Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® Unless you have a terminal illness you probably do NOT know when you will die. Accordingly, these tips are geared toward all individuals who hold investments, insurance, pensions and/or real estate and who want to pass these to a surviving spouse or other family members. Some of these steps may […]
5 Lessons Learned from the 10 Year US Bull Market
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® We’re celebrating 10 years of a remarkable bull market in US stocks. Here are 5 lessons reinforced during this time: Lesson 1: Stay the Course When Things Get Rough The 2008-09 crash seemed to be The End of the World because the entire banking system (with knock-on effects worldwide) was […]
Does It Pay Off To Invest In A Financial Plan?
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® Professional Does it pay off to have a financial plan in place? Thanks to a number of new studies, it’s possible to answer this question clearly and unambiguously: Yes. One such study by Morningstar* tracked households over 15 years and ranked their financial soundness and the quality of their financial […]
Women – Especially “Suddenly Single” Women – Are At Greater Risk of Outliving Their Money
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner™ Women run a higher risk of outliving their money in retirement than men. The risk is even greater for single women – especially women in the lowest pre-retirement wage earning quartile (meaning the lowest 25% of wage earners). In addition to low income-earning women, women who are “suddenly […]
Four Simple Steps To Improve Your Financial Health
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFF® Professional Here are four simple steps to improve your financial health. If you’re working with a financial advisor, you should be in good hands because these potential pitfalls should have been addressed from the get-go. A Certified Financial Planner ™ specializing in comprehensive planning is the best professional to help you. […]
The Powerful Positive Financial Impact Of Delaying Retirement
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® Practitioner New data show the powerful positive financial impact of delaying retirement by even just a few months. Postponing retirement even by a month – for some – can equal or exceed the positive impact of saving more each year for 10 years while working. This is great news especially […]
Better Annuities Are Fixed Annuities
Create PDFPrintby Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner ™ In my prior article I explained the kinds of annuities that are “bad” or “ugly” for investors: virtually all variable annuities, including indexed annuities (that are misleadingly categorized at a type of fixed annuity). My objections have to do primarily with cost and the fact that they often are […]
Annuities Can Be Good, Bad or Ugly. Which Is Which? Part I
Create PDFPrintAnnuities can be good, bad or downright ugly. How can you tell if your annuity is good, or if you should consider purchasing one? And what’s an annuity, anyway?. In this two-part series, I’ll begin with a review of the “bad and ugly” annuities (most variable annuities). Next month I’ll review “good” annuities (primarily […]
Smart Charitable Giving That’s Easy and Cuts More of Your Taxes Than The “Write a Check” Route
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® Here’s a smart way to make charitable donations that’s easy and cuts more of your taxes than the regular “write a check, take a tax deduction” route. The tool I recommend is called a Charitable Trust (sometimes also called a Donor Advised Fund). The time needed to set it up? […]
Womens’ Special Financial Planning Needs That Advisors Overlook
Create PDFPrintby Eve Kaplan, CFP(R) Professional Womens’ special financial planning needs that advisors may overlook in two ways: 1) advisors don’t always acknowledge the different planning needs women have and 2) advisors don’t always communicate well with female clients – especially if the client comes to a meeting with her husband. It’s very common for […]