Blog

Weekly Market Insights: Friday Rally Trims Losses; CPI Report Next Week

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Monday, May 8, 2023

A Friday rebound, triggered by a big tech company’s earnings beat and a strong jobs report, shaved much of the week’s accumulated losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.24%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500...

Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rally As Attention Shifts to Fed's May Meeting

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Monday, May 1, 2023

Strong earnings from several mega-cap technology companies offset renewed regional banking jitters and weak economic data, leaving stocks higher for the week.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.86%, while the Standard &...

What Factors Have the Greatest Impact on Your Credit Score?

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Friday, April 28, 2023

Fun fact: You probably have dozens of credit scores out there, and each one might be a different number.You’re probably familiar with a credit score, why it’s essential, and what it’s used for, but do you know how...

Weekly Market Insights: Stocks show small losses after mixed week

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Monday, April 24, 2023

Stocks remained resilient last week amid mixed earnings reports, hawkish Fed-speak, and lingering recession fears, closing out the five trading days with small losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.23%, while the Standard &...

Important Financial Considerations to Make When Remarrying Later in Life

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Monday, April 17, 2023

Discussing personal finances is important for any couple preparing for marriage. However, this topic can be more complicated for those who remarry later in life.If you’re remarrying later in life, one of your goals should be to...

Top Considerations to Help Adult Children Be Better Prepared As You Age

Trevor R. Randall, CFP®, MSPFP, RICP®

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

As we get older, it’s important that our adult children are prepared to manage any aging-related situations that may arise. This includes everything from having to make medical and financial decisions to determining assisted...

Your asset allocation strategy represents your personal decisions about how much of your portfolio to allocate to various investment categories, such as stocks, bonds, cash, and other alternatives. When stock market returns were above...

Are you an investor or a trader? If you’re a trader, looking to build your wealth through a long series of profitable short-term transactions, then knowing what the indicators are showing month-to-month can be critical to your...

A general retirement planning rule of thumb indicates that you’ll need 70% to 80% of your preretirement income. Many estimates now indicate that may be too little for those who want to live an active retirement lifestyle. But...

Often, spouses don’t retire at the same time. Frequently, one spouse may retire before the other due to health problems or a layoff, not necessarily because the spouse chooses to retire early. No matter what the reason, keep...

On a broad basis, there are a few main investment objectives to help you accomplish your goals. Understanding these objectives is important because certain investment strategies and products are appropriate for one type of goal but...

There are two primary factors that affect bond prices — interest rate changes and credit rating changes. Interest rate changes typically will cause a bond’s value to fluctuate more than credit rating changes. As interest...

If you find that you’re not living within your budget every month, it’s time to take a step back to understand why. The following questions can help you find the issues that may be wreaking havoc on your budget and figure...

Tax-advantaged savings plans, like 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), help your money grow faster than taxable investments, but they’re not always the right place for all of your savings. Here is a rundown on...

A great many investors are aware of only one way to manage their bonds: buy them and hold them until they mature, reinvesting the redeemed funds in more bonds to hold until they mature. Not surprisingly, this is called a buy-and-hold...

Signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, also known as the SECURE Act, is intended to increase access to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, helping older...

Many people confuse tax planning with tax preparation and only think about it when preparing their annual tax return. However, there is little you can do to actually lower your tax bill when preparing your return. If your goal is to...

Financial rules of thumb are designed to provide quick guidelines for your finances. However, you shouldn’t blindly follow them without giving thought to your personal circumstances. Some of the more common financial rules of...

One of the most basic investment principles is that returns reward you for the risks that you take. While investors are often uncomfortable with the concept of risk, it is this uncertainty that makes higher rates of return possible....

You may think that after retirement you can sit back and stop worrying about money…after all, you scrimped and saved for decades. You’re comfortable with what you’ve put away and now it’s time to relax....

The fact is, investing isn’t just about making your money work for you. It’s about making your money work for you for a particular purpose. In other words, you need a goal. Here are four specific reasons why a goal-focused...

Of the three main asset classes, bonds often appear the least exciting. Perhaps the combination of their stable and seemingly turtle-paced growth decreases their likelihood of crossing investors’ minds when it comes to any goal,...

Avoid these common investor mistakes when making investment portfolio decisions: Chasing performance. Investors often pull out of sectors that are not performing well, moving that money to high performing investments. But the market is...

Although you’ll have to wait a good while before they’ll thank you for it, teaching your children to be financially responsible is one of the best gifts you can give them. Of course, the earlier they start to learn about...

To gain a better understanding of how we’re affected by risk when building a retirement portfolio, it’s important to learn about risk tolerance and what it means for you as an investor. What Is Risk Tolerance? Risk...

Market timing involves making market buy and sell decisions based on your prediction of the future performance of the market. A buy-and-hold investment strategy, in contrast, involves buying in to the market on a regular basis and...

Don’t have a calculator handy, but need a quick answer to a financial question? Here are three shortcuts: How long will it take to double your money? Divide 72 by your annual investment return. If you are earning 8% annually on...

You’re off to college. It’s an exciting time filled with firsts — the first time living away from home, the first time you’re on your own for meals and laundry, and the first time you have to manage your own...

Millions of Americans are stay-at-home parents. While they may not get paid a regular salary, they perform vital work caring for children and managing the household. Unfortunately, since this work doesn’t come with a paycheck, it...

In addition to starting the company that publishes The Wall Street Journal, Charles Dow (1851–1902) also lent his name to one of the most popular U.S. stock market indexes (the Dow Jones Industrial Average) and created a theory...

Though it’s typical for parents to underscore the value of a college education from the time their children are in grade school, what’s more commonly overlooked are the benefits of encouraging them to save for their...

Bonds have a reputation as safe, stable investments. But writing off bonds as boring investments best for the risk-averse could be a mistake. While it’s true that investing in bonds tends to lack the dramatic highs (and the lows)...