National Financial Literacy Month: A Call to Action April is National Financial Literacy Month – an entire month dedicated to underscoring the importance of learning, establishing, and maintaining healthy financial habits. Sadly, the money habits of the average American reveal that: Only about 40% of adults use a budget and…
Super Bowl Spending: A Look at the Numbers When you add it all up, how much money is spent on the Super Bowl? How much do we really consume on Super Bowl Sunday? And how much do we wager? While those are interesting topics to explore as we get ready…
Joe Biden’s Economic Agenda: An Overview Joe Biden will inherit one of the most challenging political and economic environments of any U.S. president. With America reeling from the storming of the Capitol, not to mention a raging pandemic, President Biden must heal partisan wounds and put the world’s largest economy…
The Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Market Recovery In 2020, the global economy experienced its most severe recession since World War II due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 index plummeted by as much as 34% from its highs in late February to late March. However, by the second…
Cultivating Financial Health Year-Round: A Monthly Guide Cleaning up personal finances is a common New Year’s resolution, yet it’s easy to let it slip as the year progresses. Here’s a practical month-by-month to-do list to help you maintain financial wellness all year long. Winter Preparation: January – March January: Organize…
The New IRS Tax Rates and Deductions for 2021 Although a year away, your 2021 tax planning should have already started. Amidst all the pandemic news and 2020 election drama, many might have missed that the IRS also quietly published new 2021 tax rates in late October. There are plenty…
Facing the Unspoken Realities: Serious Illness, Money, and Planning for the Future Acknowledging the Difficulty of the Topic This post is a hard one to share, and it may be difficult to read. If you’ve recently lost a loved one to illness, you might want to skip this for now.
September Market Momentum Shift: Analyzing the Trends and Future Outlook September Market Decline and Driving Factors After a strong August, the S&P 500 Index reversed course in September, finishing down 3.9% for the month, though still up 5.5% on the year. Leading this decline were the mega-cap growth stocks that…
Voting by Mail in the 2020 Election: Challenges and Preparations Increased Reliance on Mail-In Voting More than 8 in 10 Americans – all voters in 43 states – will be able to vote by mail in the 2020 presidential election. And more than 1 in 3 voters…
Executive Order on Payroll Tax Suspension: Impacts and Implications After negotiations for another stimulus bill stalled for two weeks, President Trump issued an executive order suspending the collection of Social Security payroll taxes from September 1 through December 31, while hinting that it might go beyond that time frame, too.