I read an article from the Star Tribune (our local Minnesota newspaper) earlier today entitled Aging America: For some blue-collar Americans, retirement is nothing more than elusive dream.
The story follows that sad tail of Tom Edwards, a 53 year old logger, who thinks he will never be able to retire.
Read MoreWe are all about personal finance and living within ones means so while it may be tempting to leave our frigid Minnesota behind for a couple weeks, I read about some more "budget friendly" Minnesota trips over at the Plymouth Patch.
Read MoreCasey Bond over at GoBankingRates.com wrote about 12 last minute smart money moves to consider before the end of the year. Don't worry many of these suggestions can be done in 2014 as well. I was able to help with number 5 about Goal Setting, number 7 about Dollar Cost Averaging and number 8 about using your Flex Spending dollars. 3 out of 12 - not bad.
Read MoreAs we near the end of the year and closer to tax time, we see a lot of confusion from small businesses about which tax forms they should use for their annual tax return. We worked with AllThingsFinance.net to create a simple explanation small business tax forms. AllThingsFinance is a personal finance blog about, you guessed it, all things finance, Their favorite quote on their about page just about sums up their philosophy.
Read MoreAs much as people don't like the IRS, they can actually be a great resource for useful tax tips other important information. The IRS just published a bulletin on 3 Year end tax tips to save you money.
Read MoreI have heard this said multiple times when talking to experts about Long-Term Care Insurance. Due to the high cost of this insurance most people can't afford to pay the premiums even if they need it. If you are able to fit this expense into your budget you may be better off self-insuring.
Read MoreNobel Prize winning Robert Shiller spoke at a virtual conference about the virtues of a good financial planner. He said that much of the recent financial crisis could have been avoided if more people had financial advisors. He went on to say that the low and middle class need financial planners just as much as the wealthy, comparing it to health care.
Read MoreClick on the below audio to listen to a highly informative podcast from Vanguard on Year end tax planning specifically geared towards investors. Some of the important highlights of the podcast are:
Read MoreThere has always been a debate about which is better for building wealth, Real Estate or Stocks. Well, maybe it should be both. When investing in real estate you can either buy publicly traded REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) or you can purchase a physical property to rent out.
Read MoreThis is the time of year when everyone is thinking about charitable giving. I spoke with writer Veronica Dagher of the Wall Street Journal last week about on this subject and the mistakes to avoid. Here are some excerpts from the article as well as a quote from me.
Read MoreTime for a new financial plan, see next steps here.
Read MoreI have heard this so many times it would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. One of the selling points that commissioned based financial planners tell their prospects is that they don’t have to pay anything to work with them. Sorry, but nobody works for free, and the notion that you can get sound objective financial advice for nothing is ridiculous.
Read MoreIt contains great information and tips on what to avoid if you you are getting a mortgage anytime soon.
Read MoreBelow are some useful updates to retirement account contribution limits and other useful tax numbers. Also, now is time to start thinking about your 2013 IRA contribution if you have not already done so. This is an easy deduction and a great way to save for retirement.
Read MoreFINRA, the regulatory authority overseeing broker/dealer community, unveiled a new version of Broker/Check. This is a database which keeps track of work history and disciplinary actions of the broker/dealers that it oversees.
Read MoreWhen comparing different ETFs and mutual funds most investors only look at the expense ratio. While this is a good starting point there are other factors in play that should be considered as well. Bid/Ask spread, transaction costs (commissions),
Read MoreThis guide is for the DIY Investment Manager. It will get you off to a good start for your financial planning. We created it for the individuals who are not quite ready to engage a financial planner but still know they have to get started in order to have a successful retirement. This may be all you need but if you find that you still need some extra help, please feel free to reach out to us.
Read MoreThere are many different ways to save for retirement. In the below article I will outline four IRAs or Individual Retirement Accounts that you can consider for your personal retirement savings. I have included a chart to help with your decision.
Read MoreI saw this report on Nerd Wallet, a personal finance website, earlier today and it's not good news for Millenials. The cost of student loan debt is pushing the average retirement age to 73. This compares to the current average retirement age of 60 - 13 years later! I thought the standard of living was supposed to increase over time?
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