Hoping to Achieve Financial Freedom? These are 10 Habits You Should Have to Help You

It is human nature to seek advice only when things aren’t going as planned or when some unforeseen situation arises.

More people are choosing to become self-employed with one in three Americans leaving their jobs to go on their own.

Despite having a high income from owning a business or being an executive, these individuals can experience retirement savings problems. They have missed savings opportunities or put off financial planning.

Among the primary concerns people have as they approach retirement is, “How long will I live and will my money last?

The IRS announced last month in November cost-of-living adjustments to limits on contributions to retirement plans for 2019.

It’s that time of year again; kids go back to school, the election season is near, fall holiday planning starts, and suddenly we all move closer to the end of 2018.

For families who previously used itemized deductions for charitable giving when filing their taxes, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will remove this benefit , resulting in default to the standard deduction for their 2018 filing.

We all desire the flexible lifestyle, to not work or work when we want. Wouldn’t it be great to spend more of our lives not working than working?

The ability for a business to offer a 401(k) plan is often seen as the benchmark of a large, successful company.

If you’re an employee working for a company that has a pension plan, you’re among an estimated 4% of Americans that still benefit from this type of retirement plan.  Most companies have moved to a dual plan or removed the pension entirely.

If you’re like some Americans, you may be wondering how the new tax plan is going to affect you.  To say “the new tax plan isn’t going to affect me” may be an incorrect statement; sooner or later the new plan will change something in your financial life.

The answer to that is not much, but the allowable pre-tax contributions in most traditional retirement plans will see a small increase for 2018.

Women in the US today are better educated and have more opportunities than their mothers and grandmothers.  But even though women have more opportunities than in the past, they face obstacles that can impact their potential for retirement savings.

If you aren’t utilizing your health savings account (HSA) at your employer, you’re missing out on a great way to save for retirement health care expenses.

As financial advisors, many times we are asked by clients what they should invest in.  It’s not always an easy answer, because our answer to clients depends on many things.

‘Earnings Season’ is a period of time in which publicly traded companies release their quarterly earnings report.  Based on this information, stock prices can fluctuate either up or down depending on the ‘financial health’ of the company during that quarter.

The older you get, the greater the chances that you have ‘old’ 401(k) accounts at former employers, or multiple IRAs from retirement plan transfers from leaving multiple jobs.

If you’re approaching retirement in the next fifteen to twenty years, it may be time for you to focus on saving more.  Playing ‘catch up’ by contributing more can make a big difference.  It’s never too late even if the time line is getting closer.

Self-employment is a growing trend world-wide and in the US.  The desire to work for themselves, being able to designate working hours, and the perks of flexibility when they work is part of the reason many choose to be self-employed.

It’s common for the previous generation to think that the younger ones are less responsible, spend more, save less, and the list goes on!