Buying a house is an exciting journey, but it can also be stressful (and costly), especially if you walk into the process unprepared, something far too many people do. In fact, over a third of home buyers said they underestimated the total costs of homeownership. Sure, the price tag may be the biggest cost up-front—but the sale’s price is just one expense homebuyers must consider. Beyond mortgage and insurance, there are additional costs all new [...]
Earning a degree is often part of the “American Dream,” making it an accomplishment worth working toward. And while graduating from college is a collective dream, the cost of obtaining it can be somewhat of a nightmare. On average, earning an undergraduate degree results in about $36,510 in student loan debt. For those earning a master’s? That number nearly doubles to $71,318 (according to educationdata.org). Keep in mind that the type of degree one earns [...]
Many people think about investing as anxious day trades, and alternating red and green market feeds. While these granular market features have their place, we think it's best to zoom out and think about investing as a race of endurance, not speed. It's our goal to help clients build wealth to reach their goals, and we've found the best way to do that is to take a long-term approach to investing. Today, we'll dive into [...]
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." Warren Buffett. These powerful words beautifully articulate the true essence of financial planning—time. It takes time to build wealth and use it to fulfill your goals and dreams. Financial plans aren't built and accomplished in a day. Think about it like this; you can’t save for retirement in a year—it takes decades. Instead, true financial planning is about creating [...]
Looking to year end I know it’s a busy time. But it’s not too soon to start thinking about taxes. Many questions about the new administration have come my way, including questions about new tax proposals. Joe Biden’s plan is aggressive, but it may not get out of the starting gate if the Republicans hold the Senate. As you probably know, two early January runoffs in Georgia will determine the fate of the upper chamber. [...]
According to a recent survey, 87 percent of U.S. adults feel that the risk of becoming a victim of a cybercrime is growing.1 In fact, online crimes including server breaches are the single largest criminal threat facing small businesses. For large and small businesses alike, it should come as no surprise that more Americans have been shopping online due to the COVID-19 pandemic - and this trend will likely continue until the pandemic subsides. In fact, [...]
For the nation, 2020 has been one of the most difficult years in memory. We are grappling with Covid and its fallout, economic upheaval, racial tensions, wildfires, hurricanes, a presidential election, and a polarized electorate. Despite this year’s difficulties, a strong economic recovery, record low interest rates, and an aggressive stance by the Federal Reserve have helped the major market indexes rebound from March’s steep sell-off. But where do we go from here? What’s in [...]
Sex, lies and accusations of corruption - no election year is complete without them. And while the 2020 election has proven to be one of the most contentious in recent history, contention is nothing new in the world of politics. From the political match-up of Jefferson v. Adams to this year’s Biden v. Trump, mud has always been slung, accusations have always been made and many Americans have found themselves uncertain of a future under [...]
With the start of the new year, now is the time to start thinking about how you’ll make 2017 fulfilling and fruitful for you and your loved ones. For more than 4,000 years, many people have celebrated the start of their new year by making promises to change their behavior or improve themselves. And it’s no wonder why: While New Year’s resolutions can be hard to keep, they may also make you more than 10 [...]
As the end of 2016 grows closer, we have to say that this has certainly been an eventful year. A long presidential election campaign left many Americans feeling bruised and more divided than ever. And many people were surprised when Donald Trump emerged as the victor. Similar to Brexit’s unexpected win in June, election polling and conventional wisdom proved to be quite wrong once people actually voted. In fact, just 15 days before the election, [...]