Posted in Finances

Changing Your State of Domicile

Whether relocating from a high-income tax state to a low-income tax state or moving to another state with increased asset protection, property owners, especially those of high net-worth, should consider certain factors for establishing domicile. Many residents of Minnesota love to move to Florida. They love the warm weather during the long winter, the ocean, the beaches and also the tax advantages. Minnesota is a high-income tax state. One of the highest. Florida as no state income taxes. Changing your…
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Tax Event

Watch Out for These Financial Pitfalls in the New Year

As people move through different stages of life, there are new financial opportunities and potential pitfalls around every corner. Here are common money mistakes to watch out for at every age. Your 20s & 30s Being financially illiterate. By learning as much as you can about saving, budgeting, and investing now, you could benefit from it for the rest of your life. Not saving regularly. Save a portion of every paycheck and then spend what’s left over — not the…
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Four Steps to Rebuilding Your Business

Few business owners have escaped the financial effects of stay-at-home orders, new safety protocols, and consumer fears related to the pandemic. Even if you took advantage of temporary federal, state, or local relief funds to help you stay afloat during the worst months, you could be expecting significantly lower sales and profits for 2020 overall. The short- and mid-term outlook for small businesses is still uncertain and varies by region and industry. In fact, challenging economic conditions could persist locally…
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Five Investment Tasks to Tackle by Year-End

Market turbulence in 2020 may have wreaked havoc on your investment goals for the year. It probably also highlighted the importance of periodically reviewing your investment portfolio to determine whether adjustments are needed to keep it on track. Now is a good time to take on these five year-end investment tasks. 1. Evaluate Your Investment Portfolio To identify potential changes to your investment strategy, consider the following questions when reviewing your portfolio: •How did your investments perform during the year?…
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Money Hacks

There is a big trend right now of life hacks. So, I came up with three money hacks that you can do now to change how you think and feel about your money. Open your wallet. Look at your money and how it is organized. Is your money a mess in your wallet? Or is it nicely organized? If you have all your money in an orderly fashion that is much different than if your money is out of order,…
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Job Loss – How to Financially Cope

If you have lost your job, it is important not to panic. Breathe. Stay calm. Everything always works out how it is supposed to. Here are four things you can do now to ease the stress financially and emotionally if you have been laid off. Assess your situation. Now is the time to be calm and to stop and look where you are and where you would like to be. If you don’t have a budget, create one. If you…
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Markus Winkler

Tapping Retirement Savings During a Financial Crisis

As the number of COVID-19 cases began to skyrocket in March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The legislation may make it easier for Americans to access money in their retirement plans, temporarily waiving the 10% early-withdrawal penalty and increasing the amount they could borrow. Understanding these new guidelines and the other rules for loans and early withdrawals may help you determine if they are appropriate options during a financial crisis. (Remember that tapping…
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Turbulent Times: Bear Markets Come and Go

The longest bull market in history lasted almost 11 years before coronavirus fears and the realities of a seriously disrupted U.S. economy brought it to an end.1 Bear markets are typically defined as declines of 20% or more from the most recent high, and bull markets are sustained increases of 20% or more from the bear market low. But there is no official declaration, so often there are different interpretations and a fair amount of debate regarding when these cycles…
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Changing Jobs? Know Your 401(k) Options

If you’ve lost your job, or are changing jobs, you may be wondering what to do with your 401(k) plan account. It’s important to understand your options. What will I be entitled to? If you leave your job (voluntarily or involuntarily), you’ll be entitled to a distribution of your vested balance. Your vested balance always includes your own contributions(pre-tax, after-tax, and Roth) and typically any investment earnings on those amounts.It also includes employer contributions (and earnings) that have satisfied your…
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Eleven Ways to Help Yourself Stay Sane in a Crazy Market

Keeping your cool can be hard to do when the market goes on one of its periodic roller-coaster rides. It’s useful to have strategies in place that prepare you both financially and psychologically to handle market volatility. Here are 11 ways to help keep yourself from making hasty decisions that could have a long-term impact on your ability to achieve your financial goals. 1. Have a game plan Having predetermined guidelines that recognize the potential for turbulent times can help…
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