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(to educate, inform and amuse)

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It’s that time of year…

The holidays are coming and so is the year‐end, it’s time to do your tax planning. The top of your list will vary according to your age and where you are in your career, whether you are retired or still accumulating funds. Here you will find some reminders. We hope it helps you to ask […]

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Medicare D – drug plan changes for 2025

As most of you on Medicare know, the annual enrollment period is from October 15 to December 7, when all people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the  following year to better meet their needs. Starting October 1, you can compare coverage and costs for all the plans […]

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How to avoid an argument over your will

The stories are legendary, families fighting and never speaking again or siblings resenting siblings after their parents have died and they think their portion of the inheritance is “not fair” or “equal”. Several clients have asked us: How do we avoid resentment over our will and how to talk to our children about it? We […]

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Age‐difference matters

Retirement can be challenging for any couple with differing views about when, where, and how to retire. However, when there is a large age gap between partners, additional complexities arise. Couples with a significant age gap must plan for a much longer combined retirement period. Age plays a crucial role in financial planning because whether […]

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Disability Insurance: protecting your most valuable asset

Did you know you are more likely to be disabled for at least 90 days before age 65 than to die? Despite this, many people either don’t have disability insurance or rely solely on their employer’s coverage. Often, those relying on employer‐provided insurance haven’t read the policy due to its complexity. Even those who purchase […]

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Alzheimer’s/Dementia: Sharing our research

Frequently clients share concerns about an aging parent, grandparent, or friend who seems to be acting differently and not be their normal self. We had questions ourselves and set out to learn more about the topic; we want to share some of our findings. It’s natural to worry about a loved one—or even ourselves—as we […]

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Seniors fail Retirement Income Literacy 101

A recent report by the American College of Financial Services shows that older Americans scored an average of 31% on a financial literacy test and for their knowledge about Social Security (33%) and Medicare (42%); these scores out of a 100% are considered abysmal. There have been governmental efforts to improve literacy through improved Social […]

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Good Debt?

At the start of the year, U.S. household debt reached a record high of $17.3 trillion, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (NYFRB). Overall, U.S. household debt increased in 2023, with credit card debt at the highest increase of 16.6%. On active credit card accounts a balance was carried on […]

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Joint or Separate

When we are working with clients who are in the process of joining households, we are often asked: how should we handle our finances.  The answer of course is: it depends! Many households have dual income earners and fewer people are financially dependent on their significant other. This means separate financial arrangements have become a […]

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What is IRMAA and why should you care?

When I hear IRMAA, I think about a friend of mine: Irma. However, that’s usually not what it means: IRMAA stands for Income-Related-Monthly- AdjustmentAmount. It applies to Medicare premiums and it is a method to means-test Medicare. Means-testing is a method that determines that those with “means” (i.e. the wealthy) pay more than those without […]

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Food wasted is money in the trash!

A New Year brings with it good intentions and resolutions to be better, like eating healthier and saving money on eating out, taking out or ordering in are often high on the list. If you consider that about 20% of food purchased last year ended up in the garbage, according to a Wall Street Journal, […]

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