How is COVID-19 Impacting Real Estate Investment Trusts?
Category: Investing
How have real estate investments been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent global lockdown?
Let Charitable Giving Take the Sting Out of Taxes
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
Foster Group has a number of philanthropically-focused team members who can walk you through the integration of charitable intent with your financial plan. There are several ways to give, save taxes, help worthy organizations, and leave a legacy both through heirs and non-profit organizations.
Investors Must Be Present to Win
For weeks, the major indices had been declining but in mid-March, we saw a very abrupt reversal. I’m often reminded of the familiar saying “Investors must be present to win.” In other words, the price (or cost) of admission to the investment experience is market volatility.
Selling a Business Is Just as Tough as Owning One
Owning and operating a business is a tough task. Selling a business is equally difficult. If you’re a business owner, the odds are that you haven’t put together a plan to do this. It doesn’t have to be this way.
How to Plan a Business Exit
Do I keep or do I sell? Business owners planning an exit should examine this question every 90 days. Here are five stages to building value in a business.
Hiking Through the Financial Wilderness
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
I used to laugh at the TV commercial years ago that stated, “Most people spend more time planning their vacation than their retirement.” It’s funny how your perspective can change with time. Now, I gladly note all details of a personal trip, perhaps as a parallel of my work.
Saving for a Rainy Day
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
According to a 2020 Federal Reserve study, 36% of American adults do not have enough cash to cover a $400 unexpected expense1. While the opposite 64% say they DO have enough, that still leaves around 90 million American adults unable to handle a modest money disruption in their lives.
Is Leasing Right for You?
October was the worst month for new car sales at his dealership in over ten years. In fact, only about 10% of car buyers that month were electing to lease new vehicles and typically, leasing is less expensive than buying. What’s going on here?
Five Ideas for Year-end Charitable Tax Savings
Five ideas for integrating your finances and your philanthropy.
Business Owners, Beware of the “Missing Middle”
For many family businesses, the lack of clear succession plans is the most significant challenge.
Confirming What You Know
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Even though I’ve been helping married clients with their money for years, I realized we needed help. Were we thinking about things in the right way? Were we asking the right questions? Were we doing a good job of listening to each other and respecting our differences?
Tips for Setting Financial Goals in Marriage
Category: Financial Planning
If the financial goals conversation seems intimidating to you, know that you are not alone!
Chart of the Month – Feb 2022
Market declines are never enjoyable in the moment. But these kinds of intra-year pull backs are normal when looking at market history.
Chart of the Month – Apr 2022
Housing affordability is trending in the wrong direction. Take a look at our chart of the month showing housing affordability over the last 50 years.
I Bonds Pay Almost 10%, What’s the Catch?
Category: Investing » Fixed Income / Bonds
Investors are always on the lookout, it seems, for new and profitable ways to help make their dollars work for them. One that has come up quite often on our clients’ radars recently is Series I Bonds (or just I Bonds).
Chart of the Month – June 2022
There are nearly two job openings for every unemployed worker with labor statistics showing 11.4 million job openings compared to 5.9 unemployed workers as of April 30, 2022. This mismatch between jobs and workers means that workers have options, including leverage to ask for more pay.
Chart of the Month – July 2022
Sooner or later, we're likely going to see demand cool off. The big question is how quickly inflation alters consumer spending and how quickly that pulls back inflation.
Chart of the Month – Nov 2022
The past fifteen years have been phenomenal for U.S. stocks. They've outperformed international stocks by close to 200%. Unfortunately, no one can predict when international stocks will outperform U.S. stocks, or vice-versa.
Chart of the Month – Jan 2023
It's natural to sit down at the end of the year and reflect on what happened. Here is a short recap of what happened in the markets and the world in 2022.
Chart of the Month – Sept 2022
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas prices spiked to a nationwide peak of $5.02/gallon on June 13, 2022. Since then, the price of gas has been coming down, but the discussions about it have not slowed at all.
Chart of the Month – Apr 2023
Category: Investing » Fixed Income / Bonds
"Why would anyone buy a 5-year bond at 3.5% when you could get a 1-year bond at 4%?"
"Why don't I put all my money in a 4-month T-bill and make 4.9%?"