How They Apply To Your Investments Earlier this summer, the US Postal Service announced that Yogi Berra, the legendary Yankees catcher, would be given his own postage stamp.1 It’s a tremendous honor, as Yogi is only the thirtieth baseball player in history to have his face on a stamp…and the USPS receives approximately 30,000 proposals…
DetailsWhat Have You Done? The countdown started in December 2017 when President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) aka the Trump Tax Cuts. This legislation created the lowest tax brackets for many of us in our lifetimes. It’s the largest overhaul made in the last 30 years to the tax…
DetailsSimplify and Strengthen As I’ve written and spoken many times there’s a potential train wreck coming with Social Security. I’m seeing more articles in the press voicing concern (see editorials below). We may have less than a decade to go and then there will be great difficulty for those receiving Social Security benefits and those…
DetailsEven if it just seems like you’re “just doing your job”… We have so many first responders and others to be grateful for. So many put their lives at risk and later say, “I was just doing my job.” When I heard this story, I knew I wanted to share it with you. When a…
DetailsStart Early It’s interesting what catches your eye as you go through life’s transitions. We’ve recently made some changes in our family to be more available over the coming years for Angela’s parents. Many of you have done similar and I know many are considering your options on how you might do the same. We…
DetailsThere is new legislation that directly impacts your Colorado charitable deductions. While this tax change will not apply to all of you, I believe it is important for you to be aware of this information. The bill (H.B. 21-311) was part of a package to raise $400 million in revenues for the state to spend…
DetailsMake Plans to Attend the Olympic Games Fan Fest in Downtown Colorado Springs The Olympics are here again! My family and I love watching the Games because it’s a chance to marvel at superhuman feats of skill and athleticism. More importantly, I also find the Olympics to be a great source of inspiration due to…
DetailsTime Management Is Crucial to Financial Success I’ve been thinking a lot about time management the past couple months, as it seems I keep “running out of time”. Time management is defined on Wikipedia as “the act of planning and exercising control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase…
DetailsHave You Filled Up Your Gas Tank Recently? Gas then… $0.29/gallon In just about a year’s time we’ve seen gas prices sky rocket! We buy most of our gas at Costco on Nevada. Who remembers gas in the $1.60 – $1.70 range? I could fill up the truck for $50-$60. It was great. I filled…
DetailsHappy Father’s Day! As you know, this special day isn’t just a chance to buy Dad some new cologne or a power drill. It’s an opportunity to reflect on what fathers mean to us. The things they’ve taught, the values they’ve instilled, the examples they’ve set. It’s a chance to look in the mirror and…
DetailsWe Are Broke! On April 15, 2021, the Truth in Accounting website updated it’s “Financial State of the Union 2021.” The website reported the financial condition of the United States deteriorated by almost $10 trillion dollars in one year. Our government has around $6 trillion in assets to pay $129 trillion in bills. We Are…
DetailsCurrent Lifestyle Tube This tube supplies the cashflow necessary for you to pay for all the things that make up your standard of living. Those things could include cars, house, education for your children, food, clothing, vacations, entertainment, and everything else we spend our money on that we call life. The key thing to understand…
DetailsTax Changes Are Coming Joe Biden has made his desires known that he wants to raise income taxes. There is also the possibility that other taxes will be increasing as well to pay for all the new programs he has proposed for his administration. Here is a list of those changes. The article provides…
DetailsThe Lifestyle Regulator Everyone’s current “lifestyle” is sacred. No one ever wants to consider reducing their lifestyle. The Lifestyle Regulator may be the one piece of the model that plays the most important role of all in how you manage your money. It regulates the amount of money that you allow to flow through the…
DetailsThe American Rescue Plan Roughly one year ago, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. It was a massive, $2 trillion stimulus package designed to help boost the economy as it shuddered from the impact of COVID-19. The bill was generally considered a success – but on its own,…
