This article covers what a donor-advised fund is and why you should consider one. We also get you up to speed on the tax benefits of using a DAF.If you've heard of a DAF and are curious about incorporating it into your giving and tax planning strategy, this article is for you.Key Takeaways:Contributions to a donor-advised fund reduce your tax... Read More
In this article, we cover how compensation at Microsoft works and how you can maximize your benefits. Whether you're a long-time employee wondering if you're taking advantage of all the financial opportunities available to you or a new hire just trying to figure out how it all works—we've got you covered. Like any major corporation, Microsoft offers a host... Read More
Every year, we get a lot of questions about Medicare open enrollment and who is eligible to make changes to their coverage. Below is a guide to help you navigate some of the questions we are frequently asked. When is Medicare open enrollment for 2021 coverage? The open enrollment period, or Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), runs from October 15 through... Read More
How did the market do today? Whether it’s NPR, the Wall Street Journal or small talk with your neighbor, most conversations about the stock market and economy inevitably reference either the Dow, NASDAQ or S&P 500. But are they appropriate measurements? What do they actually track? And most importantly, are they appropriate measure of performance? The investment benchmark industry is... Read More
This year has been a painful reminder to always plan for the unexpected. As it relates to personal finances, one could use this lesson to revisit the riskiness of their investments (i.e. stock vs bonds), the amount of cash set aside for emergencies or tweak the monthly spending to remove unnecessary costs. While all of these are worthy examinations, this... Read More
For our clients that work at Intel or other tech companies, a big piece of the puzzle is helping them manage the retirement plans sponsored by their employer. For other clients, whether they’ve transitioned into self-employed consultants or run a small business with their spouse, the burden is on them to set up and maintain their own retirement plans, and... Read More
Nothing is more unsettling than receiving a letter from an unknown company claiming to have financial information about you that you yourself are unaware of. On the other end of spectrum, is there a better feeling than finding a $20 bill in the old pair of jeans? Believe it or not, these two scenarios aren’t always mutually exclusive. Indeed, we’ve... Read More
Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), an asset manager we utilize in our client portfolios, produced a webinar for clients that focused on putting the recent market volatility in perspective. While DFA’s performance track record speaks for itself, what sets them apart in the industry is their ability to assimilate complex historical data into intuitive themes that allow investors to achieve superior... Read More
In this post, we provide actionable items that you can do to help reduce your tax bill in any season of life, as well as actions to take in the three phases of your financial life – working, at retirement, and in retirement. As humans, it’s in our DNA to crave action in moments of uncertainty. It’s the fight or flight... Read More
The new year kicks off a lot of exciting changes to the Intel benefits plan. We’ve written about changes to the 401k, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and SERPLUS (to name a few). What we haven’t touched on yet is the change to Intel’s HSA provider. As a reminder, an HSA is a Health Savings Account and is offered to employees... Read More
