Important Birthdays Over 50

Most children stop being “and-a-half” somewhere around age 12. Kids add “and-a-half“ to make sure everyone knows they’re closer to the next age than the last. When you are older, “and-a-half” birthdays start making a comeback. In fact, starting at age 50, several birthdays and “half-birthdays” are critical to understand because they have implications regarding […]

Understanding FDIC Insurance

It’s natural to wonder exactly how a bank safeguards your money. Fortunately, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance exists for this very reason: to help protect your funds once deposited. Read on to explore the purpose of FDIC insurance, how it works, and what it covers. What Is FDIC Insurance? The FDIC is an […]

What is a 1031 Exchange

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If you want to add investment real estate to your portfolio, you may want to know what a 1031 Exchange is. While the rules and regulations for this tactic can get complicated, understanding the basic concepts may help you decide if this strategy is right for you. Conducting a 1031 Exchange involves a complex set […]

A Checklist for When a Spouse or Parent Passes

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When you lose a spouse, partner, or parent, the grief can be overwhelming. In the midst of that grief, life goes on. There are arrangements to be made, things to be taken care of – and in recognition of this reality, here is a checklist that you may find useful at such a time. First, […]

Social Security: By the Numbers

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Here are five facts about Social Security that might surprise you. Transcript: Social Security has been a fact of retirement life since 1935, but how much do you really know about it? Here are five facts that might surprise you. 1: The social security trust fund exceeds the gross domestic product of every country in […]

Caring for Aging Parents

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Thanks to healthier lifestyles and advances in modern medicine, the worldwide population over age 65 is growing. In the past decade, the population of Americans aged 65 and older has grown 36% and is expected to reach 94.7 million in 2060. As our nation ages, many Americans are turning their attention to caring for aging […]

Traditional vs. Roth IRA

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Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), which were created in 1974, are owned by roughly 36.6 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are owned by nearly 27.3 million households.1 Both are IRAs. And yet, each is quite different. Up to certain limits, traditional IRAs allow individuals […]

Diversification, Patience, and Consistency

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Investment Regardless of how the markets may perform, consider making the following part of your investment philosophy: Diversification. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has some application to investing. Over time, certain asset classes may perform better than others. If your assets are mostly held in one kind of investment, you could […]

Preparing for the Expected

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As Teddy Roosevelt once observed, “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.” The challenges seniors have met throughout their lives have made them wiser and stronger, preparing them for the unique challenges that come with aging. As we age, the potential for cognitive decline increases, […]