As financial advisors we are always encouraging our clients to save more for retirement. We find that it's often best to set up the savings to come directly out of your paycheck so it's out of sight, out of mind. That's why we're so excited that contribution limits are increasing for many retirement savings plans in 2020.
New Hampshire is typically known as a low tax state. Although it has higher than average property taxes, it does not tax income earned from work and does not have a sales tax. However, New Hampshire does have a lesser known tax on income, specifically an interest and dividends tax. If you've lived in NH your whole life and haven't heard of this tax, you're not alone. This tax does not apply to everyone, but with short-term interest rates at their highest level of the past decade, it's possible that this will apply to more and more people living in the Granite State.
If you do any amount of research online, you'll find financial advisors everywhere touting the benefits of the Roth retirement account. However, what is often less discussed are the differences between the Roth IRA and the Roth 401(k). What exactly are the differences, and how does this impact your retirement savings? There are pros and cons to each and they're not as similar as you might think.
In today's world, an individual's personal finances are ever changing and throughout each of our lifetimes we will have dozens of financial accounts. Think about how many times you may have changed banks, insurance companies, retirement plans, etc. Sometimes we create new accounts and forget about the old ones. Trying to track down old accounts doesn't have to be a nightmare because the internet makes it easier than ever to try and track down old accounts.
"I'm worried about the markets. To reduce the risk in my portfolio, should I be invested in gold?" As financial advisors, this is a common question we are asked about our investment strategy. People like the idea of investing in gold because it's something that they know and understand. Gold is something you can feel, touch, and hold as opposed to owning company stocks which can seem complicated and intangible.
Star Wars. What an incredible franchise. Its movies have captivated audiences for decades, including financial advisors. Believe it or not, we do find some time between staring at spreadsheets and reading up on the latest change to the tax code to catch up on the important pieces of pop-culture. We can all enjoy these movies, but as financial advisors, we see things through a different lens, and Star Wars is no exception. Without further ado, we would like to present to you four financial lessons we can learn from Star Wars.