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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

 Royal Alliance, the firm I use to support my business operations, has been rebranded to Osaic (Osaic Wealth, Inc.). I have been affiliated with Royal Alliance since 2000. The parent company, Advisor Group has grown to include...

Saturday, June 10, 2023

In the event of an emergency when you can't make decisions, who will? A healthcare proxy spells that out.

Monday, May 1, 2023

In recent years, the option of working from home has become increasingly popular, accelerated by the pandemic. While there are certainly benefits to working from home, there are also challenges that come with it. There were some...

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Tips for starting a wine collection

Thursday, April 20, 2023

 A Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA is a retirement savings plan that is ideal for small business owners with 100 or fewer employees. The plan is easy to set up, maintain, and is cost-effective compared to...

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Thursday, November 10, 2022

China’s Singles Day on November 11 is the world’s largest global 24-hour online shopping event, with over 1 billion products ordered and delivered in the last year.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Beginning July 1st, employers of five or more in California will be required to provide a retirement plan or sign up with the Cal Savers program.

Monday, June 20, 2022

Are you the owner of a medical practice and have children who are teenagers? Well, you might be their first employer. As a parent, I am hesitant to have my kids work since school and athletics are so time consuming.

Monday, June 6, 2022

As an entrepreneurial physician running a practice, one hat you will wear is human resources, and one component employees are looking for is a retirement plan.

Friday, May 27, 2022

A fiduciary refers to a person or organization that acts on behalf of a client to manage their assets responsibly by prioritizing the client’s best interest over theirs.

Friday, May 20, 2022

It can be an overwhelming process and there is a lot of research and planning that goes into purchasing your first vehicle. Not only will you have to figure out what type of vehicle you want, but you must establish a budget and be prepared

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

One of the most common questions we get about home remodels is regarding ADU’s, or Accessory Dwelling Units. Accessory Dwelling Units are separate dwelling areas that are on the same land as a detached house.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Friday, January 7, 2022

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Friday, November 5, 2021

The IRS recently announced an increase in retirement account contributions, allowing savers to put away extra money in 2022. This announcement was made public in a release about cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plans next year...

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

The earlier your children can start investing, the greater their opportunity to build a sizable nest egg for the future. A ROTH IRA is an individual tax-advantaged retirement account in which qualified withdrawals are tax-free, and...

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan made to ensure that employees have dedicated funds in retirement. It allows employees to dedicate a certain percentage of their pre-tax salary into a retirement account. These funds are...

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Many individuals struggle to know how to find the right financial advisor for their needs. However, once they round up a list of screening questions and find an advisor that they pair well with, they forget to ask additional questions...

Friday, June 25, 2021

It has been decades since I entered college as a wide eyed freshman. I came across these helpful tips from Southern Methodist University for entering freshmen year and I wanted to share. These tips are applicable to any entering...

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

A certainty after you refinance or get a new home loan is that your mailbox will be full of offers for bad products. First you will see offers for mortgage insurance. This is expensive term insurance and you are much better off buying...

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Retirement savings is a common benefit offered to attract and retain employees. It can be a valuable benefit, especially with company contributions that can vest over time, retaining key employees. If you are business owner reading...

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Rising prices are more technically known as inflation. It is one of the primary topics of conversation with clients currently. With higher prices comes increased cost for everyday goods and services as well as the need to earn a return...

Monday, May 17, 2021

The first steps to buying your first car is to determine what car you can afford and you need that car to do for you. A rule of thumb is to not spend more than 20% of your monthly take-home income on transportation. Once you divide...

Friday, May 7, 2021

This week we had a call with Capital Groups Natalya Zeman out of London where we touched on ESG (environmental social and governance) investing. Since we focus on clients in the healthcare sector we wanted to highlight some of the...

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

What is the worst financial decision you've ever made? Everyone has one, including financial advisors. Those prior decisions should not preclude you from consulting with an advisor due to guilt or embarrassment. The proactive decision...

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

For those people who are not quite ready to purchase a home, renting is a very viable option compared to buying. Renters can save on many expenses such as taxes, insurance, and maintenance which homeowners have to take into...

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Since credit scores have become such a large part of our financial lives, it pays to keep track and understand how your decisions affect your score. You can build and take advantage of great credit regardless of your age or income. If...

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

As a practice owner, you should add controlling employee theft to your list of items to be concerned about. Over the last two decades, I have received numerous calls from physician and dentist clients informing me that they had to...

