As college costs continue to rise, having a college degree is more important than ever.  According to studies by the College Board in 2011, those with college degrees earn 74% more than high school graduates, experience higher job satisfaction and have lower unemployment. For parents like me, college tuition costs can be sizeable. In the same aforementioned study, the cost …

With life expectancies greater than ever, retirement could very likely be the longest phase of our clients’ lives. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative for retirees to have a plan in place that: Provides the ability to spend and enjoy their money in retirement Protects them from “living too long” and outliving their income Since retirement income planning is an extremely …

One of the most common and recommended investment strategies is called “buy and hold.”  According to TIAA-CREF, “This strategy calls for accumulating stocks and keeping them for a number of years, regardless of the overall market conditions or activity.” One of the strongest arguments for the buy and hold strategy is the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), which basically says that …

How do you think most people would answer the following question: “If you were to unexpectedly die, become seriously ill or get disabled, would you and/or your family suffer financially?” Since most almost always answer, “Yes,” think about this next question: “Would that bother you? Especially if it meant that you and/or your family could no longer afford to stay …

Some financial professionals believe that life insurance should be viewed as “love insurance.” As cliché as it may sound, it certainly has a tremendous amount of merit. What better gift is there to give your loved ones upon your death than a large sum of money to be used for such things as income replacement, college tuition, retirement, debt repayment, …

The sad truth is that estate attorneys indicate that approximately 70% of Americans die without a will. In my opinion, this is unacceptable! Why? Because Americans truly love their families and would prefer not to place any unnecessary or additional burden on them at a time of such great emotional hardship. Here is why this is such a terrible memory …

As financial advisors, we are required to take exams, acquire licenses and perform continuing education, with the primary objective of helping our clients: Protect wealth. Save wealth. Grow wealth. However, the harsh reality is that the large majority of our industry tends to focus mostly on the growth component and often overlooks the protection component. This can be very dangerous …

For decades, I have studied and learned a wide variety of ways to explain the differences between term and whole life insurance. Regardless of how you choose to review the key differences with your client, their decision almost always boils down to cost. Is it affordable and will it fit into their budget? When you remove the real estate downturn …

It is critically important to be competent and persuasive to answer the all-important question that individuals who are approaching retirement (or are in retirement) routinely ask:  “When is the best time to start taking my Social Security income?” The answer in most cases is very simple:  take as much Social Security income as you can, as soon as you possibly …

Nobody wants to talk about death or dying. However, since we know for a fact that it WILL happen some day, shouldn’t we have a place in our planning for this event? So many people and financial professionals spend their entire lives attempting to create the “perfect financial plan” with the hopes and dreams of becoming financially successful and independent. …