Whether you’re a seasoned saver gearing up for retirement or a college graduate just beginning to navigate your finances, free help is on the way! The Financial Planning Association (FPA) of North Alabama and the Alabama Securities Commission, will co-host the 2017 Financial Planning Expo this coming Tuesday, October 24, at the Hoover Public Library […]
Whether you’re a seasoned saver gearing up for retirement or a college graduate just beginning to navigate your finances, free help is on the way! The Financial Planning Association (FPA) of North Alabama and the Alabama Securities Commission, will co-host the 2017 Financial Planning Expo this coming Tuesday, October 24, at the Hoover Public Library […]
Reader Question: I was unaware of the once per year rule, and in 2016 I took a partial distribution simultaneously from two different IRAs: one Traditional and one Roth. I took these distributions twice within a six-month period in 2016. Both times, I returned the funds, to the penny, within 60 days, back into the […]
The only thing worse than enduring significant damage in a hurricane is realizing that your insurance company won’t cover your claim. According to a Texas insurance group, only about 15 to 20 percent of homeowners in Houston and Corpus Christi are insured for flooding — everyone else was out of luck after Hurricane Harvey struck. […]
The Equifax cyberbreach almost seems like an old news story but I assure you, the main plot is yet to unfold. On July 29th, Equifax discovered hackers had stolen critical data of 143 million Americans. Do you think you are one of the lucky ones who was not affected? Probably not. Think about it. There […]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced its intentions to change the requirements for its reverse mortgage program — specifically, to raise premiums and tighten up the limits on loans. But such a change could have tremendous ramifications for senior citizens, and there’s not much time to plan; the proposed revisions to […]
Recently, my father passed away one week shy of his 99th birthday. Right up until his short hospital stay, he was living on his own, keeping his own yard, driving and coming into the office every day. As I reflect on my best friend, I realize just how lucky I was to have him for […]
I’m actually impressed by how many fewer people smoke today than a couple of decades ago. Maybe the federal mandate requiring large-size warnings with all cigarette ads really did make a difference. For those of you who still smoke, particularly younger folks, you’ll want to avoid New York City. They just raised the price of […]
I was speaking with a mayoral candidate who wants to focus on improving education in the inner-city schools. He said a high percentage of high school graduates scored less than 10% on math competency test. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A good education is the foundation for a better life and critical […]
In January of this year the Dow-Jones Industrial Average (DOW) crossed the historic 20,000 mark to much fanfare from Wall Street and the national media. By traditional measures, and depending on who you listen to, the market today is either fully valued or overvalued. The question I’m getting more often now is, “When are we […]