Insights

The basics of financial literacy – such as budgeting, borrowing and saving – can be difficult to teach to kids, but the rewards of a child heading into adulthood with a solid understanding of financial literacy are numerous. Download the checklist today to get started.

Tom Fridrich, JD, CLUⓇ, ChFCⓇ, Senior Wealth Planner  The end of the year offers an ideal opportunity to look both forward and back — reflecting on recent achievements, while setting goals for the upcoming months. For many of my clients, it’s also a time to review their finances and i …

Kevin Oleszewski, Senior Wealth Planner ‘Tis the season to give. In fact, 37% of charitable giving occurs during the last quarter of the year — 20% of it in December alone, according to a survey conducted by the Blackbaud Institute. And while the holidays are traditionally a time to reflect …

Trillions of dollars will soon transfer from the Silent Generation and baby boomers to their adult children in what financial experts are calling “The Great Wealth Transfer.” Are you one of the people expecting an inheritance in this historic transfer of wealth? Have you thought about the i …

Tom Fridrich, Senior Wealth Planner    Once upon a time, people would put money in their 401(k) or IRA accounts and know that – should their retirement savings outlive them – their loved ones would inherit the rest and all would essentially be well. 

Gifting to your loved ones now or posthumously each carries their own positives and negatives as they relate to your estate plan, taxes, your goals and your legacy. As you explore your options, refer to this guide. It offers a checklist, questions to ask your advisor and a conversation outl …

Philanthropist and oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller famously said: “Think of giving not only as a duty, but a privilege.” If you are of the same charitable mindset as John Rockefeller, you might consider a donor-advised fund (DAF). A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a tool to which you make an irr …

Retirement is far off until it isn’t. This chapter of life can sneak up on just about anyone, and we do ourselves a favor to be as prepared as we can. Like anything involving the government, finances can be confusing, with different tax treatments, contribution limits, beneficiary rules and more.

As a financial advisor who’s spent her career in the midwest, I’ve worked with more farm families than I can count. From buying new expensive equipment to riding out the drought years, there can be millions in play even on small family operations. Estate planning – splitting up the land bet …

As a CPA, one of the questions that I have been getting more frequently is, “What is a donor-advised fund?” This is not surprising as the number of individual donor-advised fund accounts has grown by over 50% for the second year in a row, according to the National Philanthropic Trust’s 2019 …

COVID-19 caused an economic shockwave that we’ll feel for a long time. Nonprofits, from large global networks to the local churches, have been hit hard, too. In a recent survey of 110 nonprofits, 80% of them said revenue had fallen across the board.