Regardless of whether your child is two or twelve, the thought of college has probably crossed your mind. In the busyness of life and never-ending financial pressures, it is all too easy to put saving for college on the back burner. But one thing in life is certain; it moves quickly. Don’t get caught unaware and unprepared for college. Your child’s education is one of the most important investments you can make, and with today’s costs, it pays to plan ahead.
Have you ever read a financial article or blog post and put it down after reading the first paragraph because the terminology didn’t make sense? If so, you’re not alone. And while there is plenty of financial jargon that you don’t need to know to succeed financially, one term that is critical to how your money is handled is the word fiduciary.
Even if you haven’t done any retirement planning yet, you’ve probably heard of Medicare, a federal insurance program designed for people older than 65, younger adults with disabilities, or those with end-stage renal disease that requires permanent dialysis or transplant. If you fall into any of these three categories, you may be a candidate to receive Medicare coverage.
I think most of us would agree that life insurance is an important financial product to have in our arsenal. But in 2017, more than 4 in 10 people didn’t own a life insurance policy in any amount and 40% of those who did said they were under-insured. Why is there such a disparity? What are some of the obstacles people face when making their life insurance decisions?
If you’re like most parents, you have a laundry list of things you want to teach your child so they grow up to be a successful adult who contributes to society. From a young age, you model and instruct them in how to share, what respect looks like, how to handle responsibility, and how to prioritize. As a society, we are excelling in some areas of parenting, but falling behind in others. In a recent National Financial Capabilities Study, only 24% of Millennials (age 23-35) were able to answer the first three financial literacy questions correctly, and a mere 8% answered them all correctly.
Any time a tax change occurs, it affects more than just your net pay. In the case of the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Trump’s tax reform bill, we know that it lowers tax rates for individuals and corporations, increases the child tax credit, doubles the standard deduction, and caps or eliminates several deductions. But what does it mean for your estate plan?