Chart of the Month – Aug 2022
The housing market has been hot since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices have soared and the interest rate to borrow money for those homes has been at historically low levels. But what is happening now?
How Much Life Insurance Protection Is Enough?
Category: Financial Planning
Life insurance is an important component of a financial plan. An early death can create severe hardships for the surviving family if the proper amount of insurance is not in place. The recommended amount of life insurance will vary from family to family depending on a variety of factors.
Recession “Reaction”
Plenty of arguments exist as to why we will be and/or already are in a recession. However, there is good news out there that isn’t readily reported.
Preparing Your Heirs for the Great Wealth Transfer
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
Over the next 25 years, approximately 45 million U.S. households are primed to pass an estimated $70 trillion in wealth to their heirs. Here are three simple ideas to get you started on a rewarding family governance journey.
Bear Markets and Life Jackets
Category: Investing » Asset Allocation
For anyone invested right now, it feels like we’re sinking. But just as boats have lifejackets to keep you afloat, your financial life should have its own lifejackets in place to help keep you from sinking in bear market times like these.
Cars, Planes, and Market Crashes
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Since becoming a pilot about 6 years ago, I’m often asked about plane crashes. If you are an investor, the odds of enduring a market crash are almost 100%. Just as I have to do when flying, at Foster Group, we plan ahead for a market correction by using sound planning and investing.
Thinking About Stock Market Volatility
What caused the stock market to rise by over 20% in the second quarter of 2020 even as the COVID pandemic was out of control? How about the over 11% rise in the fourth quarter of 2021 as inflation ticked up and the Fed was warning of rate increases? It seems a little more obvious why the US stock market has fallen in the first 6 months of 2022, but should it have fallen more…or less?
What to Do When the Market Is in a Bad Mood
When the going is good, we’re not all that concerned with asking or answering the question. It is when the going gets tough, like right now, that we find ourselves more interested in asking. So, “What should we do?”
Nervous About the Market? Maybe You Need a Lifeboat.
Market volatility tends to unnerve even the calmest of investors. How do we know what to hold and how much to hold at any particular time? That’s a crucial question, but the answer does not need to be complicated.
Google Maps Reminded Me I’m Not a Robot
Category: Foster Group
At Foster Group, we believe technology is an incredible asset when it comes to planning and portfolio construction. We also believe that human beings are not robots and determining what to do with your money requires more than an advanced algorithm – as great and helpful as these are.
What’s Your Best Buy: Firm Foundation or Castle In the Air?
If an investor could discover the true worth of a company, a piece of real estate or even an idea, where “true worth” equated to the future value or price that others would pay, success would be almost certain to follow. Those opportunities that were priced significantly lower than the future value would be automatic buys. The one’s with higher prices today than the future price would be ones to avoid. If only it were that simple!
Mega Backdoor Roth IRAs: What You Should Know
Category: Financial Planning
A mega backdoor Roth is a great option to quickly build a tax-free bucket of money for individuals who have maxed out other retirement savings vehicles, still have surplus to be invested, and have a 401(k) plan that allows for this strategy. Consider this an additional tool in your toolbox.
How a Medicare Supplement Coordinates with the Parts of Medicare
Category: Financial Planning
Medicare seems like the Alphabet soup of health insurance. Parts A, B, C, D and then the myriad of supplemental coverage. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief”…. Let’s decipher it here.
Earth-Bound Aces Strive for More Than Financial Flyover
Category: Foster Group
Recently, I attended the Kansas City Air Show and witnessed the precision acrobatics of the Navy’s Blue Angels, a team of six intensely trained pilots performing incredible high-flying stunts. Foster Group financial advisors are not known for performing at 10,000 feet, but we are catalysts for positive life change and, unlike static aircraft displays at a two-day event, we will continue our work tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year.
Don’t Mix FOMO with Home Buying
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
For most Americans, their house is their most significant asset. But it’s also the most personal one. There's a lot of emotion inside those four walls. If you want to buy your first or next home, it’s crucial to have a game plan going into it. Here are a few principles to consider when it comes to buying a home.
Are Those Happy Tears?
Tears, bottles, diaper changes, onesies, little fingers, and strange sleep schedules – as many of you know, these are just a few of the things to expect when you bring home your newborn from the hospital. And here’s something else to expect: new tax credits! While I know good parents don’t have kids to lower their tax bill, it’s nice of the US Government to extend a bit of kindness to those taking on the heartache – and joy! – of becoming parents.
Are You Afraid of (Market) Heights?
Investors have been experiencing some fear of heights recently. Many stocks and stock markets are at or near all-time highs. So, here’s the question investors need to ask themselves today, ”Do you think that stock markets 26 years from now will be higher or lower than they are currently, even if today is an all-time high?”
Cryptocurrency: Not for the Faint of Heart
Category: Investing » Alternative Investments
Will cryptocurrency replace the $20 bill in your pocket? Will the decentralization/digitization of currency end up solving anything? Will it be of long-term value? Or will it end up being only a place for speculators to try and capitalize on the sentiment of others? Anyone wanting to allocate to cryptocurrency should understand the inherent uncertainty and volatility of this relatively new digital commodity.
Teaching Your Kids to Invest Early in Life
Category: Financial Planning
One of the concerns I continually hear from the clients I work with is whether the next generation can handle money well. The only way to know is to give them an opportunity. Helping them invest early and often will teach them discipline, patience, how to manage their emotions and the power of compound interest. All of it is essential learning on the path to financial independence . . . and many other things in life, as well.
How One Client Lives a Meaningful, Generous Life
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
At Foster Group, we encourage our clients to live lives of meaning and generosity, and some of our clients embody this. Of all the amazing stories I’ve heard, the following has impacted me most deeply.
Umbrella Insurance Is Just a Catch All Policy, Right?
Category: Financial Planning
Guest Blogger Tim Hibbing. Umbrella policies are becoming more and more popular in our litigious culture.