Trick or Treat? The New Payroll Tax Deferral
Check your most recent paystub dated after September 1st, 2020. Did your paycheck increase without you actively making any changes to it? If you make less than $104,000, then it might be because of President Trump’s new payroll tax deferral that is now in effect through the end of the year. Every payday, 7.65% of […]
5 Steps to Rebuilding Emergency Funds After an Emergency
Written by Sarah E.J. Collier, J.D. You saved, saved and then saved some more to establish your emergency fund. Saving the 3-6 months’ worth of expenses to establish your emergency fund was no easy task. However, you just went through a financial emergency and drained your emergency fund. While this can make you feel defeated, […]
Beyond the Numbers: Building a Realistic Spending Plan
By Andrew Baron, CFP® The first thing to do when beginning a financial plan is to develop a spending plan. The plan should be both comprehensive enough to effectively keep track of all the moving parts and simple enough to be useable. It’s difficult to follow a plan if you barely understand it! At the […]
How Might the CARES Act Apply to My Taxes? Consider These 3 Tax Planning Opportunities.
Written By: Amanda L. Herrick Smith, CFP® The CARES Act along with the recent market volatility has led to some interesting tax planning opportunities for individuals to consider this year. The following are three recommendations that may help to ease the financial impact of the pandemic. Roth Conversions – As a result […]
A Guide to Tackling Estate Planning for the Horse Owner
By Sarah E. J. Collier, JD As seen in the New York State Horse Council’s 2019 fourth quarter newsletter. It is not a hidden secret that horses are very expensive to own. A recent expense report I completed totaled the annual expenses for a ten-year-old horse, stabled at a boarding facility, at approximately $6,500 per […]
Financial Considerations Under the CARES Act for Federal Student Loan Borrowers
By: Sarah Collier, J.D. Due to the CARES Act, qualifying federal student loans are being placed in an administrative forbearance with a 0% interest rate effective March 13, 2020, through September 30th, 2020. On August 8, 2020, President Trump directed the Secretary of Education to extend the student loan relief until December 31, 2020. This […]
Situational Awareness…Tips to protect yourself in the age of Covid-19
By: Elizabeth K.B. DiPietrantonio, J.D., Associate Advisor My parents used the phrase “situational awareness” a lot with me while I was growing up; okay, they still use it. In non-work situations, I am often easily distracted. I get excited about whatever is happening and become a bit, well, scattered. I tend to lose things i.e. […]
Protecting Your Retirement in Times of Crisis
By Peter Plevritis, Associate Advisor Is your retirement plan immune from the coronavirus? As coronavirus made waves in the news in late-February and early March that it was here in the United States, the stock market reacted. Since then, with glimmers of hope, we have seen a few bounces in the markets. This volatility […]
Breaking Down the CARES Act – Specific Planning Opportunities
By: Mason M. Jones, CFP®, Advisor As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. While the trees continue to bud and flowers bloom, families and businesses across the country continue to struggle with COVID-19 uncertainty. The CARES Act made its way through Washington quickly and covers a lot of ground. The $2.2 trillion deal was […]
5 Tips for those Invested in the Stock Market during a Downturn
By Amanda Herrick Smith and Cynthia Rivera The effects of an escalating coronavirus outbreak has sparked universal anxiety in investors as the stock market took a nosedive and posted its biggest loss since the 2008 financial crisis. In light of what looks like another volatile week, many investors wonder whether to sell, do nothing or […]
