The Social Security Administration COLA The Social Security Administration is set to announce the 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The 8.7% COLA will boost the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit to $1,814 next year, up $145 per month from this year’s $1,669 average benefit. The 8.7% COLA increase is the largest adjustment to the benefit in 40 years thanks to high inflation. And to everyone’s surprise, a decreased Medicare Part B premium comes with it. Fi

Inflation: What is it? Inflation is a word that is not spoken of regularly in our social circles. It has been mostly used in financial...

Social Security is a benefit nearly 1/5th of the country is currently receiving and the majority of working Americans pay into it. How is something that affects such a large percentage of the population so easily misunderstood and complex? The goal of this article is to deliver the fundamentals of Social Security and develop a much stronger communication with your advisor around the topic. With all that being said, let’s jump right in. What is Social Security? In the midst of

Healthcare has undoubtedly been a hot topic in the last few years. However, for those of us in the retirement planning industry, we’ve...

The Basics of Target Date Funds If you have a retirement plan through work (401(k), 403(b), etc) and are putting money into it, it’s very...

As a public-school teacher in the great state of Texas, you are aware of the TRS (Teachers’ Retirement System) of Texas. What may not be...

How many times can you think of something in your life that was painful but ultimately ended up being for your own good? One of the most...

Have you ever made a decision in the past that, years and years later, you came to regret? I’m sure we all have. We work with teachers...

A key component to smart investing is ensuring that your investments are diversified. Diversifying your portfolio incorporates a variety...

Americans are not saving enough! Based on the latest statistics from a large national investment company, Americans savings are far below...

There are so many cliches I could start out with, when thinking about writing this article. Would you ever sail the Atlantic without a...

Did you know that April 1st is 401(k) day? Okay, maybe 401(k) day isn't a real holiday but it might serve as the motivation you have been...

If you are a fan of Dave Ramsey, you are likely aware with the concept of spreading out risk with long-term retirement investing by utilizing 4 categories of mutual funds and ETFs that include Growth, Growth & Income, Aggressive Growth, & International funds. One of our very own advisors, Logan Doup, explains the basics of these 4 categories in-depth in a previous article. You can read that article here to indulge yourself with building a simple foundation of knowledge for t

The year was 2005 and I was purchasing my first home. It was a small modest ranch with three bedrooms, 1 bathroom and an attached one car...

Before we answer this question, ponder to yourself what you think the number one indictor would be for building wealth and having a...

Acquiring life insurance is one of the most important considerations a person can do to protect their loved ones after death. Two of the...

I would like to start off with a basic introduction to retirement-based target date and lifecycle mutual funds : Larger mutual fund companies and similar entities create these particular funds and the composition of this type of investment universally is the following: Layer 1: “Umbrella” Mutual Fund – Let’s use the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund that is simply just a placeholder for underlying mutual funds (Layer 2) Layer 2: Multiple underlying mutual funds created by

This is a great question that I get quite often. Many married couples have one income earner in the family and in many circumstances, this can limit their ability to save in tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Let’s say a married couple in their early-40’s has one income earner making $190,000/year and they want to save 15% ($28,500) of their income for retirement. The working spouse has a company 401(k) as well as a Roth IRA. Because the income earner is under 50, the maximu

I’m not sure if there is an actual definition of success tax, however if I were to locate one, it might state that the Required Minimum...

I’m not sure if there is an actual definition of success tax, however if I were to locate one, it might state that the Required Minimum...