Archive - February 18, 2016

1
Deep Dive into Credit Cards
2
What Are The Odds That The Stock Market Will Go Up This Year?
3
What’s Your Five Year Plan?

Deep Dive into Credit Cards

Feb 18 2016
Browse archives for February 18, 2016
Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA
Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA

Hi. My name is Bridget Sullivan Mermel. I started a fee-only financial planning firm, Sullivan Mermel, Inc. We especially enjoy working with attorneys, small business owners, near retirees, and clients interested in socially responsible investing.

We practice in a small niche of the industry called fee-only, which focuses on giving un-biased advice. We don't take commission, get kick-backs, or sell products. We have no hidden agendas. Our focus is on giving our clients the best comprehensive advice possible.

I started out with a tax practice in 1997. I could see that clients wanted and needed help not just with their taxes, but with other areas of their personal finances, too. When I found out about fee-only advising, with its emphasis on giving bias-free advice, I was hooked! I love helping people understand and improve their fiances.

I worked as manager and district manager during the start-up phase of Starbucks. I also worked supporting high profile litigation and in the back office of a derivatives firm.

I have a BA in Accounting and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Masters in Liberal Arts from DePaul University in Chicago. I am a Certified Financial Planner™ as well as a Certified Public Accountant.

All posts from Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA
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Recently a client emailed me to ask, “What is the best credit card?” Then, at a family holiday, four of my nieces and nephews asked the same thing.

I have mixed feelings about credit cards.

As with most financial planning decisions, picking a credit card is a good opportunity to check in with your values. Can you express your values while picking a credit card? The answer is a qualified yes.

The best deals, however, are reserved for the people who express the value “I value the best deal.”Read More...… Read More

What Are The Odds That The Stock Market Will Go Up This Year?

Feb 18 2016
Browse archives for February 18, 2016
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David John Marotta, CFP®, AIF®

David John Marotta, CFP®, AIF®, is President of Marotta Wealth Management, Inc. of Charlottesville providing fee-only financial planning and wealth management at www.emarotta.com and blogging at www.marottaonmoney.com.

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The stock market is inherently volatile, but it is more likely to go up than down. Defining “the stock market” as the aggregate capitalization of all the securities listed on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ exchanges, there have been only 22 years out of 89 in which the markets were down. That means that about 75% of the time, the year ends with the stock market gaining money.

Those are good odds and a good reason to remain invested even after a year in which the markets went down.

But how volatile are the markets really?

Of the 22 …

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What’s Your Five Year Plan?

Feb 18 2016
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Forrest Baumhover

Forrest Baumhover joined Lawrence Financial Planning in 2018 after a rewarding 24-year Navy career. He holds a B.S. in English from the United States Naval Academy and an M.B.A from Old Dominion University. Forrest has been a CFP® professional since 2015. He is also enrolled before the IRS as a tax practitioner.

As a veteran and a financial planner, Forrest understands the difficulties of being financially prepared for the unexpected. His personal experience in helping sailors resolve their own financial challenges inspired him to become a financial planner.

Forrest has been quoted in USA Today, Forbes.com, Christian Science Monitor, Business Insider, and other industry publications.

Originally a native of Dade City, Florida, Forrest has lived in Tampa since 2014. In his spare time, he volunteers as a transportation specialist, transporting his three children from activity to activity.

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I was catching up with an old friend the other day, and he told me that his favorite question to ask Sailors is, “What is your 5-year plan?” That question immediately resonated with me in so many different ways, because it’s a philosophy that has resonated with me throughout my career, even if I never thought of it in terms of that exact question. This article serves to outline some of the dimensions in which you could (and probably should) think about in terms of a 5-year plan. JW-Thanks for the idea!

Military career-Obviously, since this blog is focused …

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