A Preferred Way of Thinking
Published May 5, 2014 7593 Views
Using your investments to generate income in a low interest rate environment can be very frustrating. With savings accounts and certificates of deposit paying near zero, it is forcing retirees to incur greater risk to earn more income. To help supplement the salary retirees used to receive, we have...
What is a Mutual Fund?
Published April 28, 2014 7127 Views
Whether you have been investing for decades, funding your child's 529 plan, or contributing to your 401K, chances are you have heard of mutual funds. Anyone can throw industry jargon at you, but my goal is to educate the folks I work with and to help them understand what they're investing in, and wh...
One-Rollover-Per-Year
Published April 21, 2014 6804 Views
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made plenty of headlines lately with their new provision regarding traditional IRAs. For 2015, within a twelve month period, investors will only be able to make one rollover to a traditional IRA. Many folks are interpreting this as meaning that they can only ch...
Spend or Save?
Published April 15, 2014 6930 Views
As defined-benefit plans continue to be replaced by defined-contribution plans, we are increasingly more responsible to fund our own retirements. The idea of saving is simple - make a dollar and save a dime. However, when we have a mortgage, a car payment, and other bills, we realize that saving mea...
Smarter Than a Sixth-Grader?
Published April 10, 2014 6637 Views
What is worth a few minutes of your time this morning (other than this blog, of course), is this article out of Fargo, North Dakota about a group of sixth-graders that "schooled" students from some of the top colleges in the country with their investment selections.
How does this happen? The answ...
STAMPing Out Our Future
Published April 7, 2014 6773 Views
For the 2014-2015 state budget, nearly $140 billion was recently completed on time. $33 million of that plan was carved out to help NY State finish acquiring approximately 1,250 acres in Genesee County, as well as to prepare those grounds for the construction of a new business park. The industrial...
The Ugly Cousin.
Published March 31, 2014 6757 Views
For years, Rochester has been Buffalo's, let's say, ugly cousin, when it comes to state aid. On Friday, Rochester welcomed a state agreement that will send an additional $6 million to the city, pushing total state aid to $94 million this year. The additional aid came as a result of final budget neg...
KODAK
Published March 24, 2014 7254 Views
Last week, Eastman Kodak released their 2013 financial results. After emerging from a 20-month Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, Kodak largely looks like a new company with a new CEO, new ticker symbol, and a new business strategy. However, they still remain an unfinished project with the goal of...
Expanding Social Security Benefits?
Published March 18, 2014 6851 Views
As traditional pensions become less prevalent, it is forcing individuals and families to save enough to fund their own retirement years. Over the past few years, we have seen both Democrats and Republicans agree on the need to reduce the growth of Social Security benefits. Recently, we have seen som...
Happy Birthday, Bull Market!
Published March 11, 2014 6966 Views
Five years ago this past Monday, the S&P hit rock bottom during the financial crisis, closing at 676.53. Since that time, despite the Fiscal Cliff, a goby-the-numbers-happy-birthday-bull-market/vernment shutdown and near default, a debt crisis in Europe, as well as a slew of other setbacks, the S&P...