Category Archives: Uncategorized

Many Americans facing retirement would love to increase their monthly income. Fortunately, there is a way that homeowners can use their homes to help finance their retirement — to turn the value of their property into usable cash without the emotional trauma of having to sell and move. A reverse mortgage turns the value of […]

Are you saving for retirement? For your children’s education? For any other long-term goal? If so, you’ll want to know how inflation can impact your savings. Inflation is the increase in the price of products over time. Inflation rates have fluctuated over the years. Sometimes inflation runs high, and other times it is hardly noticeable. […]

Property and casualty insurance is specifically designed to help protect your possessions from theft or destruction and your assets from being depleted through disaster or litigation claims brought against you. The property side of a policy insures physical items, such as homes, commercial buildings, motor vehicles, and personal possessions or business inventory. Types of property […]

Term life insurance is “pure” insurance. It offers protection only for a specific period of time. If you die within the time period defined in the policy, the insurance company will pay your beneficiaries the face value of your policy. Term insurance differs from the permanent forms of life insurance, such as whole life, universal […]

Most people are familiar with whole life insurance. For many years, whole life policies were the predominant type of life insurance sold in America. When you purchase a whole life policy, you traditionally pay a fixed premium for as long as you live or for as long as you keep the policy in force. In […]

Tax reform measures are enacted frequently by Congress, which makes it hard for U.S. taxpayers to know which deductions are currently available to help lower their tax liability. Taxpayers may be able to take deductions for student-loan interest, out-of-pocket charitable contributions, health savings account, home mortgage interest, contributions to a traditional IRA, and deductions for […]

Provisions in the tax code allow you to pay lower capital gains taxes on the sale of assets held more than one year. Short-term gains — those resulting from the sale of assets held for one year or less — are taxed as ordinary income at your highest marginal income tax rate. This means that […]

Many people have heard the Benjamin Franklin quote, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Mutual fund taxes can be onerous. However, if you understand the complexities of mutual fund taxes and are prepared when tax season comes around, you may be able to lessen the blow.   The first thing to […]

By taking steps in advance, you have a greater say in how these questions are answered. And isn’t that how it should be? Wills and trusts are two of the most popular estate planning tools. Both allow you to spell out how you would like your property to be distributed, but they also go far […]

Virtually every investment has some type of risk associated with it. The stock market rises and falls. An increase in interest rates can cause a decline in the bond market. No matter what you decide to invest in, risk is something you must consider. One key to successful investing is managing risk while maintaining the […]