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No Will Needed - Beneficiary Updates are Critical

Most of your assets will never pass on through your will (assuming you have one).  IRA's, 401k's, life insurance and annuities all have direct beneficiaries that were recorded when you first signed up for them.  For many of those assets, that…
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Our Story

My wife, Soni, and I celebrated 23 years of marriage recently and I thought I would share what some of the key financial decisions we made along the way and the impact they had on our family. The themes are consistent: Figure out what is…
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It's Never Too Early

The Time Value of Money is the oldest, wisest concept ever created for investors. Wait until you see what you could create by saving less than $7 a day toward college for an unborn baby! The real power of this concept comes from rate of return…
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One Powerful Financial Move for Kids (or Grand-kids)

Turn $500/Year into $500,000! I recently created Roth IRA’s for my kids and put $500 into each account. With a little guidance from me, the kids will each choose to become stock owners of one company. Going forward I will encourage them…
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Paid Off Credit Cards Killing Financial Success?

  Most of my clients tell me this isn’t true, because they pay their card balance off in full each month. I say, "That’s part of the problem!" We all have a propensity to spend up to what we know we can afford to pay off each…
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Fictitious Balance on Your 401k/IRA Account Statement

Your account balance carries a hidden surrender charge. Millions of working Americans contribute a percentage of their earnings to a 401k account while many also have IRA accounts, most of which were formerly 401k that were rolled over to…
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Does 4% Retirement Rule Make Sense For You Today?

The most important and anxious questions I answer for my clients are:  "How much money will I have at retirement and will that be enough to live on? Of course, there are many variables in that calculation, one of the biggest is choosing…
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How Much is Enough?

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." We can all agree each person's perspective is unique, but do we ever take the time to contemplate how…
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Nothing Natural About Retirement

The idea of “retiring” is relatively new in this country’s history. It was created by financial institutions about 70 years ago after social security was first set up to transition aging, unproductive workers out of hard labor jobs…
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ROTH VS. TRADITIONAL IRA...8 Important Comparisons

Roth vs. Traditional IRA 8 Important Comparisons Roth vs Traditional IRA? Deciding which retirement account type may fit your needs is an important step in retirement planning. The comparisons below provide an overview of the differences…
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Is College Worth it Today? An Alternative Idea

When I went to college ( U. Of  Iowa) the out-of-state cost was around $5,000.  Four years and $20,000 or so later I and was done (thanks again mom and dad for paying). My first salaried job paid me $19,500, or almost the equivalent of what…
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Spoiling Kids Could Make Them Rotten and you Poor

Kids have always been sponges when it comes to learning from their parents. As an adult, I can reflect on what I learned from my mom and dad. I admit (and am proud of) that I'm a lot like they were/are.  Unfortunately, I've spoiled my kids…
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Your Clock is Ticking

Last week, I wrote about some perks of getting older.  Unfortunately, one of the most difficult things about getting older in facing death.  Over the past couple weeks, four of my peers have lost their father.  They were good…
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Perks of Getting Older

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of going to the wedding for one of my childhood best friend's daughter.  This was my first wedding for a peer's child and I guess it is just another milestone to indicate I am getting older. Does getting…