When it comes to planning your estate, one question that often arises is whether to use a trust. Let's explore what a trust is, its benefits, and whether it might be the right choice for you. A trust is a legal arrangement where one party, known as the trustee, holds...
The question of transitioning to a Roth comes up frequently in conversations with clients. A Roth IRA conversion involves moving your traditional IRA money—which is typically pre-taxed—to a Roth IRA, where your contributions can grow tax-free. Sounds appealing, right?...
I run my own financial advisory business and am not employed by any financial services firm. However, you might notice the name Integrated Financial Group (IFG) appearing frequently on statements, business cards, websites, etc. Naturally, this leads to the question,...
As a financial advisor, I recently had an enlightening conversation with a client who is set to retire next year. During our meeting, he expressed a desire to eliminate volatility from his investments moving forward. This was quite a curveball, as a core strategy of...
I received an e-mail from the son of a client asking me, “Should I cash out a savings bond that I just found out that I own?” First things first, what exactly is a savings bond? Well, it's basically a loan you give to the government. In return, they pay you interest...
My Term Life Policy Just Expired. Do I Replace It? Matt and Beth are long time clients that both purchased twenty-year term life insurance contracts twenty years ago. In a recent meeting they noted these policies were winding down and asked if they should buy another...
Here's a resolution that could help you achieve more in 2025: No more resolutions. Whether you want to get into better shape, learn a new skill, pursue mastery of your favorite hobby, or spend less and save more, resolutions almost always end up, well, unresolved....
Each year we help our clients distribute their Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, from their retirement accounts. Also, each year, we get the question, “How is my RMD calculated?” It’s a straightforward calculation, so let’s dive in: First, you need to find the...
We recently started working with another family that has a child with some special needs. They had already done a solid job of planning for this child and were building on the good work they had done with their previous financial professional. We were reviewing the...
A question that comes up when meeting a new family is “How do you charge?” This is a great question, because we certainly do not work for free, nor do our clients expect us to. There are several ways that a firm like ours can charge. Each method has its’ advantages...