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offer a relatively simple way to invest which makes it low cost, flexible, simple, and easy to trade. An ETF is a basket of securities that tracks the performance of a specific market index – like the...

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Target Date Retirement funds are a professionally managed collection of mutual funds designed to help you invest for retirement and meet your changing financial needs over time. Each fund is made up of a broad range of investments....

Friday, October 30, 2020

In anticipation of the upcoming election next month, I have produced a series of short videos explaining different topics How a Corporate Tax Hike Could Affect Economic Recovery Policy VS Politics Corporate Tax Rates Click the link...

Friday, October 30, 2020

In anticipation of the upcoming election next month, I have produced a series of short videos explaining different topics Which Sectors Perform Best During an Election? Positioning Portfolio for Election Years Historical Sector...

Friday, October 30, 2020

In anticipation of the upcoming election next month, I have produced a series of short videos explaining different topics How to Invest in an Election Year Political Volatility Economic Conditions/Fundamentals Click the link below to...

Friday, October 30, 2020

In anticipation of the upcoming election next month, I have produced a series of short videos explaining different topics How the Winner of the US Election is Determined Electoral vs Popular Vote Vote Tallies Click the link below to...

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

The IRS just announced the new maximum contribution numbers for 2021. The most common contribution is the 401k or 403B and remains at $19,500. If 50 or older, there is the catchup of an additional $6,500. The aggregate with the 401k...

Friday, October 16, 2020

As we enter the third quarter of a year in which we experienced a pandemic, many health care workers were confronted with their own mortality. Life insurance is not something you think about most days but does need to be addressed. In...

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Without receiving a paycheck, how long would you be able to make your mortgage/rent payment, buy groceries or pay your bills without feeling tight about money? If you are like most people, it would not be long. 7 in 10 working...

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Creating a plan for Repayment or forgiveness of student loans is one of the most important financial decisions a physician will make. You will likely go down one of two roads, refinancing and aggressively paying down loans or...

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

One of the challenges to completing public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) is diligent record keeping and making sure that the loan servicers record the correct information. We have created an Excel workbook to assist you by...

Thursday, September 17, 2020

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, a good time to consider the importance of including life insurance in your financial plan. While this is not a topic that is enjoyable to think about on a daily basis, it is necessary if you...

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (Nurse Corps LRP) continues to be one of the most effective Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Programs available today. It provides loan repayment assistance to registered nurses and advanced...

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

I love the idea of financial independence and we work towards this every day with clients. The retire early part of this acronym is the part that I think is a bit more nuanced. We work primarily with medical and dental professionals...

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

A credit freeze is designed to prevent your sensitive data in your credit files from being accessed without your consent. Credit freezes protect you against fraudulent credit applications, even if somebody has your social security...

Friday, August 14, 2020

The last couple of years have been good for certain stocks, especially technology names. If you are fortunate enough to own some shares that have appreciated significantly AND are charitably inclined, a technique called gifting of...

Thursday, August 13, 2020

It is always important to have a sufficient rainy-day fund, but with the current low rates and effects of inflation, it can be a leave you feeling a little wet. Each household is going to be different but here are some general...

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

With National Financial Awareness Day coming up on August 14, we celebrate business owners, consumers, and investors who aspire to inch closer to financial independence by learning how to make solid financial decisions year after year....

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

If you are a parent, its often a bittersweet feeling seeing your children finally age into adulthood. Every parent likes to view their child as their baby, but once they turn 18 the law sees it much differently. At the age of 18,...

Monday, August 3, 2020

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) is a social security rule that affects workers with government pensions who also receive social security benefits. It reduces spousal or survivor benefits by an amount equal to two-thirds the amount...

Friday, July 31, 2020

In addition to my designation as a certified financial planner practitioner (CFP), I also am a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA). In the role of CFP we make projections decades out for couples. When there is a dissolution of...

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Let us assume you just completed your divorce agreement and are pleased with the alimony and child support received. The ex-spouse has a good paying job, so you are not worried about the ability to make the payments. Have you...

Friday, July 24, 2020

While divorce is certainly a time of emotional turmoil, it's a time of financial burden as well. The change brought about by divorce can be particularly devastating to families with children and to older couples who have assigned the...

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

If you are a participant in a pension plan, you will Before retirement have to decide how your benefits will be paid out for the rest of your life? It is a very daunting decision to make, and that is why it is so important to be...

