The Chicago Financial Planner
FEBRUARY 2, 2024
With the start of a new year, many people resolve to get their finances in order. A part of this process might include hiring a financial advisor or hiring a new financial advisor if you have decided to move on from your current advisor. Hiring the right advisor for your needs is critical. Here are six questions to ask when choosing a financial advisor: How do you get paid?
The Chicago Financial Planner
FEBRUARY 8, 2023
Contrary to what some politicians might say, your Social Security benefits are not an entitlement. You’ve paid Social Security taxes over the course of your working life and you’ve earned these benefits. Many retirees and others collecting Social Security wonder about the tax treatment of their benefit. The answer to the question in the title is that your Social Security benefits may be subject to taxes.
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The Chicago Financial Planner
NOVEMBER 27, 2022
One of the best tax deductions for a small business owner is funding a retirement plan. Beyond any tax deduction you are saving for your own retirement. As a fellow small businessperson, I know how hard you work. You deserve a comfortable retirement. If you don’t plan for your own retirement who will? Two popular small business retirement plans are the SEP-IRA and Solo 401(k).
The Chicago Financial Planner
AUGUST 24, 2021
While Bernie Madoff passed away in April of 2021, financial fraud is still very much an issue. Along with the “old fashioned” types of fraud, we now have cybercrime to worry about. Financial fraud is all over the news. Whether high-profile Ponzi Scheme cases via the likes of Madoff, Allen Stanford or many smaller cases, investors are being defrauded out of their hard-earned money at an alarming rate.
The Chicago Financial Planner
OCTOBER 20, 2021
In today’s world of early or semi-retirement, many people wonder when they should begin taking their Social Security benefits. The combination of Social Security and working can complicate matters a bit. You can begin taking your benefit as early as age 62, but that is not always the best choice for many retirees. If you are working either at a job where you are employed or some sort of self-employment, you need to analyze the pros and cons based on your situation.
The Chicago Financial Planner
OCTOBER 21, 2021
Saving for retirement is a major undertaking for most of us. Increasing healthcare costs and longer life expectancies make the hill a bit steeper to climb each year. Health savings accounts (HSA) provide another vehicle to save for retirement. Many of you have the option to enroll in high-deductible insurance plans that allow the use of a health savings account via your employer.
The Chicago Financial Planner
NOVEMBER 8, 2021
After a significant drop in March of 2020 in the wake of the pandemic, the S&P 500 has staged an amazing recovery. The index finished 2020 with a gain in excess of 18%. So far in 2021, the index is in record territory and has closed at record levels numerous times during the year. At some point we are bound to see a stock market correction of some magnitude, hopefully not on the order of the 2008-09 financial crisis.
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