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Personal Finance Resources
Learn how to take control of your finances. Read our blog posts below on debt, budgeting, investing and more.
December Market Commentary
Defying GravityWritten by Stephen Schwartz (2003)Defying Gravity Movie sequels often carry lofty expectations based on the success of the original. Fans are enthusiastic to find out how the story continues, who the next villain may be, or what unusual predicament the...
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July Market Commentary – The Fed Takes a Micro-Holiday
June Recap and July Outlook The Fed finally hit “pause” on interest rate increases in June after fifteen months and ten consecutive rate hikes. The “dot-plot” indicated that Fed officials think two further increases may be necessary in 2023, and it’s become clear that...
How To Open a High-Interest Bank Account
Opening a savings account is typically a great idea. Money in a savings account can be used for an emergency, a large purchase, a down payment, unexpected expenses, or even a rainy day. Savings accounts are different from checking accounts because the purpose is to...
Choosing the Right Retirement Plan Contributions: Pre-Tax, Roth, or After-Tax?
If your employer-sponsored 457(b), 403(b), or 401(k) plan offers Pre-tax or Roth contributions, which should you choose? How do you know which one might be appropriate for your needs? Let's break down the differences and highlight key features of each. Pre-Tax: For...
June Market Commentary – A Hot Labor Market Complicates the Fed’s Timeline
May Recap and June Outlook The debt ceiling negotiations dominated headlines throughout the month. By month end, the deal was hammered out and on its way through Congress to end up on the president's desk before "X-Date" when the Treasury ran out of money. The...
Taking Advantage of Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans such as 401(k), 457(b), and 403(b)s are some of the most powerful retirement savings tools available. If your employer offers such a plan and you're not participating in it, you should be. Once you're participating in a...
Cutting Through The Noise: Explaining the Debt Ceiling & Deficit Spending
Cutting Through The Noise: Explaining the Debt Ceiling & Deficit Spending The U.S. government hitting the debt ceiling severely affects the country's financial stability. If the government cannot borrow more money to pay off its debts, it could result in...
May Market Commentary – The End of a Fed Cycle?
The End of a Fed Cycle? April Recap and May Outlook The biggest news in the Fed’s statement after their meeting on May 3 was what it didn’t say. The Fed’s statement from March contained the language “the Committee anticipates that some additional policy firming may be...
April Market Commentary – All’s Well That Ends Well? Not So Fast…
March recap and April Outlook Equity markets, using the S&P 500 index return as a proxy, at first glance appear to have shrugged off the mid-month drama of multiple domestic, regional bank failures and the forced sale of a massive Swiss bank. Attention was...
Financial Literacy Month: Common Sense Money Rules to Up Your Financial Management
Financial Literacy Month: Common Sense Money Rules to Up Your Financial Management Financial literacy month is a time when we remind ourselves to learn as much about keeping money as we do making it. April is Financial Literacy month in the US, so designated by a US...
The Top 12 Credit Card Mistakes People Make
The Top 12 Credit Card Mistakes People It’s all too easy to make financial mistakes when you have your first credit card. If you don’t know how to preserve your financial standing and your credit score, it can be easy to fall into trouble. Millions of people every...