Our Blog
What’s on our mind? You can read about it in our blog. Whether it’s ideas from the industry or emerging trends, you can read about it here. And once in a while, we may throw in a movie review or some other surprise. So keep checking in. We’re glad to have you reading along.
Managing Your Finances in Your 70s and Beyond
The financial situation you were in thirty years ago is far different from the financial situation you’re in now. You likely have different concerns and priorities. In this email, we’ve prepared a few considerations for...
Read MoreUnderstanding Types of Retirement Accounts
Chances are your employer provides varying benefit plan incentives designed to help you save for retirement. All employer retirement plans fit into two main categories: qualified retirement plans and non-qualified retirement plans. We...
Read MoreDon’t Fall for These 5 Common Money Misconceptions
We have all heard bad financial advice at some point in our lives. These misconceptions seem small but end up doing more harm than good. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions we’ve heard repeated by clients...
Read MoreHow Much is Too Much to Give Away?
Are Your Financial Gifts Costing You?Know the financial gift limits to avoid unnecessary taxes.You might have heard about financial gift limitations and wondered if that’s something that applies to the financial gifts you give...
Read MoreWhich Debt Payoff Strategy is Right for You?
To choose the right debt payoff strategy, start with some questions about your budget and preferences. What do you value most? Do you prefer to save money on interest or pay off your entire balance? How motivated are you to repay your...
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Review Your Tax Withholdings
Why to Check Your WithholdingThe IRS doesn't require you to file a return unless you owe money. However, it does allow you to deduct certain taxes from your income, such as state and local sales taxes, property taxes, mortgage interest...
Read MoreReady for Medicare Open Enrollment?
Medicare’s annual open enrollment period begins October 15 and ends December 7. During this time, current Medicare beneficiaries have the option to adjust their coverage for the coming year. Any changes to your plan will go into...
Read MoreCompare a 403(b) with a Roth IRA
When deciding what types of retirement accounts you may need, it’s important to understand how your various options compare to each other. A few options you may have are 403(b) plans and Roth IRAs. It’s good to know...
Read MoreKnow These 5 Key Things Before Retirement
Throughout your life, you’ve likely dreamt about what your retirement will look like. There are many possibilities about what you can do with your time, where you can live and what your income and finances will look like.As you...
Read MoreIs Your Current Insurance the Right Fit for You?
Insurance Should Serve YouInsurance coverage changes from provider to provider and plan to plan, as well as from person to person. There will likely be times when you’re paying for insurance that you're not using. Even if...
Read MoreAre You Protecting Your Property Investments at the Minimal Standard
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Long-Term Care
ARE YOU READY TO PAY FOR LONG-TERM CARE? At some point in their lives, most people will need some long-term care whether that's at an assisted living community or at-home medical care. When preparing for this future, it can be hard to...
Read MoreFind the Right Insurance Plan For You
HSA vs PPO Open enrollment is coming up soon, and it's important to know about all your insurance plan options before deciding which one is right for you. Two options you could have are a Health Savings Account plan (HSA) and a...
Read More5 Steps to Being Financially Healthier
Try these 5 strategies to gain financial health. Being financially healthy looks different for everyone and every life stage. But what almost everyone can agree on are the benefits of creating positive habits to improve the health of...
Read MoreThe Roth IRA’s Secret Tax Benefits That Everyone Should Know
1. Tax-Free WithdrawalsMoney that goes into a Roth IRA is after-tax dollars. Because you've already paid taxes on that money, once it is withdrawn, it comes out tax-free. There are some restrictions on those withdrawals if you want to...
Read MoreWhy Is Good Credit Important?
Your next loan could have more favorable terms. In a world that's moving away from cash and becoming more dependent on credit, you've likely heard financial institutions talk about the importance of credit scores. Whether it was in...
Read MoreHow COVID-19 Caused a “She-Cession”
Since the 1980s, unemployment rates have trended higher amongst men than women during a recession. In previous periods of economic downturn, this made sense. Male-dominated industries, like construction and finance, were typically...
Read MoreThe IRS Extends Additional Tax Deadlines for IRAs, HSAs, and More
Previously, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year had been automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021.1More time for allHowever,...
Read MoreThe Shadow of Inflation
I’m sure you’ve heard that the House recently passed the Senate another round of stimulus to try and counteract the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new stimulus package could narrow income eligibility to...
Read MoreOil Prices on the Move
At this time last year, it was still unknown that a deadly global pandemic was on the rise, eventually stalling economic growth and sending crude oil prices into negative territory. But recently, oil prices have surged, with crude...
