It’s that time of year again—students are moving into the dorms at colleges and universities all over the country. Traffic is increasing, restaurants are crowded, and all the other “problems” associated with students starting a new school year are at the forefront. It’s a new world for freshmen students; confusing and sometimes stressful. That stress […]

When you think of “investing”, what comes to mind? Did you think of the US stock market? You might have thought about bonds or other fixed income securities. What about real estate, commodities or other alternative investments? Although less common, they can provide significant benefits when combined with stocks and bonds. How can these investments […]

There are times we read things that cause us to say, as my friend puts it, “I’ll have to think on that.”  Such a time occurred as I read an article in the April 28, 2014 Investment News (pg. 40) written by Mary Beth Franklin. The basic premise was that, in some cases, Medicare costs […]

My parents taught me to respect my elders. As I get older, it’s getting harder and harder to find anyone more elderly than I. However, there are some advantages to ageing (other than the obvious one of a longer life span).  I thought I would mention just a few in this blog. Age 50-Investing Unfortunately, […]

As a general rule, IRAs are assets protected from creditors—i.e. IRAs cannot be attached by creditors to satisfy debts or judgments incurred by the IRA owner. However, the Wall Street Journal (Friday, June 13, 2014, page  A6, electronic copy found HERE) reported on a unanimous ruling by the US Supreme Court that changed that protection […]

Well, April 15th has come and gone.  Following that date, many taxpayers become intimately familiar with Ms. Pelosi’s comment about having to pass Obamacare to find out what’s in it.  The increased tax paid by many individuals has caused us to evaluate (again) some tax strategies for investing.  We have always maintained that the “tax […]

In a previous blog found HERE, we discussed  general  guidelines  of planning for long term care.  We will now discuss further considerations in this blog. Cost of Care The majority of individuals provide for long term care through insurance.  The cost for those policies has been changing (increasing premiums or reducing benefits) over the past few […]

As the American population ages, they face the prospect of long term care expenses.  Some families faced this problem with their own aged parents and are now trying to decide how to handle the possible need for themselves.  As people evaluate their options, they are facing several factors. Cost of Care According to the insurer Genworth, the […]

Last year (2013), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.4%. Sounds like a phenomenal increase, doesn’t it. A plus 32% increase is, indeed, an impressive increase. However, in this case, a little more analysis is warranted. Why did the market increase so much? The following data are from Standard & Poor’s and J.P. Morgan Asset […]

One of the basic axioms of investing is portfolio diversification. Simply put, an investor should not “put all eggs in one basket.” Prudent investing includes allocating your investment dollars among asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash, etc.) and different investment styles (large cap value, small cap growth, international, etc.). That allocation should be done in accordance […]