A fat tax refund is just another way to say you paid too much taxes! Did you just get a fat tax refund or a big bill? Either way it could be a sign of poor financial planning says Chappaqua’s Scott Kahan CFP®. We asked him to give us his best tips on tax planning and financial planning. Here’s what he sent us…

The curvature of U.S. bond yields has attracted a lot of press of late.  Atlas has written about it in some of our blogs, and the significance of a possible inversion has frequently been a subject of discussion at our Pie Parties.  Whatever current shape the curve takes or your choice of maturity, the returns are still positive.  That's to be expected, right? 

Gratitude

By: Gary R. Oman

As Easter approaches, it seemed to me that this would be an opportunity to express my appreciation.  Sometimes, in passing, we reflect on people or acts of kindness or other things, saying, “that was thoughtful or that was nice”.  Those are good thoughts but sometimes more is better.

From Bob Reby's The President's Letter in the Spring 2019 Newsletter

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

The term ‘stock options’ is kind of a catch-all to describe a form of incentive compensation usually awarded to a select group of highly compensated employees. Options can come in many forms, which is why there is often a lot of confusion surrounding stock as a form of compensation and what it means to the person receiving it from an ownership and tax standpoint. There are numerous articles which cover these two items in detail, but what is often unaddressed is the financial planning impact of having stock options and what it means from risk, income and asset allocation perspective (the ‘big picture’ stuff).

Market Commentary – A Strong Start to the Year, but Risks Remain

After suffering their worst December since the Great Depression, stocks had their best first quarter in ten years primarily due to the Federal Reserve halting interest rate increases and improving U.S-China trade relations. Perhaps the most impactful event of Q1 was the Fed

Time certainly goes by fast. One day you’re interviewing for your first job and the next thing you know you’re a few short years from applying for Social Security.

While it’s never too early or too late to start planning for retirement, when it comes to retirement savings in the U.S., later seems to be the standard. According to RothIRA.com, only 56% of today’s workers in the U.S. are currently saving money for their retirement, and 38% of those currently saving have less than $10,000 saved. With one-third of Americans admitting that they have no retirement savings at all, it’s clear that many U.S. workers will reach retirement age with little to no resources to count on.

If you’re currently considering purchasing investment property, there are an equal measure of risks and rewards. Like any investment, risk can be managed, but you want to be aware of the risks prior to investing in property. And like any investment, there can be rewards, some quite large.