Category: Wealth Management/Financial Planning

Pssst? Want to buy a low-interest bond? That’s basically what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is saying to investors, who are understandably not eager to take them up on the offer. The bonds in question are part of the $114 billion in debt obligations that the agency acquired when it took over the failed Silicon … Continue reading “The FDIC’s Dilemma”

The phrase ‘good old days’ suggests that we’re not living in the best time in history, but it often begs the question of when WERE the ‘good old days?’ Was it before our lives were ruined by technology? Was it during the derring-do age of knights in shining armor and the birth of romantic love? … Continue reading “Would You Want to Live Back in the Good Old Days?”

According to a recent survey, more than half of all Americans fear for their financial futures. Another study says that 77% of Americans feel anxious about their current financial situation. Even if both of the surveys overstate the numbers, the fact is that many of us have phobias about our finances, often rooted in past … Continue reading “Common Financial Phobias”

Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes we help our Middle-Class Millionaire clients steer clear of: No Strategy: Yes, the biggest mistake is having no strategy at all. Without a strategy, you may have no goals, leaving you no way of knowing … Continue reading “Eight Mistakes That Can Upend Your Retirement”

Retirement can have many meanings. For some, it will be a time to travel and spend time with family members. For others, it will be a time to start a new business or begin a charitable endeavor. Regardless of what approach you intend to take, here are nine things about retirement that might surprise you. … Continue reading “9 Facts About Retirement”

Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), which were created in 1974, are owned by roughly 36.6 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are owned by nearly 27.3 million households. Both are IRAs. And yet, each is quite different. Up to certain limits, traditional IRAs allow individuals … Continue reading “Traditional vs. Roth IRA”

In late 2022, Congress passed a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier to contribute to retirement plans and access those funds earmarked for retirement. The law is called SECURE 2.0, and it’s a follow-up to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, passed in 2019. We know a … Continue reading “SECURE Act 2.0: An Overview”

Capital gains result when an individual sells an investment for an amount greater than their purchase price. Capital gains are categorized as short-term gains (a gain realized on an asset held one year or less) or as long-term gains (a gain realized on an asset held longer than one year). Long-Term vs. Short-Term Gains Short-term … Continue reading “A Taxing Story: Capital Gains and Losses”

Financially, many Middle-Class Millionaires associate the spring with taxes – but we should also associate December with important Individual Retirement Account (IRA) deadlines. This year, like 2022, will see a few changes and distinctions. December 31, 2023, is the deadline to take your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from certain IRAs. April 18, 2023, is the … Continue reading “IRA Deadlines Are Approaching”

A combined measure of 10-year government bond yields from a basket of major economies has fallen below a similar basket of 1-3 year government bonds—in other words, you can get a (slightly) higher coupon payment if you go short than if you make a longer-term bond investment.  That, of course, is the definition of an … Continue reading “Inverted Yield Curve: Recession Coming?”