Set It and Don’t Forget It
Category: Financial Planning
Working with a financial advisor is a great start to having someone inventory and help you keep track of the beneficiaries, or lack of, on your accounts.
Setting the Stage for Financial Health Early In Your Career
Category: Financial Planning
Earning your first paycheck is an undeniably exciting time. But do you know what to do with your pay? With three key steps, you can build good financial habits early.
Single Stock- Too Much of a Good Thing
Category: Financial Planning
Executives often have a significant portion of their wealth in their company stock. For retiring or retired executives, or those who have more than their holding requirements, we work to determine how much, if any, they should continue to hold and how to tax-efficiently decrease their exposure as needed.
Speeding Tickets & Investing
Recently, I received a gift from the Iowa State Patrol in the form of a speeding ticket. In reflecting on this experience, it occurred to me that I took an unnecessary risk to attain something I didn’t need and ended up sacrificing money I didn’t have to lose.
Spending That Can Wreck Retirement
Category: Financial Planning
In more than a decade of working with clients, I’ve discovered that one thing tends to do more damage to financial plans than any other.
Spring Clean Your Financial Plan
Category: Financial Planning
You can’t have spring without spring cleaning. As you tackle your home, yard, and other spaces this year, your financial plan might also need to be spruced up. Here are a few tips to clean up your financial plan this spring.
Spring Training Thoughts for Your Portfolio
While the impact of each may not be dramatic on their own, collectively they add up and represent the things we do to incrementally add value to our clients.
What do you need to know about Property & Casualty Insurance?
Category: Financial Planning
Insurance is one of the few things you buy which you never hope to benefit from, because that typically means something bad has happened. I encourage you to take a few minutes to confirm items that could make a massive impact on your financial situation if an accident were to happen.
What Do You Want?
Tragically, we humans are, to put it bluntly, awful at wanting the things that will create the most meaning and satisfaction in our lives.
What Does It Mean to Be an Investor? – Part Two
As you peek into the future – hopefully one with greater discretionary time and money – do you envision yourself increasing or decreasing your investment in the well-being of the people close to you and the world in general? Do you see yourself sticking close to the mess of the world or investing in ways that escape it?
What I Have Learned From My Journey of Generosity
Category: Financial Planning
Being generous is a practice that seldom is mastered, takes continuous practice, and must be learned over and over again.
What is your Legacy?
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
We create a legacy through a long series of intentional choices. Discussing things that are more important than investment returns and account allocations, leaning into the heart of things that really matter and put together a plan to achieve those things.
What Jumping Out of an Airplane Taught Me About Investing
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
As with many things in life, there are usually lessons to be learned from our experiences that can be carried over into other aspects of life. Here are a few things jumping out of an airplane taught me about investing.
What Really is the Annual Enrollment Period?
Category: Financial Planning
Hopefully, you have read my first two blogs that talked about Medicare Supplement and Drug plans and the difference with Medicare Advantage plan designs. The last of this series will talk about the Annual Enrollment Period and what can really happen here.
What Tax Documents Do Investors Need to File?
Category: Financial Planning
I start getting anxious this time of year when I am forced to collect all the necessary information for my tax advisor. In preparation for the upcoming tax deadline, Monday, April 18, 2022, I wanted to summarize what to expect in the way of relevant tax information related to your investments.
What to Do If Forced Into Retirement Early
Category: Financial Planning
Yet, all too often, there is a second group of retirees for whom retirement is filled with uncertainty. Let’s say that at age 58, suddenly you are forced to retire. This could be a full five to seven years before you planned. What do you do now?
What to Do with Your College Expenses Refund Check
Category: Financial Planning
If you are receiving a refund of money already spent from a 529 plan, here are some important considerations.
What You Need to Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Category: Financial Planning
Recently, the Department of Education announced some changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program because of the impact of COVID-19. Now, more than ever, it’s important to seek professional help related to these matters.
What’s In Your (Charitable) Toolbox?
Category: Financial Planning
Our vision at Foster Group is to influence thousands of individuals, families, and organizations with wise financial counsel while encouraging the pursuit of meaningful living and generous giving. One of the ways we like to do this is by expanding our clients’ giving toolbox.