Friday, July 17, 2020

For the last 20 years I have been delivering a Business of Medicine lecture teaching the next generation of physicians about the basics of financial planning including student loans, contract types, retirement planning, and risk...

Friday, July 17, 2020

Planning for marriage involves more than just deciding whether to serve dinner at the reception and whether you should take a honeymoon cruise. If you are planning for marriage, you are faced with enormous responsibility of combining...

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

With many Americans having saved almost nothing for retirement, it is more essential than ever for businesses and employers to help their employees stay ahead of the curve. Employees are much more likely to save for retirement when...

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

If you are looking for a retirement plan for your employees that is easy and inexpensive, you may want to look at a SIMPLE IRA plan. Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers, or SIMPLE IRA plans allow employees to...

Monday, July 6, 2020

July 15, the new filing date for 2020 is around the corner As the Covid-19 Pandemic spread earlier this year, the federal government delayed the regular April 15th tax filing deadline until July 15th. This decision provided some...

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Investors around the globe are continuing to make investments for reasons other than purely financial gain. Impact investing is an investment approach made with the intention of generating positive social impact AND solid financial...

Thursday, June 25, 2020

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which is a federal tax that both employees and employers pay throughout the year. FICA includes two types of taxes: Social Security Tax and Medicare tax. The current tax rate for...

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

We tend to hear lots of things about government debt, but why don’t we ever hear about government assets? Student loans make up the biggest financial asset held by the federal government, and by an enormous margin. The rapid...

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

ACGME data on the just completed academic year by # of On-Duty Residents. Primary care leads the way but probably not enough to meet demand. J-1 visas and the rise in DO programs should help meet some of the PCP demand. By # of...

Friday, June 19, 2020

The new SECURE Act brings changes to long term retirements savings and tax laws for both workers and retirees. As part of a large government spending package signed into law in late 2019, congress laid out provisions from the Setting...

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Transitioning out of residency? Here are five things to consider for this next phase: #1 Cash is King - You have been used to getting paid every month like clockwork but your new job might not start in July or could be based on...

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

For the last 20 years I have been delivering a Business of Medicine lecture teaching the next generation of physicians about the basics of financial planning including student loans, contract types, retirement planning, and risk...

Monday, June 15, 2020

Without receiving your paycheck, how long would you be able to make your mortgage/rent payment, buy groceries or pay your bills without feeling tight about money? If you’re like most people, it wouldn’t be long: 7 in 10...

Monday, June 15, 2020

Let's say you're relatively young, healthy and are interested in saving taxes. A health savings account could be just what the doctor ordered to reduce current tax as well setting aside money for a future need. A health savings account...

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Recent medical school graduates are entering residency with approximately $251,600 1 in loans, which is likely to top $300,000 by the time residency is completed. Developing a plan is one of the most important financial decisions a...

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Medical Residents – Before you finish your academic year, now is the time to complete the Employment Certification Form (ECF) if you are pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). In order to ensure you’re on the...

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Lost your Job or Changing Jobs? Know your 401(k) Options If you have recently lost your job or are changing jobs due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, you may be wondering what to do with your 401(k) account. It is important to stay...

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Married filing separately rarely makes sense from an income tax perspective when considering student loans, but there is a scenario where it should get a second look. The two popular income driven repayment plans, PAYE (Pay As You Earn...

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Payments from the multi trillion dollar coronavirus relief package have gone out across the United States, and while some Americans are still waiting for their checks to arrive, there are possibly millions of people who have received...

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Recently we have had many discussions with clients about how to help those in need during the Covis-19 crisis. With unemployment spiking and the government response taking more time than we would like, food banks are a much-needed part...

Monday, April 13, 2020

While we hope that this economic slowdown will be short-lived, we realize many will have difficulty paying their mortgages. Fortunately the Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUB) has implemented a temporary moratorium on...

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

If you’re following the news, you already know that financial markets across the globe have experienced increased volatility over the last several weeks, and particularly in the last several days. This bumpy performance is driven...

Monday, November 11, 2019

For anyone pursuing federal loan forgiveness, you should access your federal loan file with the Department of Education. Surprisingly it comes as a text file and contains a history of all federal loans including months counted towards...

Monday, September 30, 2019

If you are reading this entry there's a good chance you have attended one of my Business of Medicine lectures in the past. While the rest of this year is booked, there are few available times before the June graduation. The topics we...

