Other Financial Topics
Calculators
- Cash Flow Analysis
This Cash Flow Analysis form will help you weigh your income vs. your expenses.
- Credit Card Debt
How Long Will It Take to Pay my Balance?
- Estate Taxes
Use this calculator to estimate the federal estate taxes that could be due on your estate after you die.
- Federal Income Tax
This calculator can help you estimate your annual federal income tax liability.
- Home Affordability
Estimate of the maximum amount of financing you can expect to get when you begin house hunting.
- Life Expectancy
Knowing your likely life expectancy is an important factor in making long-term financial plans.
- Lifetime Earnings
This calculator is designed to help you attach a dollar figure to your life’s work.
- Loan Payoff
How much will it cost to pay off a loan over its lifetime?
- Long-Term Care Self Insurance
Will you be able to afford nursing home care?
- Mortgage Acceleration
This calculator can help you determine how soon you can pay off your mortgage.
- Mortgage Refinancing
Determine whether you should consider refinancing your mortgage.
- Personal Inflation Rate
Is your personal inflation rate higher or lower than the CPI?
- Savings Accumulation
Estimate the future value of your current savings.
- Savings Goals
How much do you need to save each year to meet your long-term financial goals?
Newsletters
- A Business Plan Can Be Your Guide to Growth
A business plan can be an important step toward success. Here are some key components to consider.
- ABLE Accounts for Disability Expenses
Explore ABLE account requirements and potential benefits, including new saving opportunities under the 2017 tax law.
- Are Your Designated Heirs Up-to-Date?
The New Year might be a good time to review and update beneficiaries on estate documents, insurance policies, and financial accounts.
- Bridging the Gap Between Retirement and Medicare Eligibility
See three options that may help you bridge the health insurance coverage gap between retirement and Medicare eligibility.
- Clarifying Tax Deductions for Meals and Entertainment
Wondering if you can still write off 50% of the cost of business meals? Find out what is and isn’t deductible.
- Community Property Laws: Yours, Mine, and Ours
Community property laws that apply in nine states and “equitable distribution” laws that apply in other states.
- Competing Goals: Pay Off Student Loans or Save for Retirement?
Some college grads pay off student loans at the expense of saving for the future. See steps that may help them do both.
- Consider a Customized Disability Policy
Review the potential benefits of an individual disability income policy vs. a group policy, as well as common riders.
- Considering Preferreds? Proceed with Caution
Considering investing in preferred stocks? This overview examines the risks and potential benefits.
- Do You Need a Power of Attorney?
Explore three types of powers of attorney and find out how a living will can supplement a durable POA for health care.
- Estate Taxes: Should a Trust Own Your Life Insurance?
An irrevocable life insurance trust can help pay estate taxes, but recent exemption level increases may warrant a new insurance strategy.
- Getting Real About Retirement
This article features a worksheet and relevant information to help estimate retirement expenses and income.
- Health Savings Account: Funding an HSA Could Help You Prepare for Retirement
In addition to setting aside pre-tax income to pay current and future medical expenses, an HSA could play an important role in your long-term retirement strategy.
- Help with College: A Gift for Your Grandkids
Helping a grandchild obtain a college degree could be life-changing for the student. Still, it’s important to consider how a gift could affect student aid and taxes.
- HOT TOPIC: After Rocky Year-End, Risks Follow Investors into 2019
In the final quarter of 2018, interest-rate fears and unresolved geopolitical issues upset the financial markets and reversed many of the gains notched earlier in the year.
- HOT TOPIC: Consumer Nation: Can Confidence Drive the Economy?
A look at what’s driving the high consumer confidence level and the importance of consumer spending to the broader economy.
- HOT TOPIC: Keeping an Eye on Corporate Debt
This article looks at credit quality in the corporate bond market and the potential impact on fixed-income portfolios.
- HOT TOPIC: Monetary Policy: Should Investors Fear the Fed?
How the Federal Reserve Board’s actions influence interest rates, economic growth, and inflation.
