Baseball season is long. Major leaguers start spring training in mid-February, with a month of practices and scrimmages. Six months, consisting of a 162-game schedule, take us through the summer. Finally, the playoffs fill up October and deliver us a World Series champion by the start of November: One champion. One. Fans of one team are elated and celebrate with a trophy. Fans of the other twenty-nine teams wind up...
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I meet with individuals and families each week who tell me about things they are celebrating, like retirement, weddings, births, anniversaries, and other wonderful events. I also have clients who tell me sad stories about losing loved ones, divorces, dementia, difficult family relationships, and much more. Last year, I attended a conference and heard Amy Florian speak about her studies of grief, and I became passionate about helping those around...
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A life insurance policy typically is taken out at a certain point in a person’s life to address a specific need. As the years go by, circumstances change. That’s why every life insurance policy should be evaluated periodically to identify weaknesses and maximize performance within the policy. Is your life insurance policy performing as well as it could be? Here are some factors that could be undermining your policy’s performance. Every...
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Does the increased volatility in financial markets, in 2018 compared to 2017, have you feeling a bit anxious? Recently, on separate occasions, I heard the Executive Producer of The Big Bang Theory and Principles author and Bridgewater & Associates founder, talking about the same subject, uncertainty. Ray Dalio, the best-selling author of the book, Principles, and the founder of Bridgewater & Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, referenced a...
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Markets go up and down. Historically they have gone up more often than they have gone down. No one can predict the future, nor should they try when it comes to investing. But if you’re someone who is waiting for the next crash and basing your investing decisions on fear, consider the confidence level of those driving our economy.
A recent survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) revealed that 95.1%...
The Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, has become a staple of Americans saving for retirement. First established in 1974, the IRA gained in popularity through the 1980s and 90s and today, we find three basic types: the Traditional IRA, the Rollover IRA, and the Roth IRA. Traditional IRAs allow for tax-deductible contributions and tax-deferred growth. The Rollover IRA functions in the same manner as a Traditional IRA but initially is...
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Since we live in a digital age, it is hard to find an area of our lives that has been left untouched by the changes that have occurred over the last 20 years with the explosion of the internet. Our ability to carry around smartphones and tablets provides us with immediate access to all things digital. These changes enable us to share our lives with the outside world through social media...
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We’ve spent the past few months discussing the effects of the new tax law on individuals. But we really haven’t touched on the effects of the new tax law on business income. One of the more common questions I get is, “How does the 20% business deduction affect the income from my partnership or small business on my federal tax return?” The answer is simple and complex all at the same...
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By Rachel McCann, Middendorf Insurance Associates
A common question I answer each summer is “I’m going on a trip and renting a car. Do I need to purchase the rental agency’s car rental coverage?” What should you purchase and what can you forgo? The answers depend on how your personal automobile insurance policy reacts. Not all policies are the same. The first thing I do is determine if the client’s... Read More
Over your working life, you have paid into Social Security along the way. Now it is time to start thinking about your options and how to benefit the most from what’s available to you. First off, Social Security is an actuarial calculation based on life expectancy. So, if you would let us know when you are going to pass away, we can come up with the perfect claiming strategy...
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