When You Can Afford to Save More, Where Should You Put It?
Written by: Deborah Cartisser January is a great time to review your budget and determine how much you can save and what to do with the extra savings. Perhaps you received a raise or a bonus at year-end and want to know what to do with the excess. Where can you make the most significant […]
Tame the Holiday Chaos and Avoid Overspending
Written by: Deborah Cartisser Welcome to the most expensive time of the year. The holidays can be a stress filled race against time or they can be a joyous time spent with family & friends, inspired by the wonder of the season. With some planning and simplification, you might be able to experience more enjoyment. Are […]
Massachusetts Millionaire’s Tax: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!
Written by: Deborah Cartisser Last November, voters approved new legislation to change the state’s constitution to impose a 4% surtax on income that exceeds $1 million, in addition to the 5% flat income tax. The law went into effect on January 1 of this year. Governor Maura Healey expects the new tax to generate $1 billion […]
The College Conversation
Written by: Deborah Cartisser When it comes to selecting the right college, families should start the discussion with money. With all the choices available, there are different ways to get a degree and the price tags associated with them vary significantly. Too often the funding element is left out of discussion until the end of the […]
Safeguarding Your Finances As You Age
Written by: Deborah Cartisser We will all experience some form of diminished capacity as we age. Cognitive decline begins in our 20s and intensifies after age 60. We have all heard stories of the person who simply stopped opening their mail, the parent who started giving large sums of money to a charity no one had […]
Beyond Estate Planning: Don’t Die Without Doing This
Written by: Deborah Cartisser If we, as rational, intelligent beings, are aware of our mortality, why is it that most of us are unprepared for our own deaths? As a financial advisor, I have seen the messy situations created by those who depart with their financial world in disarray or cloaked in secrecy. I wouldn’t […]
How Rising Interest Rates Affect You
When you hear about the Federal Reserve it may be hard to imagine that their actions have a direct affect on you. The truth of the matter is that their policies, including those related to interest rates, are felt all the way down to the consumer level, for better or for worse.
3 Tax Tips to Save Your Spring
Filing taxes can be an intimidating process and in the stress of it all, sometimes we can forget to do the obvious or skip over the basics, making it even harder on ourselves. If you file your own taxes the following three simple tips can save you time, headaches and even money in the long run.
How You Can Provide For Your Family Even When You’re Gone
Most people pride themselves on being the breadwinner for their family. They achieve great satisfaction from working hard to meet the financial needs of their spouse and children. These days, in many cases, both spouses share the responsibility of earning to support their kids.
The Importance of an Independent Review on Your Life Insurance
Over my nearly twenty years in the financial services business I have seen countless instances where a failure to review and monitor life insurance policies has led to a rude awakening for a person or, worse yet, their family. Sadly, many individuals operate under the mistaken belief
Getting Your (Personal Document) House in Order
While financial planning and investing services are the most prominent aspects of wealth management it’s important to note the smaller steps on the path to financial success. It is essential clients have their personal documents in order before financial planning occurs.
Finding the Right Home for Financial Documents
Financial document storage and organization can be overwhelming, especially when considering the choice between physical or cloud storage. We refrain from throwing anything away because we never really know when we might need to reference a certain document, and getting a new copy is often a time consuming inconvenience.