View from the Lake
Where Financial Planning meets the Real World
New Tax Law
Excerpt from David Hulstrom, CFP®, CFA®, author: Congress gave us a year-end bill (here) that has financial planning implications. There are a lot of provisions that could affect the financial planning of our clients. Below are the five things that many people need to know. There are lots of exceptions and provisions to many of these rules but I […] Read More
Life Lessons – Grandma, who is your POA?
Last month we started the discussion on how to talk to your family about finances. We kept the conversation a bit vague. This month we encourage you to take things a step further and actually ask one very important question: “If you need help with your finances someday, who is your Power of Attorney (POA)?” […] Read More
Life Lessons – Can we end the stigma of not talking to our family about finances?
Life Lessons – Can we end the stigma of not talking to our family about finances? Up until recently, financial education was not something specifically taught in schools; and families are reluctant to discuss finances at home. So, is it any wonder that most children transition into adulthood with very little financial education? Unfortunately, […] Read More
We Love Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Why We Have Grown to Love Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) By now, most of us have at least heard of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and many of us have an account. HSAs were created in 2003 so that individuals covered by high-deductible health plans could receive tax-preferred treatment of money saved for medical expenses. Generally, […] Read More
Fishing for Returns
Fishing for Investment Returns Having just returned from our annual Canadian fishing trip and having spent lots of time sitting in the boat doing nothing, my mind had free range to roam. Most men would be thinking about the big one that lies beneath, but my mind is wired a little differently. I couldn’t help but to ponder the correlation […] Read More
Legacy and Traditions
From Family Traditions to Legacy My father was an avid fisherman. To satiate his hobby, and to appease my mother, my brothers and I tagged along on his fishing excursions. When I was not yet five years old, he began an annual tradition of taking us fishing in Canada. In 1981 we went to a new ‘fishing camp.’ […] Read More
Taking Inventory of Your Life Insurance Policies
As financial advisors we see all different kinds of life insurance policies that were sold for all different reasons at all different times of life. Here are a few examples: A “baby policy” sold to your parents when you were just an infant. Policies are often from the 1950s, fully paid up, and offer a […] Read More
Taxes and Consumption
Taxes and Lifestyle – Competing Forces With tax season behind us, I figured now is a great time to write an article related to taxes. Writing about tax strategies is always topical, but we’ve done that before (visit our blog for awesome posts), plus we cover all applicable strategies in our client meetings. Rather, I […] Read More
My Dog’s Deferred Gratification
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? A week ago, I was working in my yard with Mocha (our chocolate lab) outside with me. Mocha understands when I’m in work mode, so she sniffs her way around the yard, staying out of my way and looking for who-knows-what. After about an hour of good hard […] Read More
