Retirement Fitness Challenge – SHAPE UP YOUR FINANCES AND MAKE YOUR MONEY LAST A LIFETIME

There’s More to Retirement than Just Numbers

Have you considered the emotional aspects of retirement and how to plan wisely? In today’s world, people are working well past the age of 65 before retiring. Some people who are in good health may not be ready to retire just yet because they like what they do, want to keep busy, or need the extra money. If retirement isn’t in the cards just yet, it never hurts to begin preparing emotionally for the change that will occur in life when retirement does happen and a new phase of life begins. If ...

As financial advisors, we use facts and logic to guide our clients through investment decisions, rather than emotion. Even the most perceptive investors, armed with years of market experience, can fall prey to mental biases that lead to poor investment decisions. While it’s impossible to completely eliminate mental biases, we help our clients identify and minimize common investment biases that can lead to costly investment mistakes. What are the most common biases in investing? Behavioral ...

What value does a financial advisor actually provide? This may surprise you, but the value of a quality financial advisor goes far beyond portfolio advice. It’s about guiding clients to develop sophisticated financial behaviors. With robo-advisors and consistent market volatility in the headlines, it’s important to realize the comprehensive advantages of working with a personal advisor – not a computer algorithm. A recent study by Fidelity Investments discovered that working with a financial ...

Ever find yourself daydreaming about retirement? Whether your dream retirement entails traveling the world, dedicating time to beloved hobbies, or helping your children and grandchildren, saving enough for retirement is critical to enjoying all of these endeavors. Everyone deserves the best retirement possible, but numerous planning mistakes can cause retirement plans to fall short. According to recent studies, retirement savings look grim for ...

Preparing Your Children for Adulthood through Financial Literacy As a financial advisor, I learn a lot about clients’ short and long-term financial goals through many conversations and building relationships with them. I also often learn about their frustrations and regrets regarding past financial decisions. During these conversations about financial regrets, I often remind clients that it is important to remember that with time comes perspective and experience. So while they, as adults, may ...

Americans are living longer. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most people aren’t financially prepared. Many Baby Boomers will be in retirement for over 20 years and unfortunately, many aren’t saving and investing with a longer life-expectancy in mind. There are serious consequences to financial planning around the wrong life expectancy. Some retirees are working later in life; others live in fear of running out of money, while others are leaving less of a legacy than they hoped. No ...

2018 Key Financial Data Card

In light of the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, I wanted to send a quick, easy-to-follow reference card with the new tax brackets and other numbers that investors need on taxes, Social Security, healthcare, Medicare, retirement, college planning and more. The guide presents these numbers in simple calculation tables to help you estimate and manage your tax bill. The tables also have information that can help you make more informed decisions about your investments and retirement ...

Manage Your Freak Out Risk

When I think of someone doing something irrational I picture when my two year old son is tired, doesn't get his way, or when we tell him he has to eat his vegetables. His reaction isthat he usually freaks out and does something like throw himself on the floor, hit or bite his sister and parents or breaks one of his toys. While investors probably don't hit or bite each other like my son does, they often freak out and make irrational decisions with their money when there is market volatility. ...

Rebalancing

Just like balancing your car tires is maintenance that should be performed periodically, rebalancing your portfolio is a healthy activity that can be done to improve your investment returns. Rebalancing is the process of realigning the weightings of the investments in your portfolio of assets. We do this by periodically buying or selling assets in your accounts to maintain the original, desired strategy. Now I know that when you think of balanced you think of a 50/50 split; however, this is not ...

Almost everyone stresses over the daily obligations of financial planning, but many also neglect the significant life stages that require special attention and strategies. Here are 8 key life events that could benefit from professional financial guidance. Graduating from College College graduation marks the first major transition into adulthood. The progression from school to career is a significant milestone and the perfect time to get financial advice. Whether you or a ...

Long Term Care Insurance: What You Need to Know

Let’s start with a basic explanation of what long-term care insurance is. Long-term care is needed when an individual is diagnosed with a chronic illness or disability and require assistance to help them perform daily activities. These activities vary from simple activities like eating, bathing and dressing; to complicated skilled care that requires a nurse or a professional. Being provided with these services daily becomes expensive and this is where long-term care insurance can help. LTC ...

