Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
What Happened to Your High-Yield Savings Account?
It’s never pleasant to get a notification from your bank informing you that the interest rate on your high-yield savings account is decreasing. But, it is becoming more common. According to the FDIC, the national average interest rate on a traditional savings account is 0.45%, wi
Kira TopekaNov 14, 2024
What Elections Mean for the Markets
Did you hear there was an election coming up? I think I drew the short straw in the rotation of blog writing when I ended up with the investing-in-an-election-year topic. Nonetheless, it is probably the most common question we are getting from clients and prospects right now. Sho
Nathan GilbertOct 29, 2024
Estate Planning: Understanding Inherited IRAs and the SECURE Act
With October being Estate Planning Month, we wanted to address IRAs (individual retirement accounts). Until the SECURE Act, IRAs were relatively easy to incorporate into an estate plan. As long as beneficiaries are named after the IRA owner dies, the assets are automatically and
Sarah YakelOct 21, 2024
Estate Planning Essentials: Documents You Shouldn’t Overlook
As we reach the halfway point of National Estate Planning Awareness Month, it’s a great time to revisit the key documents that should be included in any comprehensive estate plan. While trusts are essential (as Nathan discusses in detail here), wills, powers of attorney, and heal
Kira TopekaOct 15, 2024
Handling an Inheritance: From Grief to Guidance
As I was writing this week’s blog, I realized that my last one was also about a sensitive topic (divorce), so I promise my next one will be a LOT lighter! Nevertheless, navigating the loss of a loved one and in turn, inheriting assets can be both a financial blessing and an emoti
Sarah IrvingOct 9, 2024
Happy Estate Planning Awareness Month!
It seems like anything and everything has a “month” these days. A quick Google search reveals that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Polish American Heritage Month, National Learning and Development Month. October also contains World Mental
Nathan GilbertOct 1, 2024
So Thankful
This week marks the 9th anniversary of Meridian Financial partners — as we prepared for our annual client event earlier this month, we all had a moment where the tremendous growth over the last 9 years became apparent…and was truly humbling that so many people choose to trust us
Sarah YakelSep 24, 2024
Divvying Up Assets in Divorce
One of the most wonderful parts of my job is getting to celebrate so many positive life-changing moments with our clients like graduations, marriages, babies, new dogs, long-awaited retirements, the list goes on. While it’s wonderful to get the chance to celebrate these alongside
Sarah IrvingSep 17, 2024
Tax Loss Harvesting – Not as Fancy as It Sounds
Capital gains taxes are a consideration when buying and ultimately selling assets. For this post, we will focus on stocks, but capital gains taxes apply to real estate and other assets as well. Put simply: you buy a stock, it increases in price, and you sell it at a higher price.
Nathan GilbertSep 11, 2024
Understanding Your Employee Benefits: A Post-Labor Day Checklist
For many, Labor Day is part of a long weekend packed with parties and barbeques, marking the unofficial end of summer and the last day to wear white until next year’s Memorial Day. The holiday, however, has deeper roots, stemming from the late nineteenth century when labor activi
Kira TopekaSep 4, 2024
Gen Ed 101: Financial Literacy for College Students
Last week, we dropped Melanie off at her new home for the next four years: James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has had a whirlwind of a week, meeting tons of new people, learning how to co-exist in a suite with 5 other girls (and share a bathroom with 11 girls
Sarah YakelAug 27, 2024
Back to School Reading List
We asked around the office for their back to school reading recommendations. But when we asked people to choose their favorites, that turned out to be a hard task for our group of readers. As Sarah Yakel said, “I can’t say these are my favorite books of all time—I read too much t
Kira TopekaAug 19, 2024