The True Cost of Moving
By: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
As a financial planner, I often speak to my clients about life’s big transitions. After having gone through my own major life transition this year, I decided to write about what’s involved with selling a home – the cost of moving and the factors to consider when allocating your sale proceeds to your new mortgage. Let’s tackle cost first. The first thing most people think about when preparing to sell a home, is how much they may profit from the transaction.
Do You Need a New Advisor?
BY: SUSAN POWERS, CFA, CPA, CFP®, CPFA®
Have you relocated recently? Do you find yourself wishing you could sit down and talk with someone in person? Maybe you are contemplating an early retirement or will be receiving an inheritance. Do you have an advisor you can call that knows you and is there to answer your questions?
The New Normal is Actually the Old Old Normal
By: Patrick R. Cote CFA, CFP®
For over a decade, interest rates have been near zero, a phenomenon that had never been seen before in the US. Now with the US over a year into a rising interest rate environment, we are starting to see a return to the old old normal.
Radio Appearance: Kate Hennessy On Your Money Matters On WGN Radio
Kate Hennessy, Certified Financial Planner with AssetGrade, LLC joins Jon Hansen on Your Money Matters to share how they make investing and managing clients’ assets a personal and seamless experience. Listen in while Kate dives deeper into what her specialties are, including a focus on families, women investors and college planning and what the first steps are to getting a handle on your expenses.
April 2023 Market Review
Check out AssetGrade’s review of the markets for the First Quarter 2023. Learn more about what caused the markets to rebound and the economy to slow.
Radio Appearance: Kate Hennessy On Your Money Matters On WGN Radio
Kate Hennessy, Certified Financial Planner with AssetGrade, LLC, joins Jon Hansen to talk financial planning. They break down how listeners can maximize benefits from a Health Savings Account, what a fiduciary is, and many other things to know that may be important for retirement or college savings.
Don’t Sit on the Sidelines
By: Patrick R. Cote CFA, CFP®
When it comes to investing, many people are hesitant to put their money into the stock market or other investment vehicles. Instead, they opt to sit on the sidelines with their cash, waiting for the "perfect" time to invest, driven by concerns that the stock market will fall. This can be even more tempting in the current environment of higher interest rates. While this may seem like a safe strategy, it can actually be detrimental to your long-term financial health.
CREATING INCOME IN RETIREMENT
By: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
You have spent the past 30+ years accumulating assets and saving. But you ask yourself will I have enough money to retire? How can I continue to create income in retirement?
Follow these tips to ensure you have the income you need to enjoy your retirement years:
Maximize Social Security
SECURE ACT 2.0 – What You Should Know
BY: Patrick R. Cote, CFA, CFP®
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, the most recent tax legislation, covers a lot of areas. While most provisions are relatively minor, the changes worth noting are extending ages for RMDs (required minimum distributions), new additional Roth choices and increasing the ability to both contribute and withdraw from retirement plans.
Effective 1/1/2023, the changes for the RMDs are:
SECURE Act 2.0 & 529 Plans
BY: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged account that enables you to save money for education expenses. Do you have unused money in your 529 plan that won’t be needed for education purposes? If so, effective in 2024 you may be able to transfer the money out of the 529 Plan to the beneficiaries’ tax-exempt Roth IRA without incurring any penalties. This would allow money that was earmarked for education to be used for the beneficiaries’ retirement savings.