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

It has been 15 years since I was studying for the CFP exam that I have been buried in textbooks. I just completed the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst designation. Why? Recently I had received several referrals from estate planning...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Today's graduating resident or fellow faces a daunting challenge of managing an average of $157,944 in student loan debt according to the College Board, with saving for a down payment on a home. In today's lending world a minimum 20%...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

One of the most difficult analysis that a financial advisors can be asked to make is whether a client should take a lump sum or a monthly pension. Most pensions are covered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) which aims to...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

In July, MSCI the creator of many popular indices created two new indices that invest globally while excluding Russian companies. This highlights the difficult nature of an index fund which includes multiple countries. In a global...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

In California where my office is located, same sex couples have the same rights to Social Security Benefits as any other married couple. With this new benefit available, which claiming strategy is best? Opposite sex couples may have...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

A recent report by Forbes mapped out the worlds billionaires. This exclusive club has 1,587 members of which 512 are in the US and Canada. Asia has grown to #2 with 403 and Europe third with 343. Latin America, Russia, and other...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Writing from 30,000 feet on my way home from Nashville I wanted to share an interesting observation. There are a noticeable amount of Egyptians in Music City. Time and time again at my hotel, I would see a name tag and it would give...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

With approximately half the stock market value being concentrated in the US, it is no surprise that we Americans tend to invest the majority of our assets in our home country. This is called "home country bias" and occurs in most...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Today Scotish nationalists are asking their voting population(as young as 16 years old) to vote for separation from England. While I don't normally chime in with my political opinion I think it is rather obvious what a destabilizing...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The consolidation of hospitals owning private physician practices is not showing a reduction in the price and actually increased costs for the privately insured according to researchers at Stanford University(2001-2007). There is a...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Conrad 30 program, named for Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota is meant to address physician's shortages in primary care in rural and urban areas by granting visa waivers. There are many parallels to the technology industry where...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

In reflecting on the last two weeks in the market which have been quite volatile, we are reminded how much uncertainty there is in the world. At the beginning of the season the Royals were about a 50 to 1 shot to win the World Series...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

There are several income producing strategies that can be used in combination with the underlying investments. There is no guarantee any of these strategies will be successful. Speak with a financial professional to determine which...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

There are several risks to consider when developing a plan for managing your assets in retirement. Not all people will have equal exposure to these risks, yet it is important to keep these risks in mind when developing a retirement...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

We are entering the season when parents of college age parents start completing the FAFSA form with the hope of catching a small amount of money from the murky pond of financial .aid. This is no small task with over 100 inputs.(105 to...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

As I write this, the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve is speaking on policy and painfully answering the partisan questions of the Senators in front of her. The dual mandate of the Federal Reserve is to encourage full employment in the...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

In the unfortunate circumstance where your 18-year-old child who you have groomed to go to college decides to take a shot at being in a band instead of attending your alma mater what you do with their 529 plan? You can of course...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

We often think about putting our houses in the trust or providing a safety deposit box key to a loved one but who will handle your digital assets after death. To name a legacy contacts at Facebook, go to your security settings and edit...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

I can't even remember one gift I got for my 12th birthday but I have vivid memories of what I did. My parents had some semi pro skaters that I am sure could use some spending cash stop by for a demonstration for me and my friends. All...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Did you remember that the home equity life of credit you took out before the hosing market imploded was set to amortize in ten years instead of the current interest only requirement? No? Well you are not alone. According to Equifax and...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The difference between socially responsible and impacting investing at first was lost on me. Socially responsible investments are often difficult to define as investors often have different values and beliefs so one investment that is...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

If you don't know the term cap rate, consider yourself a real estate beginner. A basic way of measuring the profitability and price of a property is through a term called cap rate. It is basically dividing the annual income produced by...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

I finally took the plunge and decided to install solar on my house. Panels are continually improving but I figured they had advanced dramatically and future improvements would be more incremental in terms of the efficiency. As a...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Group long-term disability provided by your employer is a helpful benefit but this post will point out key differences. Ownership - coverage is individually owned as opposed to being leased from employerRates and renewal - typically...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

When we create retirement income models, often the response when mentioning Social Security is something like "if it still exists." While we don't believe those in or close to retirement will see any reduction, there have been...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

There are a host of sites offering free credit reports. While these companies for a fee will give you access to your credit report and monitor changes, if you just want access to the report the website set up by the three providers www...