Articles of Interest

Building a nest egg often competes with other financial obligations.

Saving for retirement involves several levels of financial planning. You need to get and stay out of medical, credit card and other types of debt. And you must resolve to invest a part of your income on a regular basis. If you save in the right places, you might get some help from your employer or qualify for tax breaks. You will also need some cash on hand to cope with emergencies without disrupting your savings plan. Here's how to get your financial priorities in order so you can accumulate a nest egg for retirement.

A look at some of the ideas contained in the 2017 federal budget.

An increasing number of Americans are facing an uphill battle just trying to save enough and earn enough on their savings to be able to retire on time.

If you had a timeline of the financial steps you should probably take in life, what would it look like? Answers to that question will vary, but certain times of life do call for certain financial moves. Some should be made out of caution, others out of opportunity.

For most of us the conversation isn’t whether or not we’ll need long term care, but rather when. According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services as many as 70% of those turning 65 years of age are likely to require long-term care, meaning that it probably makes sense to start planning for this as an eventuality rather than a possibility.* Professional help with daily tasks like bathing and eating doesn’t come free, and knowing we are likely to need this level of assistance at some point in our lives doesn’t make it any easier to plan for.

Paying for such ongoing medical and personal care out of pocket is often prohibitively expensive and current laws are written so that the state will usually only step in once you’ve exhausted the bulk of your assets. With no long-term care bailout on the horizon now is the time to make a plan for this important reality.

Don’t ignore it. Here’s why.

Let's look at two basic methods for shielding assets from probate.

In todays world, many people are neglecting to include digital assets in their estate plans. That may be a big mistake. Valuable assets may go unnoticed, and money and time might be spent tracking them down. Before the digital age, one could survey a home and find physical objects or paper records, and mail deliveries could be checked for account statements or bills.