Sarah Yakel
Should I Pay or Should I Go?
Recently, we have been fielding many questions about whether it is more prudent to use excess cash to pay off a mortgage or go invest. While we do answer this question with regularity, the interest in paying off (or accelerating paydown) a mortgage seems to have risen over the pa
Sarah YakelMay 3, 2022
The Name’s Bond, I Bond
In most cases, inflation is the enemy of investors. There are multiple repercussions when prices rise, most of which are bad. Gas prices are up throughout the country. In a recent trip to the PNW I filled up for well over $5/gallon! The Federal Reserve typically looks at raising
Sarah YakelApr 26, 2022
Investors and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Quarter
It has been a rough start to 2022, and as quarter numbers are finalized, they are just confirming how rough it has felt for all investors: Source: Bloomberg, FactSet, FTSE Russell, MSCI, NAREIT, Standard and Poor’s, JP Morgan Asset Management. The only thing that is positive in 2
Sarah YakelApr 12, 2022
Capital Gains – Wallstreet Weight Lifting
If something you own goes up in value and you sell it, then you’ve made a profit. That profit is called a capital gain, and a capital gains tax is the tax you may owe on that profit. This tax isn’t just for wealthy investors. Capital gains tax can apply to anything of value, even
Sarah YakelMar 29, 2022
The Big Picture
When thinking about the blog topic for the day, the only thing that seemed appropriate to write about is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the economic fallout seen in the market over the past few weeks. Heavy topics to take on in a short blog post, so please excuse the length
Sarah YakelMar 8, 2022
Retirement: How Much Do You Need to Save?
Most people have plans to retire and even have a fairly good idea of how they’ll use that new-found free time, but few actually know how much money they’ll need to save in order to afford retirement. There’s an old age golden rule of having $1 million set aside for you to retire,
Sarah YakelMar 1, 2022
The Splits
In all the market drama of January, Google’s announcement of a stock split went unnoticed by many investors who were distracted by all the other crazy market moves. On February 1, Google parent company Alphabet said it would split its stock 20–1. That means that for every 1 share
Sarah YakelFeb 8, 2022
5 Ways to Protect Yourself Financially
No matter who you are, it is important to have certain measures in place to protect yourself (and your family) financially. Why? Because life has a way of throwing curve balls at us when we least expect them and certainly when they’re not wanted. To make sure you’re able to make
Sarah YakelFeb 1, 2022
Strategizing
Every winter, the Yakel household gets complicated with the start of basketball season. Melanie and Ethan play basketball and I coach the varsity girls at their school. Lots of long nights at the school gym! This year, the varsity girls team kicked off our season by winning the p
Sarah YakelJan 11, 2022
New Year, New Financial You?
It’s all fun and games while the eggnog is flowing and the tinsel is still hung, but the post-holiday spending hangover can mean bad news for your financial situation if you don’t make adjustments in the new year. If the holidays left you and your budget feeling a little bloated,
Sarah YakelJan 4, 2022
Inflation hits Santa in 2021
A big headline in 2021 has been the unusually high annual inflation figures, as compared to 2020. As of November 30, 2021, the Consumer Price Index increase from November 2020 was 6.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much debate has occurred over the causes (supply c
Sarah YakelDec 14, 2021
What Does “Fee-Only” Mean?
You’ve hired a professional to provide services for you. Hopefully, you have some idea of what these services will cost. Most contractors, it’s said, will finish their work in twice the time and at twice the cost that’s quoted. But, hey, if you factor that in at the start, you wo
Sarah YakelDec 7, 2021