Finding a financial professional, or even evaluating the one you currently use, is a hard task. There seem to be so many in the marketplace working for different companies. We will discuss our 5 reasons as to why an advisor at Paragon is different and could be the right fit
How high do you think the Federal Reserve will have to push interest rates to fully tame inflation? Some good news first: inflation is much, much lower than it was last summer. From its 2022 peak, headline inflation has plummeted to 3.2% in July after rising slightly over June’s reading.1
Quick question: What do you usually find yourself reading? News summaries, headlines, and quick bits to keep yourself updated? Or longer reads like books and articles? We’re ever more inundated with information that’s eager to capture our attention. We click because we want to stay up to speed and avoid
Normally, retirement plans are generally considered safe from creditors. A recent ruling by the Bankruptcy Panel for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has called that safety into question. An individual was awarded ½ of his ex-wife’s 401(k) plan and her entire individual retirement account in their divorce settlement.
Time does fly—and with it, some potentially significant tax benefits. There are actions which, if taken in October 2018, can have consequences on taxes—even 2017 retirement plans. We will discuss some of the general rules here; you should discuss the specifics of your situation with your tax professional. Roth IRAs
The single greatest expenditure that most individuals face is taxes. Google “tax freedom day” and you’ll find the number of days you work during the year just to pay taxes. In 2017 that day was April 23; or 114 days (about 1/3 of the year) before you begin to keep
The base of your financial planning should be your goals and objectives. Goals are basically a result or achievement toward which you are willing to expend time and effort. Goals vary with the individual’s wishes; hence, you set your own. Defining effective goals requires developing some particular characteristics for those
The World Economic Forum produced a white paper entitled “We’ll Live to 100-How Can We Afford It?” (Lead Author, Rachel Wheeler, Project Lead, May 2017) The basic premise of this white paper was the status of world-wide retirement plans and potential problems and reforms necessary to address those problems. The
Hurricane Harvey has come—but hasn’t gone. This storm is one the Gulf Coast will remember for a long time. A sudden strengthening category 4 hurricane trapped between high pressure areas dumping a year’s worth of rain in several days is not something one plans for. However, it happened and we’re
It is no secret that returns in the capital markets (stocks and bonds) have been volatile (and below historical averages) for the past few years. Some market “experts” are predicting that those lower returns will be the “new normal” for some years to come. If that prediction is correct, individuals