Fee-Only Financial Planning Advice

IRS Clarifies COVID-19 Relief Measures for Retirement Savers

Aug 04 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March 2020 ushered in several measures designed to help IRA and retirement plan account holders cope with financial fallout from the virus. The rules were welcome relief to many people, but left questions about the details unanswered. In late June, the IRS released Notices 2020-50 and 2020-51, which shed light on these outstanding issues.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs)

One CARES Act measure suspends 2020 RMDs from defined contribution plans and IRAs. Account holders who prefer to forgo RMDs from their accounts, or to withdraw a lower amount than required,

The Importance of Talking with Your Kids about Finances When Times are Tough

Jul 31 2020

The post The Importance of Talking with Your Kids about Finances When

The recent news on job loss is staggering. Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than it did in two years of the Great Recession. According to the Pew Research Center, the unemployment rate is higher than officially recorded, more so for women and certain other groups. If you think those kinds of headlines are frightening for you to read as an adult, imagine the impact that your financial insecurity has on your children. I feel strongly that parents need to be honest and straightforward with …

Outline an Investment Strategy Instead of Chasing Hot Investments

Jul 28 2020

To respond to requests for information about what people should invest in, The Motley Fool doesn’t offer a list of specific companies but instead outlines some rules of thumb that novice investors could follow.

Having an investment strategy is important. Rather than chasing what you think may be a hot investment, find a way to make the most of your resources and invest in a way that will make you feel comfortable and yield results. This is where a Fee-Only financial planner can help. If you aren’t comfortable with your investments, you can bring unnecessary on yourself. You may …

College Students and Their Families Face Tough Choices

Jul 21 2020

College students face some tough choices as they look to how they will continue their college education that was likely disrupted in some way by the pandemic during this past spring semester. Some classes are all online or partially online and some students can’t fully pursue their courses of study because of the need for people to keep their distance from each other.

Good Housekeeping offers some perspective and advice for families who are weighing their options for the fall semester and beyond. Since no one can really predict what will happen, students and their families have to consider …

Financial Power of Attorney: Are You Responsible for Covering Debt?

Jul 14 2020

A Live Chat with The Washington Post’s Color of Money columnist Michelle Singletary posed an interesting question about handling a parent’s debt. The person who wrote in to the chat has financial power of attorney and has had to move that parent into an assisted living facility. The parent had $3,000 in credit card debt that the credit card company is pressuring the adult child to pay off using monthly payments: “While his account had been closed for fraud, I didn’t see anything too suspicious. I called the cc company to discuss options. They offered me a 5 year payment …

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Required minimum distributions (RMDs)