Money Monday is intended to be short and sweet, but I got a little carried away this week because I was so excited to get started. Fortunately, it is broken down into sections for you to pick and choose what you want to read. I hope you will find that each section gets right to the point and is simple to understand.
Before we start… a little about me. By far, my favorite part of this job is the “human side” of financial management. Let’s start with what money is to me. Money is simply a means of exchange for the goods, services and experiences we want to have in our lives. It’s easy to go right to the investments and get caught up in the detailed metrics of the portfolio and maximizing return. While that has an important role, it’s the wrong place to start. We start with the purpose of your dollars, figure out what trade-offs are worth it, and put your money to work for enjoying life.
All of this is why I developed what we now call the Mun-Fun Factor ™. Good financial management is just a big game of trade-offs. Money “Mun” vs “Fun” making good financial choices is an art, and we enjoy working with our clients to help them with decisions on the following:
These decisions are best made using good data. We have found ways to put a number behind just about anything, and that helps our clients use their money to live a good life… however they define it.
We find the end of each year creates many opportunities for giving. You may find yourself in a situation where charitable giving could help lower your taxes, or maybe you may have a friend or family member that could use your help. I really like this article for the way it summarizes giving options. Take a look:
There is a difference between healthy caution and fear. Sure, we’ve gotten good at taking precautions for our health. However, it’s easy to get caught up in this and go overboard. We’ve seen this affect clients not only in their financial lives, but beyond. I’ve included a nice article on keeping your Covid-19 precautions in-check.
https://medium.com/@wordsbybrit/concern-vs-fear-78881404d97d
Last year, Congress approved the SECURE Act which raised the required minimum distribution age from 70 ½ to 72. Recently, there was a new bipartisan proposal called the Securing a Strong Retirement Act that, if approved, will offer several changes including raising the first IRA Required Minimum Distribution age again from 72 to 75. This could come to a vote early next year, and I will keep you posted. Click below for an outline of the proposal from tax foundation.org.
https://taxfoundation.org/securing-a-strong-retirement-act-of-2020-retirement-savings/
Any opinions are those of Wheeler Financial LLC and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Please note, changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation. While familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herein, Raymond James financial advisors are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.