Healthcare costs and length of life - be sure you have thought long and hard about these two very real issues facing current and future retirees. People are living longer than they ever have before and with the cost of healthcare around $1,200-$1,800 a month, retiring early may be much trickier than you may have ever thought. If you want to retire prior to 65, when you are eligible for Medicare, healthcare costs will be your biggest challenge that can devour your savings. Coupled ...

ETFs are all the rage right now in investing for good reason. They are tax efficient with low expenses and can be used to create almost any investing strategy imaginable. XLI is an example of an ETF that contains only stocks in the industrial sector. When you invest in XLI, you're getting a small piece of 500 different stocks. After seeing an advertisement in Barron's magazine this weekend for XLI, I was reminded that with every ETF you have to take the bad with the good. General Electric ...

When you partner with someone to help manage your financials, you want to ensure that he or she is truly a trusted financial advisor with only your interests and goals in mind, not just a salesperson looking to make a commission. Below are the 5 main differences between a trusted advisor and a salesperson. Fiduciary A trusted advisor is a fiduciary and always acts in your best interest. They won't be talked into selling you a product even if you insist. A salesperson follows the ...

"What return can I expect? How much are the fees? How often will we meet?" These are often the questions that arise when you're ready to have your money managed by a financial advisor. These are all simple questions to answer, however, the most important question you should ask yourself is this: Is this the right advisor for me? OK, let’s get real here. Life can throw us curve balls and sometimes bad things happen to good people. Trusted financial advisors like Bautis Financial are not just ...

Not many of us like to follow a set of rules, but for each component of our life we need to set some personal rules, or standards that can apply to our everyday obligations. If we don't it's like we are flying blind and that area of our life can quickly turn chaotic. For example to have optimal health some good rules to follow are: Lift Things and Move Around... Avoid Excess Stress... Don't Put Toxic Things in Your Body... Nourish Your Body With Whole Foods... If we establish ...

When target date funds miss the mark…

A target date fund is a type of mutual fund that is popular in retirement accounts like 401k's. The way they are supposed to work is that you select the fund with the date closest to your retirement year and the fund will adjust itself over the years to become more conservative in its investment allocations as you get older. They funds have names like: Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 ...

Wide Moat Investing

Wide Moat Investing is a strategy of buying the stock of companies that have a sustainable competitive business advantage. This advantage makes it difficult for competitors to wear down and take market share and profit. This term is taken from a moat around a castle. The larger the moat the harder it would be for an enemy to attack the castle. The term wide moat investing was coined by Warren Buffet. There are five characteristics that a company must possess for it to be ...

One of the questions I receive when someone starts saving for their children’s college via a 529 plan is what happens if their children do not go to college. One option is to have another family member use the funds in the 529 plan to pay for their education. If we take that into account along with the fact that there is no time limit on when the 529 funds have to be used and that the money inside the 529 grows tax-free I created the image below to show how one 529 plan can be used to create a ...

Appearance on the Nadexa Group Podcast

I made a recent appearance on Jen Selverian's, The Nadexa Group Podcast. We discussed - What it means to be a fiduciary - What an engagement with me as a financial advisor starts with - Why understanding your cash flow is important You can view the interview here ...

Annual College Education Progress Report

Our children get report cards at school that show how they are progressing with their learning. As parents we should get a progress report that shows how well a parent is saving for their children’s college education. I started putting together an annual report that projects what percentage of college expenses you can cover based…

Does Johnny Depp Have Enough Saved For Retirement?

A question I often get helping someone put a a financial plan together is “Do I have enough saved up to retire?” It is a valid question because for most people it’s a daunting decision to pull the trigger to stop working and live the rest of their life off of the assets they have…

A Debt Winter Wonderland

(By: Matthew DePompeo) Debt is something incurred by many households in America. There are many different types of debt. Some of the most common debts are credit card debts, mortgages, Student loans, and auto loans. Some other less common debts can be personal loans and medical debts. Some debt would be classified as “good debt”…

2017 Key Financial Data

While there’s tons of information out there on money and taxes, it can be somewhat confusing and time-consuming to find what you need as you organize and plan your personal finances. Below is a link to a 2017 Key Financial Data reference card, which offers fingertip access to this year’s numbers on Social Security, taxes,…

THE EFFECT OF INCREASED INTEREST RATES

By: Matthew DePompeo On Wednesday December 14, the Fed chair Janet Yellen held a news conference announcing that the Federal Reserve is raising its benchmark interest rate. They raised the interest rate by 0.25%, this is only the second time that they have increased interest rates in a decade, the second of which being in…

