Category Archives: Regular Blog

2014 Market Index Chart Update

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Admin

The market didn’t give us the traditional end of year “Santa Clause” rally and 2015 hasn’t exactly started out with a bang (the worst start since 2008). About 3 weeks ago, I sent out an email entitled something like “Is the market REALLY at all time highs?” Basically what I wrote and showed with an attached chart is that only the S&P 500, DOW and Nasdaq really had a great 2014. These indexes are dominated by a few mega cap … Continue reading

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Mutual fund owners to get BIG tax hit‏!

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Admin

Many of you who have mutual funds in a brokerage (taxable) account are about to get a nasty surprise – a big 1099 which will result in your having to pay taxes. In mid December many mutual funds “paid out” taxable gains to shareholders (this does NOT apply to IRA’s, 401(k)’s and other tax-deferred accounts). You didn’t get a check – but you DID get a taxable distribution. And you may even get a tax bill on “gains” — even if your fund lost money in 2014. … Continue reading

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Is the market really at all time highs?

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Admin

If you have a portfolio, you might find this message and the accompanying chart (SEE BELOW to view) interesting. Yes, the S&P 500 has made a number of new all-time highs in recent weeks and has earned 11.27% year to date (YTD) But most folks don’t invest ONLY in the S&P 500. They also invest in various types of bonds, small US stocks, international stocks, commodities (gold, oil, etc.) and so on for a diversified portfolio. I’ve attached an image YTD comparison of various index returns … Continue reading

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Updated 2015 Tax Brackets and Rates

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Admin

I am updating my Social Security book for 2015 and am using this new tax chart as part of the revisions, and thought you might like to see it as well. If you CLICK BELOW, you can see the 2015 tax chart. You might also want to know that that the personal exemptions have increase $50 to $4,000 and that the standard deductions (for those of you who do not itemize) have risen slightly to $6,300 and $12,600 for single filers and married filing jointly respectively) too. For … Continue reading

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Report your life changes to the Social Security Admin‏

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Admin

Most people don’t know this, but I wanted to make sure that you know that it’s our responsibility to report your life changes to the Social Security Admin. It can save you… or someone that you care about lot’s of problems later on. For example, I’ve heard of cases where clients failed to report a remarriage  and later had to repay all of the divorced-spouse benefits they received and were not entitled to. And for clients receiving SS benefits before their  full retirement age (FRA), it is very important … Continue reading

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