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Four Times You Should Consider a Roth Conversion

Proper Timing Can Help You Maximize the Benefits of Converting Your Traditional IRA

14 September 2020

Four Times You Should Consider a Roth Conversion

A traditional IRA is a fantastic retirement savings tool because you can minimize your current tax burden and pay taxes on your contributions later. There are some instances, though, when you may want to take care of what you owe the government now so that you can avoid subsequent taxes down the road. To accomplish this goal, you’ll want to convert some of your traditional IRA balance to a Roth as Roth IRA distributions in the future including all the gains will be income tax-free.

When might a Roth conversion make sense? Although you should always consider your unique financial planning needs, there are four scenarios in which it makes sense to consider a Roth conversion.

The Heirless Estate: What to Do and When to Do It

Estate Planning Guidance for Those Without Heirs

12 August 2020

The Heirless Estate: What to Do and When to Do It

Estate planning is all about the disposition of your assets and, for many people, this involves determining how to divide assets among heirs. What happens, though, when you don’t have a spouse or children, or other obvious heirs to your estate? Unfortunately, many people in this situation don’t feel it’s necessary to plan where their assets will go, which makes it more likely that their money will end up somewhere they wouldn’t choose – namely, the state. For this reason, it’s always prudent to have a strategy in place and to plan ahead for various outcomes.

When to Pivot Your Career (And How to Pull it Off Financially!)

Change Can Be Wonderful When You Make it Strategically

20 July 2020

When to Pivot Your Career (And How to Pull it Off Financially!)

As human beings, we are hard-wired to be reluctant to change. We prefer the familiar, the predictable, the strategy that gives us the long view. Sometimes, though, we begin to feel the overwhelming urge to make a career change. Many people ignore the nagging feeling because it’s easier to maintain the status quo than embark on a transition that may be overwhelming or stressful. For those who choose to pursue a career pivot bravely, there can be opportunity and fulfillment waiting on the other side.

If you find yourself seriously considering a career change, you’ll need to determine the Why, What, and How. Let’s dig in.

The Why

Everyone – business owners and career professionals alike – have moments when they question their career paths. It may be that you’re going through a tough season at work where you feel less than inspired, or it may be that you are genuinely ready for a change. Before making any big moves, it’s crucial to evaluate exactly why you desire a change. Usually, your situation will fall into one of three categories:

  1. You’re feeling unfulfilled at work.
  2. You’re feeling unfulfilled in your personal life.
  3. You’ve reached a growth ceiling in your current position.

Do You Know Your Financial Independence Day?

25 June 2020

Do You Know Your Financial Independence Day?

Independence Day is one of America’s favorite summer holidays. What is one of your favorite traditions on Independence Day: fireworks, hotdogs, parades? In this blog, I want to talk about another kind of Independence Day, your Financial Independence Day.

If money and time were not an issue, what kind of activities would you be doing over the next twelve months? The day when work becomes optional—when you can choose to stop working and start doing those activities that you enjoy while maintaining your current standard of living—is the day you’ve reached your financial independence day. This day is the end result of a process of determining your retirement income goals, the actions, and the decisions necessary to achieve those goals. Retirement planning is, in essence, preparation for life after paid work ends, not just financially, but in terms of lifestyle choices, such as how to spend time in retirement, where to live, when to completely quit working.

A Plan for Every Stage of Life

People often deny themselves their dreams because they don’t understand the resources needed. This is why it’s important that I get their list of dreams during a discovery meeting in order to explore options and tell them what’s realistic. If a goal is unrealistic based on current net worth, income, and expenses, I can make suggestions for changes to get them to a better place. I can run some scenarios to show if they are spending too much now to retire in their target year, and I can offer recommendations. Financial independence isn’t necessarily just about retirement; it could involve the pursuit of a new career.

Black Lives Matter: Why I Stand with BLM and the Demand for Justice and Equality

In the era of COVID-19 we have been given another reminder just how unequal our society can be for communities of color.

25 June 2020

Black Lives Matter: Why I Stand with BLM and the Demand for Justice and Equality

The rise of this deadly pandemic and the shutdowns it has necessitated have proved difficult, dangerous, and draining for us all, but for some, this time of hardship and uncertainty has been magnified and exacerbated by underlying inequalities that have existed in this country since its inception.

Long before the Coronavirus, and viral videos, and the Civil War, and Jim Crow laws, Black people have been suffering. This country was built at the expense of Black communities, Black families, and Black lives. To acknowledge this does not diminish anybody else's suffering, but to fail to acknowledge it is to increase the suffering of many.

The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, preceded by Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner to name only a few, has served as a catalyst for the greater American populace to remember just how dangerous it can be to be non-white in America, and how the power of the state can be used injudiciously and without regard for human life.

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