Annual Financial To-Do List

Does your retirement seem years and years away? Even so, while it may, you owe it to yourself to look ahead and begin giving thought to a time that may stretch over 20 or more years. Granted, time may be on your side. However, saving for retirement is not as simple as it may initially appear. The fact is, many factors ultimately determine the type of retirement you will have.

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on a kid’s television network, you’ve seen just how inundated young kids are with commercials for everything from the latest gadget, to some dreadful snack that features something gooey and/or messy. It’s also safe to bet that many of these kids run to their parents, wanting to buy some or all of these items.

By: Kathleen Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA

When it comes to financial planning, we spend a lot of time talking with our clients about what they want their financial legacy to be. Beyond the money and assets, they will leave to their family and charities they care about, we often discuss how that legacy will be used and what financial philosophies they will leave behind. For example, clients may have misgivings about leaving substantial assets to their children for fear it will spoil them, encourage a poor work ethic, or give them a sense of entitlement. When it comes to giving to charities, our clients often want to make sure their funds are being used for the causes and purposes that are meaningful to them and that they are making the right types of gifts that will make a lasting impact. These concerns and questions are significant, and careful planning, as well as good communication, go a long way in making your legacy impactful and purposeful.

By: Kathleen Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA

You have seen it a thousand times: “We help you reach your financial goals.” It is the tagline for the majority of financial advisors. And before you say to yourself, “Well Kathy, we have seen you use those exact words too.”, I will fully disclose that I am as guilty as the next guy or gal. We use it all the time. But it got me thinking about the relationships that we have with our clients and what financial goals planning really means. When we ask people what their goals are we are often given pretty broad answers that don’t quite get to the heart of the situation, much less provide enough information to set an action plan. Answers like, “I want to retire comfortably.”, “I want to save enough to leave money to my kids or to charity.”, or “I want to make sure that what we’re doing is right for the long-term.” are pretty common, but we strive to dig deeper.

Senior Wealth Advisor John Gjertsen, CFA, CFP®, EA. explains the choices regarding health insurance for most Americans over the age of 65. Hint: they can either be overwhelmingly complex or deceptively simple. 

Energy markets were under pressure as optimism that the global supply glut would ease faded despite an agreement forged this morning between Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar to cap production at current rates.