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Medicare Open Enrollment Begins October 15th

If you are covered by Medicare, it’s not too early to start planning for the Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP). Medicare plans can change every year, and you may want to switch to a health or prescription drug plan that better suits your needs or your budget. Mark these dates on your calendar: Late September: Watch for your Annual Notice of Changes in late September and study it carefully....

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Explore the Types of Retirement Accounts and What is Best for You?

Pretend for a while that you are 40 years old and about to make an additional $10,000 per year with your new job that just started today, January 2, 2024. You are ecstatic about your future, and you go into your new HR manager’s office with all smiles ready to discuss details of your benefits package. You sit down and see that you have a 401(k) available with a Roth option and the ability to...

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Understanding the Net Investment Income Tax

If your income hits a certain level, you may face an additional wrinkle in calculating your taxes: the net investment income tax (also referred to as the unearned income Medicare contribution tax). This 3.8% Medicare tax applies to some or all of your net investment income if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds certain thresholds. The tax is in addition to any other income tax...

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Financial Planning Tips for Early Career Professionals

For most people, their 20’s are a very exciting chapter in their life, marked by career beginnings and a deeper understanding of personal goals. However, it can also be a very challenging period, with ballooning student loan payments, higher housing, and food expenses. Many resort to credit cards or move back with their parents to make ends meet. Unfortunately, our education system has done a...

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There’s Still Time to Fund an IRA for 2023

The tax filing deadline is fast approaching, which means time is running out to fund an IRA for 2023. If you had earned income last year, you may be able to contribute up to $6,500 for 2023 ($7,500 for those age 50 or older by December 31, 2023) up until your tax return due date, excluding extensions. For most people, that date is Monday, April 15, 2024. You can contribute to a traditional IRA,...

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Tax Season News and Survival Tips

It's not easy to keep up with complex tax laws that always seem to be changing, much less figure out how they might affect you personally. Even so, it's important to consider the potential impact of taxes when making many types of financial decisions. The IRS automatically adjusts the standard deduction and income tax brackets annually for inflation. The rate of inflation rose to 40-year highs...

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Financial and Investment Products You Should Avoid

When it comes to trustworthy professions, what professions would you typically think of? Take a second to think about some professions. Ok. What professions did you come up with? What might be top of mind for you could be “doctor”, “accountant”, or maybe “firefighter”. Much to my chagrin, I doubt that “financial advisor” came up for you during this thought exercise. Don’t feel bad, I’m used to...

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Financial Planning Tips for Mid-to-Late Career Professionals

You’ve entered your 40s and 50s and retirement no longer feels like a pipe dream. It’s far enough away that you can’t quite visualize it, but it’s close enough around the corner to have you thinking about taking your retirement plan more seriously. Maybe you have an average 401(k) balance for a 40-49 year-old of $100,300, or maybe you have the median 401(k) balance in a 401(k) for a 50-59...

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Is Investing in the Stock Market Akin to Gambling?

Many prospective clients that we work with do not have any investments saved since they believe that the stock market is akin to gambling. I would like to take some time to illustrate why that sentiment is wrong and how probability, Roulette, and financial planning are all (somehow) related to each other. The chart below highlights the fact that the stock market had a 53.6% chance of having an...

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Key Estate Planning Documents You Need

There are five estate planning documents you may need, regardless of your age, health, or wealth: Durable power of attorney Advance medical directives Will Letter of instruction Living trust The last document, a living trust, isn't always necessary, but it's included here because it's a vital component of many estate plans. Durable Power of Attorney A durable power of attorney (DPOA) can help...

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Important Medi-Cal Changes Effective in 2024

As we wrap up 2023, it’s important to be introspective and think about what’s on the horizon for 2024. If your brain associated “2024” with “the November 2024 US presidential election”, don’t worry. I’m not going to be discussing that because I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole and I’m in a good mood today. What I do want your mind to associate “2024” with is the positive change to Medi-Cal...

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College Cost Data Released for 2023-2024

Every year, the College Board releases new college cost data and trends in its annual report. The figures published are average cost figures based on a survey of approximately 4,000 colleges across the country. Over the past 20 years, the average price for tuition, fees, and room and board has increased 38% at public colleges and 29% at private colleges over and above increases in the Consumer...

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Maximizing Impact: The Benefits of Year-End Charitable Gifting

Imagine all the peopleSharing all the worldYou You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will live as one John Lennon - Imagine On this GivingTuesday, many people can use help this year given the geopolitical events around the world and here in the U.S. as people are still trying to deal with the impact of inflation. Reimagine a world built upon...

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2023 Year-End Tax Tips

Here are some things to consider as you weigh potential tax moves between now and the end of the year. 1. Defer income to next year Consider opportunities to defer income to 2024, particularly if you think you may be in a lower tax bracket then. For example, you may be able to defer a year-end bonus or delay the collection of business debts, rents, and payments for services. Doing so may enable...

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Caring for Your Aging Parents

Caring for your aging parents is something you hope you can handle when the time comes, but it's the last thing you want to think about. Whether the time is now or somewhere down the road, there are steps that you can take to make your life (and theirs) a little easier. Some people live their entire lives with little or no assistance from family and friends, but today Americans are living longer...

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