I’ve seen my fair share of brokerage statements from Big Name Brokers cross my desk over the years. Very often I’m appalled by what I see. Why? I often see brokerage accounts stuffed with scatter-shot investments (often excessive amounts of large cap US stocks) with little regard for clients’ risk tolerance and for their overall […]
Category: Financial Planning
Does It Pay Off To Invest In A Financial Plan?
By 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 decisions […]
Four Simple Steps To Improve Your Financial Health
By 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. If […]
How to Design Your Ideal Retirement
By Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner ™ Would you like to design your ideal retirement? Where do you begin? First of all, what does retirement mean to you? If you’re in a relationship, does retirement mean the same to you as it does to your partner? Do you know if your “ideal retirement” is affordable […]
Social Security: Don’t Make These Three Mistakes
By Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner ™ Social Security has been around for decades and it’s not about to disappear. Why? Social Security is not an “entitlement” (gift) – it’s a forced savings scheme that Americans pay into in their working years in order to secure a pension for life. Ideally, Social Security shouldn’t be […]
Getting Real About Retirement – Will You Have Enough Money to Remain Comfortable?
By Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner™ Let’s get real about retirement. Will you have enough to remain comfortable in retirement for 30 years or more? Studies show this is a recurring fear many Americans feel. As a Fee-Only financial advisor, my number one priority is to confront this fear and help my clients retain enough […]
Six Mistakes People Make When Hiring a Financial Advisor
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner (TM) There are 6 common mistakes people make when engaging a financial advisor — and all of them are avoidable! Before we go through this list, let’s put the issue of paying for financial advice into context. Health and money are two areas of life where everyone benefits from […]
Five “No Brainer” Moves to Strengthen Your Finances
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner (TM) Here are 5 “no-brainer” moves you can make before year-end to strengthen your finances: Taxes: NJ AND NY RESIDENTS ALERT: If Congress pushes through tax reform that eliminates state and local tax exemptions, many NJ and NY residents (along with MA and CA residents) will be hit […]
Are You a Near-Sighted or a Far-Sighted Investor?
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner(TM). Are you a Near-Sighted or a Far-Sighted investor? If you’re a near-sighted investor, you probably check your investment balances frequently (even several times a day) and you feel good when your investments are up. Your focus is short-term, even though you may live another 30-50 years. Conversely, you worry or feel regret when […]
Take a Quiz: Is Your Financial Advisor a “Broker” or a “Financial Planner”?
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner (TM) Professional You have a financial advisor, but what kind is he/she? Take this brief quiz to see if you can tell the difference between a “Broker” and a “Financial Planner.” Receive 2 points for all “Yes” answers, and 1 point for all “No” answers: My financial advisor has […]