Personal Finance

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Yes, Retirees Can Get Audited Too

You’d think retirees would get some consideration from the IRS. I mean, they’ve worked their entire adult life, paid their taxes (well, most of them), and paid them no matter what administration was in office or what stupid rules an administration put on the books. Now they’re retired. But it doesn’t mean they’re exempt from IRS audits.   Reasons retirees [...]

By |2026-03-11T14:53:29-04:00March 11th, 2026|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Taxes|

When Do I Give The Kids Their Inheritance?

Sam sat at the table holding his chin in his hand. “My kids are going to inherit my estate. Do I give it to them now or let them inherit it after I’m gone?”   That’s an estate planning question that’s been pondered ad infinitum. There is no black-and-white answer. Your decision will be based on your particular circumstance. But [...]

By |2026-03-09T14:23:12-04:00March 9th, 2026|Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Taxes|

Use a 529 Account to Pay Student Loans

Debt has become an American way of life. We owe a lot of money. The Federal Reserve of New York says that at the end of 2025, we collectively owed $18.8 trillion. Break that down and one of the largest classes of consumer debt in the U.S. is student loan debt. 43 million Americans have student debt Total student debt [...]

By |2026-03-06T12:48:00-05:00March 6th, 2026|Financial Planning, Taxes|

Social Security Planning BEFORE You Retire

Social Security is an important part of almost every retirement plan, whether you’ve saved enough or not. That’s why it’s important to know as much about your Social Security situation as possible. And you don’t want to wait until you’re about to retire to gather the facts. Social Security planning needs to start 5 years before your target retirement date. [...]

By |2026-03-04T07:35:27-05:00March 4th, 2026|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Social Security|

What is the Wash Sale Rule?

It’s an age-old dilemma—I love making money in the market but I hate paying taxes on the gains. What’s an investor to do? One answer is tax loss harvesting which allows you to sell losers in your portfolio and use the losses to offset capital gains. It’s effective. It works. But remember, when you’re talking about reducing the amount of [...]

By |2026-02-26T14:37:06-05:00February 26th, 2026|Financial Planning|

Should You Wait Until 70 To Claim Social Security?

Your advisor probably told you to wait. Wait until 70, collect the bigger check, maximize your guaranteed lifetime income. It's the standard advice and has been for years. Here's what they don't always tell you: for those of you who have done the  hard work and saved a substantial nest egg, that advice deserves a lot more scrutiny than it [...]

By |2026-02-23T14:11:14-05:00February 23rd, 2026|Financial Planning, Social Security|
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