- HOT TOPIC: The Fed Hits the Brakes: No Rate Hikes Projected in 2019
The Fed signaled a pause in raising interest rates. How markets reacted and what the change says about the direction of the U.S. economy.
- HOT TOPIC: What Are the Costs of the Government Shutdown?
Explore the cost of the longest government shutdown in recent history, from its economic impact to its effect on public safety and services.
- Insurance Strategies: Giving Old Life Insurance a New Purpose
A 1035 exchange may allow a permanent life policy to be traded for a more suitable insurance product.
- IPOs: Consider the Risks Behind the Hype
Discover why it might be worth waiting for a record of financial results before investing in an initial public offering.
- Is a Roth 401(k) Right for You?
An overview of the potential benefits, limitations, and rules of Roth 401(k) accounts.
- Know Your Mutual Funds
Millions of Americans own mutual funds. This overview can help you review the mix of funds you own.
- Looking Back, Looking Ahead
See the indicators economists rely on to understand the past, present, and potential future direction of the economy.
- Low-Volatility Strategies for a Less Stressful Ride
Some stocks and stock funds may help reduce the volatility in a portfolio.
- Need to Tap Your 401(k)? Proceed with Care
Explore an overview of rules and tax consequences for 401(k) plan hardship distributions and other early withdrawals.
- Reviewing Business Structure in Light of Tax Changes
A flat 21% tax rate may seem like a good reason for a pass-through entity to convert to a C corporation, but there are other factors to consider.
- Seeking Synergy: Why Mergers and Acquisitions Matter to Investors
Find out how and why mergers and acquisitions take place (and why they matter to investors).
- Some Small Companies Facing Tariff Troubles
Small-business owners should watch for trade policy changes that could impact their products, supply chains, or competitors.
- Succession Plans Often Hinge on Reliable Valuation
Discover the role a reliable business valuation can play in succession, tax, and retirement planning.
- Taking a Team Approach to Retirement Savings
Even if you and your spouse have separate retirement accounts, you may still be able to craft a unified savings and investment strategy.
- Technology Trend: How Blockchain Could Impact the Future
Businesses and governments are exploring blockchain applications as they seek to improve transparency, increase productivity, and reduce costs.
- Trusts Offer More Than Estate Tax Protection
Find out whether a testamentary trust, living trust, or special-purpose trust can benefit your family.
- Weighing a Wider Range of Health Plan Options
Association health plans may enable small businesses to save money, but how do AHPs compare to small-group health insurance?
- Why Americans Are Eating Out Less Than Ever
Dining out is on the decline. Discover why Americans prepared about 82% of their meals and snacks at home in 2018.
Research Articles
- Assessing Disability Income Insurance
Knowing the basics of a disability income insurance policy is a good first step toward protecting your family.
- Avoiding Probate
The probate process can be lengthy and complex. There are strategies you can use to help avoid the probate process.
- Cash Management Basics
A sound cash management program uses a disciplined approach: accounting, analysis, allocation, and adjustment.
- Charitable Giving
To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.
- Charitable Lead Trusts
Charitable lead trusts are designed for people who would like to benefit a charity now rather than later.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
A designated income beneficiary could receive payment of a specified amount from a charitable remainder trust.
- Doubling Your Money
Before making investment decisions, it is helpful to determine the real rate of return on the investment.
- Estate Planning
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
- History of the Federal Estate Tax
Careful estate planning is still one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for your heirs.
- Living Trusts
A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.
- Long-Term Care Costs
The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.
- Long-Term-Care Needs
If you were to suffer an illness or disability that required long-term nursing care, would you be covered?
- Paying Estate Taxes
If you believe your estate will be subject to estate taxes, consider how your heirs will pay the bill.
- Property Ownership
Sole ownership, joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and community property have special benefits for property owners.
- Savings Alternatives
There are a number of savings alternatives that could help you earn a reasonable rate of return.
- Tax Deferral
There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.
- United States Tax History
American tax law is a constantly changing landscape. The latest major piece of tax legislation is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
- Wealth Replacement Trusts
A wealth replacement trust could be used to gift appreciated assets to a charity as well as provide for heirs.