Read MoreJanuary 11, 2021 - Markets Start 2021 on a High
The Week on Wall Street Shrugging off COVID-19 infections and the disruption at the Capitol on January 6, stocks powered higher to kick off a new year of trading.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.61%, while the Standard &...
Read MoreYear End Stress
This year has been a complex muddle of changes, challenges and stress that comes with it. As we come to the end of this challenging year we would like to recognize that we have all had opportunities thrown at us based on those...
Read MoreOpen Enrollment
It’s open enrollment time! Am I the only one who gets excited about this time of year? For some companies, your window of opportunity to make any changes has already closed. For instance, Kinross closed their open enrollment...
Read MoreOpen Enrollment
Open enrollment season is the perfect time to review your benefits and options offered by your employer. This is also a great time to review that your plans and your benefits are both in alignment. Join us as we review the following...
Read MoreFAQ: Pension Distribution
Frequently Asked Question: I took a distribution from my pension plan and I am not sure I made the right choice …. What can I do now? Do you have questions on the decision you made to withdraw the lump sum benefit from your...
Read More529 Plan 101
Many parents today suffer from sticker shock when they learn what it costs to send their children to college. While the cost of college can be a hard pill to swallow, it’s never too early to get familiar with a 529 college...
Read MoreEncore Career Planning
Are you feeling the need for a new challenge in your life? Are you growing tired of working for someone else? Have you always had that “dream” and never went for it? Is now the time? Encore careers can help jump start the...
Read MoreInformation Overload
It was just six weeks ago and we were planning out our second quarter. Things with the world were running along at a pretty good clip. It would all change on March 15th when our governor announced closure of all schools. Less than a...
Read MoreAdapting to Working From Home
With changes coming at us faster than we can adapt, many people are currently working remotely from home in order to continue operating and not allow this crazy virus business to get the best of us. While working from home is a great...
Read MoreEmergency Funds
What is an emergency fund and why do you need one? An emergency fund is the money that you set aside to cover large unexpected expenses. These can be expenses such as an emergency room visit, replacing or repairing a large appliance in...
Read MoreWhat Are We Reading This Month?
The Unnamed Business Bookclub has chosen the book Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson for the month of February. This is a follow up to the previous book we read in December, Who Moved My Cheese, by the same author. Who Moved my...
Read MoreEmergency Savings Plan Challenge
It is that time of year when people typically spend more time thinking about spending than saving. However, for many of us, there is never a wrong time to take a few minutes to review what we have set aside in our Emergency Fund. When...
Read MoreFear - What Is Stopping You From Doing?
Have you ever been super excited to try something new or interested in something and you never do it? What stops you? Fear. But fear of what? Is it the fear of failing or is it the fear of succeeding? A friend of mine recently went...
Read MoreTurning Your Everyday Life Into A Vacation
“You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw How often have you been excited that you were going to work and that you get to see your clients...
Read MoreLashing Out
It’s back to school time and there are a million things to get done. Picking out notebooks, the pencils, getting haircuts scheduled so our children don’t look like feral beasts. It adds to the daily stress of work and home...
Read MoreDo you need a time out?
Do you need a time out? When was the last time that you a day off from work? When was the last time that you took an entire week off work? Statistically, Americans take less time off than people in other countries. The majority of...
Read MoreThe Importance of Budgeting
Do you have a budget? What is a budget? Do you even need a budget? A budget is a spending plan that allows an individual or multiple people to determine if they will have enough money to do all the things that they need to do, and all...
Read MoreCelebrate Success
Take a minute to celebrate your success. How often do you take a moment to look at what you’ve accomplished today? This week? This month? This year? Do you know what you’ve accomplished so far? A great way to realize what...
Read MoreI Am In Control
March 30th is “National I am in control day”. For some, this may not need a holiday as this is every day. But are you really in control? Do you want to be in control? What is control? Do you try to plan everything? This may...
Read MoreGiving Thanks
This month we celebrated a month of Love and Kindness with Random Acts of Kindness Week and Valentine’s Day falling within the same month. This brings to mind the act of saying THANK YOU. How often are we saying thank you to each...
Read MoreThe Power of Effective Goal Setting
New Year’s resolutions are one of the most commonly made and most rarely completed goals. By this time of the New Year, many New Year’s resolutions and goals that have been made have also been abandoned. Why does this...
Read MoreWhat is Coffee with Karen?
Each Friday, Innovative Advisors has open office hours from 9 am until 11 am. This is an opportunity to stop by our office without an appointment to ask those pressing questions that you have. In addition, the first Friday of each...
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