurrencies fall thanks to a continuing sell-off that began last week. In fact, over $250 billion was lost in the crypto market alone.1 It may be tempting to view this as another...

Buffet and Powell Talk Inflation

Carol Schmidlin

Monday, June 14, 2021

What does it mean when two of the most powerful voices in American financial life seem to be saying two different things? In one corner, we have the “Oracle of Omaha,” investor Warren Buffett. As one of the nation’s...

Money saved and invested in IRAs and qualified plans can grow tax-deferred to generate income later in life. While retirees would like to enjoy the pursuits that make their hearts content, they must also expend money on physical...

Protecting Your Financial Assets and Planning for Uncertainty in the Future

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, May 7, 2021

A recent survey shows that 63% of investors are more interested in protecting their financial assets and planning for uncertainty in the future than anything else.1 There are many reasons for this change, but here are a few of the...

Will Power

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, April 16, 2021

Only 45 percent of adults have a will or other estate documents in place, which may not be entirely surprising.1 No one wants to be reminded of their own mortality or spend too much time thinking about what might happen once...

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 passed by Congress on March 10, 2021 includes many non-tax provisions to help address the COVID pandemic. There are also tax provisions in this law that may help you reduce your 2020 taxes. The IRS...

Less than one month ahead of the traditional date, the I.R.S. has delayed the deadline for filing and paying taxes. The new deadline is May 17, 2021.1,2,3 The delay follows continued disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and a late...

How the Internet Gamed Wall Street's Short Sellers

Carol Schmidlin

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

You may have heard the news about stocks for certain companies suddenly ballooning, quickly going from lunch money prices to several hundred dollars a share. In one case, the shares rose over 1700% since December 2020.1 So, what gives?...

Here’s What Financial Freedom Really Means — and 8 Steps to Get There

Carol Schmidlin

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Maybe you dream of waking up next to the ocean on a gorgeous piece of land you own, surrounded by nature, with zero internet because you never need to work again. Or maybe you dream of waking up somewhere other than your childhood...

Rebalancing Your Portfolio

Carol Schmidlin

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Rebalancing Your Portfolio Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with it. But is that the best approach? It may sound counterintuitive, but it may be possible to have too much of a...

A new $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package passed by Congress was signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020. What's most important about the legislation is what's not in it. It does not extend the CARES Act provisions...

November Is Long Term Care Month

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, November 6, 2020

Addressing the potential threat of long-term care expenses may be one of the biggest financial challenges for individuals who are developing a retirement strategy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 70% of...

Some Long-Term Care Thoughts from a Long-Time Subscriber

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, October 9, 2020

" I had a comment about LTC coverage, my mom had a number of health issues and required institutional 24/7 "memory" care the final year of her life. My dad found out the hard way how expensive the care costs in 2017. It was over $12...

DON'T LET HEADLINES GET YOU DOWN

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, June 12, 2020

Even in “normal” times, the news can be depressing. But these days, it can seem like there’s an awful lot to worry about. Here’s a sampling of the types of headlines I’ve seen recently: Why US hospitals...

Weathering The Storm

Carol Schmidlin

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Carol Schmidlin Presents Live Webinar! Weathering the Storm A lot has changed since the beginning of 2020. There are slogans we've all heard like "We're all in this together" and "This is our new normal". While this may be true, we...

Stimulus Check Payouts Will Put More Green Into Seniors' Pockets This Year As of a little more than a week ago, there were in excess of 2.2 million confirmed cases of this respiratory illness worldwide, with more than 153,000 deaths...

Monthly Market Insights | April 2020

Carol Schmidlin

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

The spread of COVID-19 sent stocks tumbling, as the healthand economic costs of the pandemic continue to mount. Click HERE for important information.

Rattled By The Market Drop? You're Not Alone

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, April 3, 2020

We have witnessed some extraordinary moves in the financial markets during the past few trading sessions. In recent days, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has fallen by over 7 percent more than once. Ongoing concerns over the...

Corona Virus and Market Downturn

Carol Schmidlin

Monday, March 30, 2020

Corona Virus and Market Downturn For those who may have missed Carol's live webinar, please click here and then download to access. The Corona Virus Pandemic is an unprecedented event that has impacted everyone in some way or another....

CORONA VIRUS AND THE MARKETS

Carol Schmidlin

Monday, March 2, 2020

Key Takeaways The Wuhan coronavirus has unnerved global equity markets so far in 2020. While still early, compared to the SARS outbreak in late 2002/early 2003, investors are concerned about the possible impact to economies and on...

The Bucket Plan

Carol Schmidlin

Thursday, February 13, 2020

THE BUCKET PLAN According to The Bucket Plan, one of the worst behavioral mistakes you can make as an investor is panicking during times of volatility and selling your holdings. The Bucket Plan approach can help take emotion out of the...

ESTATE LIQUIDITY PLAN

Carol Schmidlin

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

ESTATE LIQUIDITY PLAN During client review meetings, we’ve noticed that a number of our clients are ending up with a slight gap in their estate plan. There are a few ways to manage your final expenses when you pass away. However,...

Six Key Retirement Changes of the Secure Act

Carol Schmidlin

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Six Key Retirement Changes of the Secure ActBy: Carol Schmidlin January 2, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Karen Dzierzynski The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Enhancement Act was signed into law by President...

The average retirement lasts for 18 years, with many lasting even longer. Will you fill your post-retirement days with purpose? Imagine this: it’s your last day on the job. A whole career behind you. You say goodbye to your...

How Will the U.S. and Iran Conflict Affect Oil?

Carol Schmidlin

Saturday, January 18, 2020

HOW WILL THE U.S. AND IRAN CONFLICT AFFECT OIL? Historically, a Middle East crisis has led to spikes in the oil market, which have been followed by recessions. However, record domestic oil production has made the U.S. less dependent on...

Six Key Retirement Changes of the Secure Act

Carol Schmidlin

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Six Key Retirement Changes of the Secure Act By: Carol Schmidlin The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Enhancement Act was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. This is the most extensive retirement...

TEN QCD RULES FOR 2020 YOU NEED TO KNOW If you are charitably inclined and have an IRA, you might want to consider doing a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) for 2020. In addition to the gift you are making to the charity, there...

There are Many Risks in Retirement, But, With Today’s Market Valuation, One of The Biggest Risks is The Potential for a Market Correction While You Are Drawing Income From Your Retirement Accounts. Academically, this risk is...

Everyone who is subject to Required Minimum Distributions who gives to a charity should use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), but must qualify by being age 70 ½ or over. Say for example you give $10,000 to your church...

A TALE OF TWO ASSETS BY: KEZIA SAMUEL, CAIA INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMBER SENIOR VP, CHIEF PORTFOLIO STRATEGIST So far, 2019 has proven to be a very different year in markets compared to 2018. Prospects of a U.S./China trade deal and a...

THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT The countdown begins. Once the clock rolls us into 2019, tax season gets underway. The old calendar year, 2018, will have been put officially to rest.Deductions from your paychecks and other income sources...

Last January, the feature articles in our newsletter were “Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Roth IRA”, and “Highlights of the Trump Tax Plan”. Many of you have taken advantage of funding Roth IRAs and...

Accumulation, Preservation & Distribution Planning

Carol Schmidlin

Friday, December 14, 2018

In speaking to hundreds of people approaching retirement each year, I very rarely hear people understanding the three phases of money. Let’s start with the accumulation phase. When we are accumulating assets, we are typically...