Money Matter$

Should you consider taking Social Security early to cover financial hardships caused by COVID-19? Make these crucial considerations first.

While we are socially isolating, my suggestion to you is to turn off the news, and focus on how you can improve your relationships with people and things important to you. I’ll also suggest considering your relationship with money. We all know money matters, but why? Why is it important to you?

The allure of variable annuities (VAs) capture many unsuspecting adults. With a VA, you get to participate in some of the upside of the investment markets with no downside; the insurance company ‘insures’ against losses. The problem with VAs are the complexity and costs. The typical VA costs 3% annually, and has steep “surrender charges” (15% is not uncommon!). What if you could have much of the upside of the S&P 500, with downside protection, no surrender charges, and daily liquidity—all for 0.8% per year?

“A fiduciary is a person or organization that acts on behalf of another person or persons to manage assets. Essentially, a fiduciary owes to that other entity the duties of good faith and trust.” The reason I feel honored to be a part of this team, is that I have witnessed the many ways we put our clients first. We listen, we research, we plan, and we help our clients succeed.

Since the tax changes in 2018, most Americans are using the standard deduction rather than itemizing, as the standard deduction has nearly doubled—and SaLT tax deductibility is limited to $10,000. That means charitable contributions—which are itemized deductions—no longer have the same tax benefit for most. There are two ways you can plan to maximize the impact of your generosity: Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) or Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA.

With the help of my son Adam’s knowledge about everything money, I can now call myself an “everyday millionaire“, a phrase coined by Chris Hogan, author of Everyday Millionaires. The total of my bank accounts and investments minus my debts comes to more than $1 million.