The greatest engine to generate real wealth is saving and investing. And the best way to ensure that your default is saving and investing is to automate the process. Pay yourself first, and your savings will grow exponentially.
Couples who have worked together on a budget already agree on the big picture. Once they make the hard decisions about what will help further the family’s values, specific purchases in each category are much less critical.
David Marotta discusses what to do with your “extra” money.
Take ownership of your own financial security and increase the rate you are saving and investing by at least the 2% Social Security tax cut.
If you failed to convert anything last year, you missed an opportunity. If you converted much more than you probably wanted to, now you have to decide how much to keep.
All developed countries are not equally attractive places to invest. The United States has entered the ring of fire and expected to underperform in future years as a result.
One method to divide the U.S. stock market is by sector of the economy. Overemphasize those sectors left free to innovate and compete on the global market.
Life Planning is an important part of the wealth management process. It’s not enough to have money; you need to know what the money is for.
The law allows taxpayers age 70 1/2 or older to donate up to $100,000 from their IRA directly to a charity. The amount of the charitable contribution is excluded from taxable income.
Computing your net worth annually is like taking a sextant reading to chart your course toward financial security. Net worth gives you a snapshot of how much money would be left if you converted everything you owned into cash and paid off all your debts.
Financial resolutions usually don’t even last until the end of January. Making a permanent change in our behavior requires both time and a steely resolve. We can only develop financial character one action at a time. Here are seven practices to take you from pauper to prince or princess if you add one each year.
“It is not enough to seize power or to change wherein society power lies. With power must come an inner sense of connection to others.”
The two men see opportunities and the risk excites them. Even soliciting funds for the poor is an integral part of their entrepreneurial spirit.
Most investors are not aware of a critical division of professionals in the world of financial services. This distinction lies between fee-only fiduciaries who are free to act in your best interests and commission-based agents and brokers who are required to act in the best interest of the companies that employ them.
Having found that a longer holiday season translates into bigger profits, retailers like to extend every holiday season. The holiday season is now a four-month blast of marketing genius.
When the markets are volatile, the bonus on account of rebalancing is greater.
Students are graduating with larger debt loads than they were 10 years ago. Public four-year college borrowers graduate with an average of $19,800 in debt; their nonprofit private college counterparts graduate owing $26,100.
More than 200 charities have been designated Neighborhood Assistance Programs (NAPs).
David Marota discusses how liberals get basic economics wrong.
The authors of the Zogby study suggested their own explanation. “We think that, for many respondents, economic understanding takes a vacation when economic enlightenment conflicts with establishment political sensibilities.”
Going forward, tax management will be as significant as investment management in a comprehensive wealth management plan.
David Marotta discusses how to maximize retirement accounts.
Most plans have funds laden with fees. Some share this revenue with plan sponsors, enticing them to pick more expensive funds to subsidize the costs of the plan or even make a profit.
If you have a personal umbrella insurance policy, congratulations. If you don’t, you must not have a lot to lose. This important insurance can extend your liability coverage beyond your home and auto insurance by millions of dollars.
Politicians are giving us no incentive to take care of ourselves. They are ensuring that government will need to save us.
Hong Kong has an incredibly low tax rate. Individuals are taxed at the lower of a progressive tax maxing at 17% of adjusted gross income or a flat tax of 15% of gross.
David Marotta discusses converting your traditional IRA balance to Roth IRAs this year before tax rates go back up.
It is time to drive a Brink’s truck through the legal loophole of Roth conversions this year.
For many people 50 is a milestone that reminds us to stop and reevaluate. There is still time for a whole new life of significance.
Perhaps dire predictions are correct and we are headed to Armageddon. If you want liquid assets in such a catastrophic situation, try buying cases of Jack Daniels. It is cheaper, keeps just as well and will fetch more in trading value.
David Marotta discusses interest rates, the housing market, and how these factors work together for the patient buyer.
Only if you swear by the genius of Caesar, trust in his altruism and believe in his divinity is this bill a cause for celebration.
Everything in wealth management begins with savings. All wealth comes from producing more than you consume. Unfortunately, most Americans are better at consuming than producing.
David Marotta & George Marotta discuss financial reform, specifically the Dodd-Frank bill and its implications on the economy.
For the first time in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, the United States was moved from the list of “free” countries to the second tier of “mostly free” countries.
Everyone knows a family with financial debt. Stop the bleeding.
Government assistance has taken what might have been a simple recession and turned it into a more lingering malaise.
Many U.S. investors crowd their assets into a combination of large-cap U.S. stocks and U.S. bonds. This allocation represents only one and a half of the six asset classes described here.
Imagine that your doctor shocks you with the news that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did you miss? Who did you not get to be? What did you not get to do?
David Marotta discusses how to pay your Virginia state tax bills using less expensive Virginia land preservation credits.
“Imagine that you visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5-10 years to live. You won’t ever feel sick, but you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life and how will you do it?”
Life planning takes a holistic look at what you truly value. And for most people, their life is more important than their money. Only after exploring your life goals can you structure your finances to help you realize your dreams.
If the tax code permits a huge deduction for brushing your teeth with your left hand while standing on one foot, it is still worth doing.
Tax credits are much more valuable than tax deductions. Deductions only reduce the amount you are taxed on. One dollar of deduction might only be worth 35 cents. In contrast, tax credits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax bill. And a refundable tax credit could mean the government will owe you money you never paid in the first place.
A professional tax expert can help you get the correct deductions. But he or she likely won’t motivate you to keep the right records unless you understand the benefits for yourself.
Retirement planning consists of a wild scatter plot of potential projections. Navigating successfully through possible outcomes requires regular corrections and adjustments.
The most common request we get is for a back-of-the-napkin calculation of future yield, interest or income. But rather than being a conservative withdrawal rate, this strategy may actually lead people to spend too much.
A few months ago Bill Gross, co-founder of PIMCO and the country’s most prominent bond expert, singled out those countries heaping significant deficits on their mountain of debt and called them “The Ring of Fire.” We recommend that you reduce your investments in these countries.
Thousands of investment advisors recommended stop loss orders to their clients. Now it looks like this advice may have been the cause of the May 6, 2010 market plummet.
Everyone is expecting real estate to underperform the stock market for many years going forward.