4 Reasons to Do Your Shopping on Small Business Saturday

When Thanksgiving rolls around, the holiday shopping season comes into full swing. While many people prepare their strategy for Black Friday shopping, a lot of them forget about the second shopping holiday that weekend: Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is the day you are supposed to look to your smaller area shops to find those perfect holiday gifts while …

Charitable Giving: How it Affects You Financially as Well as Personally

The holiday season is just around the corner and many charitable organizations are in desperate need of donations to help provide the vital services needed in the community. You are most often inundated with a number of charitable requests towards the end of the year, which could be ideal time to take advantage of charitable giving from a financial standpoint. Charitable …

Prepare for Long-Term Care Before the Need

Long-term care (LTC) keeps you functioning in the face of devastating illnesses, disabilities and prolonged disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. LTC kicks in when you lose the ability to care for yourself and can no longer do things such as bathe, dress or eat without help. These are three of the six most commonly listed activities of daily living, or …

Election 2020 is Undecided

The American people have voted, casting a record number of ballots under extraordinary circumstances, which is a testament to the enduring resilience of our democracy. Determining the outcome of our elections is a process, but it usually moves so quickly it barely gets noticed. This year it will take longer, but the process itself hasn’t changed. For many, this uncertainty …

End of Year Planning: Set Goals and Reduce Taxes

By the last third of the calendar year, you’re likely to have a pretty good idea of what your annual income will be and whether any major expenses or big life changes await you. This can allow you to engage in more robust tax planning, creating the first draft of your federal and state income tax returns to see what factors …

Political Parties and Stock Markets since 1900

Does the party occupying the White House affect the U.S. stock markets and other economic measurements?  How does the party controlling Congress affect markets? While it’s interesting to review history and try to answer those questions, before we draw any conclusions, we should at least acknowledge that “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” And that is especially true …