Forward Thinking
The markets have always been a predictor of what’s to come. Everything feels bad, looks bad, and the outlook seems pretty bad on many fronts for the rest of this year. The market, both on the stock and the bond
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
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. The Federal Reserve typically looks at raising interest rates to fight inflation. These moves can cause most stocks to
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: The only thing that is positive in 2022 so far is
An 8% Raise
Just because you are eligible for Social Security benefits doesn’t mean you should start taking them right away. We often hear our clients ask about taking social security as soon as they are able, using reasoning such as: “I
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
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
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
Tax Time?
As the calendar turns to 2022, many people immediately start to think about filing taxes. While it’s generally a good thing to avoid procrastination (which I try to tell myself all the time!), you must wait for a) the IRS
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