Markets vs Pundits

Although financial pundits tend to paint a negative (sometimes catastrophic) picture of the markets to the general public, the stock market has maintained a consistently upward trend from the end of 2010 through 2016. Staying invested through short-term market peaks and valleys pays off in the long run, but a lot of people may have…

Meet Matthew DePompeo

I would like to introduce you to Matthew DePompeo. Matthew recently joined Bautis Financial as a Client Service Associate. In that role, Matthew will help guide clients through the on-boarding process, initiate and monitor account transfers, help prepare for client meetings, and maintain communication between clients and the firm. Matthew is a graduate of William…

2016 Year End Financial Planning

Every year I send out a checklist to try to put the focus on some areas – like taxes, investments, health care, insurance, and retirement that may need attention before the end of the year. In this article I wanted to highlight an item or two from each area of the checklist and why it…

Where is Your Money Going?

I often talk about the importance of getting a handle on cash flow, which is the income you have coming in and where it goes. Getting a handle on your cash flow is the foundation of taking control of your finances. The image below shows how there are different things that will compete for your…

How a Clinton or Trump Presidency could affect the Economy

By Anthony Rubinich In American History, there has surely never been an election quite like this. Between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, I wish I could say that the stakes weren’t high. Unfortunately, this is a very important election. The winner of the election will inherit a $19 trillion debt. Never before in the history…

The Next Generation of ETF Investing

By Cody Laska In the age of “smart everything” from phones and watches to cars and even refrigerators, it would make sense for the financial service industry to offer a “smart” product of its own. Adding onto a design that has been around since the 1970s and conceived in 2003 is the Smart Beta ETF….

Paradise Lost: The Puerto Rican Debt Crisis

By Anthony Rubinich On July 4th 1776, the American colonies declared independence from Great Britain. In 2016, the island territory of Puerto Rico is fighting for a different kind of independence. As the Revolutionary War was fought with bayonets and muskets, Puerto Rico’s fight for financial independence is being fought with words and money. Unfortunately,…

The Four Roles I Play as a Financial Advisor

When you are in college and thinking about different career paths, the possibilities can seem endless. Sometimes, this endlessness can be overwhelming to think about because by choosing one path, it can feel like you’re shutting out another and the opportunities it could have brought. When I was in college, I thought I would like…

Brexit: The Index Case

By Anthony Rubinich On June 23rd, 2016, the British people voted to leave the European Union, the first time in EU history. While to the casual listener this would appear as a seemingly innocuous event, the decision has global economic and social implications. Within hours of the announcement, stock prices plummeted and international markets were…

The Tenets of Ethical Investing

By Anthony Rubinich The opening to the 21st Century has been wrought with one huge corporate scandal after another. From Enron to Madoff, it appears as though good faith and ethical values are hard to come by in a world of suits. However, in light of these scandals, many people have taken to a new…

The Rent-or-Buy Debate

Over the last couple years, there has been much discussion on whether it’s smarter to rent or buy a home. For generations, owning a home was a sign of success, a trophy. That changed when the housing bubble burst in 2007, sparking the Recession. From that moment on, the façade of success and financial stability associated with…

Financial Tips for College Grads

As part of my internship, I was asked to write an article about how newly college grads should spend their money. While I’m only half way through college, I like to think I have matured in many ways since high school. While many people can say they had the “time of their life” in high…

Last Chance To Take Advantage Of These Social Security Claiming Strategies Before They Are Gone

As part of the Budget Act of 2015, two popular Social Security claiming strategies, “File and Suspend” and “Claim Now, Claim More Later”, will not longer be allowed. For anyone who is 66 or older they have until April 29, 2016 to decide if they would like to utilize one of the two strategies. File and…

Take Advantage Of These “Loopholes” Before They Are Gone

If you want to know what areas you should be aiming to take advantage of with your finances look no further than the “loopholes” that are included to be closed or slashed in proposed budget deals or by presidential candidates on the campaign trail.Two of the “loopholes” we are going to look at in this…

Terror And The Markets

Over the past couple of weeks we saw terror attacks in Paris, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mali, and Lebanon. A bomb took down a Russian airliner in Egypt and Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian bomber they claim infringed on their airspace. France and Russia are on a bombing spree in Syria. The markets typically do…

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WANT TO BECOME FINANCIALLY FIT ENOUGH TO LIVE THE RETIREMENT OF YOUR DREAMS?

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