America Is Running Out of Family Caregivers, Just When It Needs Them Most Smaller, more far-flung families mean fewer unpaid helpers. ‘Are you really my daughter?’ It's time to begin preparing for the inevitable - we all get older and more frail. Some of us plan to have wheelchair races, while others will just end up in drifting through time.  Many of us are now in the 'sandwich' generation, having adult children and elderly parents, whom we are trying to help. How would you like to [...]

We Americans are living longer and more of us are eventually going to need long-term nursing home care.  The cost can be devastating to a family. Nursing home care now costs an average of over $85,000 per year, and much more than that in some parts of the country. Medicaid is a government program that can pay for long-term nursing home care. However, it is intended to help low-income and low-wealth individuals, and it generally won't pay for care on behalf of individuals who have significant [...]

Market Volatility can best be imagined as a roller coaster: up and down, sometime sideways, with precipitous drops and fast accelerations. A relatively recent 'wild ride' allows us an opportunity to examine our expectations and determine whether the fear is real or imagined, and how best to keep our perspective. From February 1–5, the US market (as measured by the Russell 3000 Index) fell almost 6%, causing many investors to wonder what the future holds and if they should make changes to their portfolios.  The media [...]

So... I'm laughing here... reading a short article from a tax attorney friend. He always picks the most interesting material to make his points to financial professionals.  I'm adding a bit of a twist to share with you today; sometimes it's good to be reminded of things............... There’s so much news coming out of Washington these days that it really is hard to keep up. (Some people suggest there’s literally too much to keep up with, and you shouldn’t even try. I think there’s real wisdom [...]

The recent suicide of Kate Spade has been all over the news and social media. Many lamented and are puzzled:  she had "everything" to live for -- maybe. Depression is difficult for many to overcome. What could she have been comparing her life/success to? As the below article illustrates, and relates to investing, many investors suffer from a somewhat similar investment malady: "investment or portfolio envy." Don't worry about what the other guy's portfolio is doing (mostly, investors like gamblers lie about their performance) or what [...]

WhatEveryGraduateNeedstoKnowGeneric-1

We're continuing our list of tax changes from the 'Act', passed in December 2017. 10 That Went Away 1. Personal and dependency exemptions suspended. The Act suspended personal and dependency exemptions. However, the increased standard deduction, enhanced child tax credit, and overall tax rate changes may offset or minimize the impact of this suspension on many taxpayers. 2. State and local tax deduction capped. The deduction for individual state and local income taxes, state and local property taxes and sales taxes is capped at $10,000. Experts indicate the cap [...]

In December 2017, lawmakers passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the 'Act'), a sweeping reform law that impacts pretty much everyone. Since we just finished the crush to April 15th, I thought it would be a good idea to recap what this year will bring. Our follow-on email will address the 10 Breaks That Went Away.   10 New Tax Breaks 1. Doubled standard deduction (2018-2025). In 2018, the standard deduction is $12,000 for single taxpayers, $18,000 for taxpayers filing as heads of household, and [...]

Chanda Bell got the idea 14 years ago to share a family tradition from her childhood that involved an elf sitting on a shelf. She never imagined it would erupt into a Christmas-time phenomenon that's been embraced by millions of families. Bell, her mother Carol Aebersold, and her twin sister Christa Pitts are the trio behind the wildly successful "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition" storybook. The book comes with a pixie elf doll, whose job is to keep an eye on the children [...]