What is the Difference Between a Stock and a Bond?
In today’s post, we’re examining the difference between stocks and bonds and how they relate to risk level and your end goals.
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What You Need to Know About Year-end Bonuses
As the holidays approach, it’s time for businesses to consider what year-end, Christmas, or holiday bonuses they’ll give to employees. Providing year-end bonuses can be a great way to motivate employees and reward top performers. Along with deciding criteria for employees to earn bonuses, many businesses need to factor in the effect of bonuses on…
How Do Interest Rates Affect Bond Rates?
To fully understand how your financial portfolio and financial goals are tied to a successful economy, it’s important to understand how interest rates work. Today’s post looks at how interest rates operate and how specifically those interest rates affect the investment in bonds.
Retirement Plan Options for Nonprofit Organizations & Employees
Retirement savings plans are designed to help employees save money to enable a comfortable, secure lifestyle during retirement. From the business sector to NGO organizations many different retirement plans exist. Most commonly people are familiar with 401(k) typically offered by corporations to its employees and IRA’s (both roth and traditional) which are more widely accessible.…
Are Retirement Plans the Next Big Tobacco?
When the first 401(k) retirement plan was established back in 1980, it was envisioned as the third pillar of the retirement savings trinity. Social Security would account for basic expenses, your pension plan would help you maintain your current standard of living, and your 401(k) would provide discretionary funds (i.e. “fun money”). Together, these three…
What Have Inflation Rates Looked Like for the Past 10 Years?
When inflation rates rise, each unit of currency buys fewer products. Conversely, declining inflation rates signal the increase in the amount of products and services equal to monetary units. Understanding changing inflation rates, especially those in the past 10 years, is an important step in accessing the strength of the economy and a useful tool in financial planning.
Charitable Giving from an IRA Now Permanent
Each year congress votes to appropriate spending permissions and tax breaks for the federal government. Early this year, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 that authorized $1.1 trillion in spending and affirmed $700 billion in tax breaks. We believe one such provision, known as the IRA charitable rollover, may be of particular interest and importance to our clients. We’ve highlighted key insights and summaries are below.
Should You Use Your Employer’s 401(K) Retirement Plan?
With so many retirement options available, it can be difficult determining which plan makes best financial sense to you and your family. Today, we’re helping you sort through the confusion to decipher your employer’s 401(k) plan. Should you utilize your employer’s 401(k) retirement plan? In short, the answer is a resounding: YES. We will get…
Considering Your Benefits Approach: New Hire Procedures and Protocols
As a small business owner one of the biggest joys can be seeing your company grow and expand. As your business increases, however, there are additional variables to consider. You may need to start hiring more people to take over duties and responsibilities and it’s important to start the on-boarding process in an efficient and…
4 Tips to Remember When Creating an Estate Plan
Today, we’re sharing 4 Tips to Remember When Creating an Estate Plan to remember as you begin the process of creating an estate plan or simply want to evaluate the one you currently have in place.