DetailsAs promised last week, this week in Coach’s Corner we’re going to discuss the tax filter…so let’s get right to it. The Tax Filter If you focus your attention on the copper tax filter (shown in the red box above), you will notice it takes center stage in the model. Every dollar will eventually…
DetailsBy now, you are probably familiar with the segment I am calling Coach’s Corner. (If not, check out March 11th’s and March 18th’s post.) This week, we’re going to cover: Monthly Cash Flow This is something that needs little explanation. Most live from month to month. Our fixed expenses are paid monthly, and our discretionary…
DetailsIf you read my email last week, you learned that I’m starting a new segment called “Coach’s Corner”. Last week, I told you I would cover the Personal Economic Model (PEM) in more detail. So let’s get to it… The importance of the big tank illustrated on the left side of the model is to…
DetailsNot sure how you celebrated St. Patrick’s Day yesterday, or even if you celebrated. I didn’t, but after learning more about the holiday, I might consider celebrating next year. When you hear the words “Saint Patrick’s Day” what images or feelings come to mind? For some, it reminds them of their childhood – wearing green…
DetailsThe PEM Can Help I am starting a new column today on ideas about money, income, risk and debt. It relates to some of the tools we use. Some of these ideas you may have heard. Others maybe not. We’ve decided to call the column Coach’s Corner. I hope it will be thought provoking and…
DetailsTaxes Are A Drag Although there are many reasons we are fortunate to live in Colorado, one of those you probably don’t think about is state taxes. We’re actually the 6th best/lowest states for taxes, not including the states that don’t have any state tax. Don’t allow this fact to lull you into a…
DetailsIs it Time for You to Take Action? Don’t Make “The Groundhog’s Mistake” Well it’s “official” – the groundhog saw his shadow. You know the tradition, February 2nd, a groundhog emerges from its burrow. If the sky is cloudy and the groundhog does not see its shadow, then it will remain outside…
DetailsIs Your Financial Future Protected? – Part 3 Last week I talked about identity theft and told you that we would talk about Cybercrime this week. So let’s jump right in… CYBERCRIME Viruses. Trojan horses. Phishing. Malware. The internet is littered with scary-sounding terms that make it seem like shadowy hackers are…
DetailsIs Your Financial Future Protected? – Part 2 Last week I shared that I have had clients affected by cyber identity theft, phone scams, and phishing – and that I would share how to protect yourself and your finances from hackers, scammers, and identity theft. Lets get started with… IDENTITY THEFT “People need to be…
DetailsAn Investor’s Guide to Financial Cybersecurity Last week I shared with you that I would be starting a series “AN INVESTOR’S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL CYBERSECURITY”. I have had clients affected by cyber identity theft, phone scams, and phishing – we’ll cover them all. In this series you will learn how to protect yourself and your…
DetailsNow Are My Taxes Going To Rise? In the days leading up to the inauguration I’ve been asked this question many times. Although I don’t know the answer, I sent you this note September 24, 2020: The primary market risk from a Biden presidency may likely come from potential tax increases. Higher business taxes…
DetailsAre taxes on the rise? Many of our conversations and decisions with clients hinge on this probability. Many of you realize that you have a strong silent partner in your IRA, the IRS. In this article, Ed Slott, sometimes called America’s retirement expert, talks about why IRAs and 401(k)s will be likely targets for increased…
DetailsThe Year In Review At the end of 2019 I sent this note: I’ve heard 2020 called the year of clear vision. Although there may be many puns that will circulate about this, I believe this is much more important than we may realize. Consider what it means for you, your families and those you…
DetailsThe waiver of required minimum distributions for 2020 is coming to a close; if you are of RMD age you must resume RMDs for 2021 and beyond. RMDs for beneficiary IRAs will need to resume in 2021 as well. Reminder: RMDs do not apply to Roth IRA owners. The Setting Every Community Up for…
DetailsIn our conversations you may have heard me discuss the “stealth tax” called inflation. I find that most never fully consider the affects of this through 30 plus years of retirement. This article puts a number on that tax. The article even explains that this stealth tax could ruin your retirement. They used the…
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