As summer winds down and back to school ads ramp up, things are a little different at our house. Our daughter is off to college. Once she made her school choice official, her gleeful plans for dorm décor and collegiate life began, while I agonized over other matters. Was there enough in the 529 plan? How do we go from contribution to distribution mode?
When you hear the word, “millennial,” what first comes to mind for many is a generation of entitled, social media addicted, avocado toast lovers who worship at the shrine of Starbucks. But, in truth like prior generations, millennials have a great capacity to learn from others and put structure to their wants and needs.
Financial advisors are known to wear many hats. In years like 2022, I find myself practicing psychology as much as financial and investment planning. Money is emotional, and when stocks and bonds are falling in price it invokes a lot of stress and anxiety.
What, exactly does your credit score mean? Briefly, a credit score is a number used to predict how likely you are to pay your bills, or make loan payments on time. It is a three digit number, typically between 300 and 850, with the higher score associated with better credit terms.
I came to work at West Financial Services just over 24 years ago. Joining a small, financial planning and investment management firm with less than 10 employees and approximately $250 million of assets under management was a definite mid-life, career change event for me.
That is the question. And in order to answer the question effectively, one must assess both current and future potential tax situations. Taxes are one of very few certainties in life, and they are top of mind this time of year. Usually, we try to delay paying taxes as long as possible. But that’s not necessarily the best move if your income tax rate is lower now than it is likely to be in the future. In this situation, funding Roth retirement accounts might be a good strategy.
As we start a new year, I enjoy a reprieve from the holiday season sprint we all seem to go through from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve – and this year with the added pleasure of locating rapid antigen tests!
Since the election in 2020, there has been a lot of time and attention spent reporting on potential tax changes that might be passed into law by Congress.
Target date funds represent the ultimate, “leave it to the experts” choice for individual retirement plan investments. They are increasingly and overwhelmingly the default fund of choice for plan sponsors, due to their evolving asset allocation strategy that attempts to cater to every person’s retirement goal.
In her book Thinking in Bets, the former professional poker player, Annie Duke says “What makes a decision great is not that it has a great outcome. A great decision is the result of a good process, and that process must include an attempt to accurately represent our own state of knowledge.” When interviewing asset managers, process is a key pillar of focus for West Financial. There are countless ways to manage money.
