View from the Lake
Where Financial Planning meets the Real World
CARES Act of 2020 Summary
Overview of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act) The global impact of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been significant. This global pandemic, as declared by the World Health Organization, has brought the economies of countries around the world to a grinding halt, as the world comes together to try […] Read More
Make Timely Tax Payments to Avoid Penalties
Tax Payment Planning – Making Timely Payments Will Avoid Penalties As we move into the peak of the 2019 tax filing season, it’s important to consider what your plan will be for ensuring you pay enough tax in 2020 to avoid an underpayment penalty. Planning your tax payments is especially important if you have an […] Read More
Market Update + Interest Rates + Mortgage Rates + Corona Virus
The stock market is down more than 5% this morning and more than 15% in the last 30 days. Let’s review a few important items. Market Update: From our experience, fast and significant declines in the stock market usually don’t last long and have historically been an opportunity for investment. Long, slow, protracted declines in […] Read More
Have US Stocks Risen Too Far and Too Fast?
Large-cap US stocks were up more than 13.5% for the most recent decade, 2010 – 2019. This is above historical averages – so should we be concerned the market has advanced too far and too fast? Let’s dig a little deeper for a more complete perspective. The first thing to note is that the last […] Read More
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
