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"Helping Change The Way People Think About Planning & Investing!"

 In today's social media environment, receiving objective financial advice is available; you just need to know where to find it. I plan to cover various economic areas and provide meaningful and valuable information in my blogs (or brief articles, posts, or whatever they're supposed to be called now). I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a  Certified Financial Planning Professional (CFP). I have over twenty-five years of creating financial plans and managing client investments. I hope you find the blogs informative, and feel free to contact me to discuss your financial goals. Please enjoy!   

Friday, September 15, 2023

When the financial press speaks of traders, they refer to them as "investors. The danger of interpreting activity from these "professionals" as "what is right for them must be right for me" is delving into speculation, not investing. 

Monday, August 21, 2023

Survivor Benefits paid from Social Security are underappreciated for the benefits available to spouses, divorced spouses, and even adult dependents of elderly parents.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Inheriting money is generally not a taxable event to the beneficiary, who does not pay tax on the title change from the deceased’s IRA to the beneficiary. Taxes will be due when eventual distributions from the IRA are made.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

The decision to delay benefits is not always the right decision, but it is most of the time. The combination of the 8% increase in income and potentially greater survivor benefits can have a significant impact on your planning goals.

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Higher-than-average fees should only be justified when the returns are expected to be above average. Unfortunately for the individual investor, higher fees generally produce lower returns, which can dramatically affect long-term growth.

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Sunday, April 23, 2023

Recently, you may have seen reports that the so-called “depletion date” for Social Security was adjusted. This refers to the predicted date when the long-running program will no longer be able to pay full benefits.Barring...

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Are you planning to remain in your home? Planning to sell? Convert it to a rental? These are critical decisions requiring knowledge in several financial areas including retirement, taxes, and estate planning. Please review blog.

Friday, March 24, 2023

It's no coincidence that inflation rates and current CD rates are at levels not seen in years. Rising inflation usually means higher interest rates are headed our way to combat the increasing prices.

Monday, March 13, 2023

What happened to Silicon Valley Bank is not what happened to banks during the subprime mortgage crisis during 2008-2009. The current situation involves banks that made too many conservative investments, not risky worthless investments.

Friday, February 10, 2023

Sometimes economic data can lead to conclusions that don’t make sense, and the recent employment data is an example of how various information can be viewed differently.

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

In the final days of 2022, Congress passed a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier to contribute to retirement plans and access those funds earmarked for retirement.The law is called SECURE 2.0, and it's a follow-up to...

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

 The risk involved in choosing a Roth IRA over a traditional IRA is paying an upfront tax which you may never recoup in future tax savings. Stripping away all the complexities of a Roth IRA comes down to a “pay now or pay later” question.

Monday, November 21, 2022

Stagflation - a term that refers to high inflation that happens simultaneously as stagnation of growth or outright recession.When consumer demand rises above potential supply, prices tend to increase. When prices rise, the Federal...

Friday, October 7, 2022

 

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

It seems most times inflation is mentioned in the news, it’s usually accompanied by a reference to the fact that we have not seen these types of inflation numbers in over 40 years. And it’s true. According to the...

Friday, August 26, 2022

Whether long-term or short-term investing strategies are used, the objective of each is the same - to make money. However, the difference is how that objective is accomplished. It can make a difference on long-term public market returns.

Monday, August 15, 2022

I believe understanding the difference between a conservative investor and a cautious one is important because some investors may not fully understand these terms as they relate to their investment strategies.

Saturday, May 7, 2022

What was described a little over a year ago as “temporary” is now firmly entrenched in our everyday lives – inflation. The last time inflation has reached this level of relevancy was over 40 years ago.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

During years of positive returns, the attention to costs of investments is often neglected. However, during years of negative returns, it is much more likely that investors will make an attempt to understand their costs thoroughly.

Friday, March 18, 2022

 The Dow Jones 900-point increase over two days in response to the Fed announcement of a quarter-point increase amid a inflationary surging environment indicated that the market was acknowledging the Fed is less bite and more bark.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Rising prices are the accepted universal cause of inflation. But another way to think of inflation is that the available supply of money has dramatically increased, and consumers are outbidding each other for limited supplies and services.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

“How much did my investments make last year?” is naturally an important question for any investor but another critical question is "how did my investments compare with similar investments."

Thursday, December 16, 2021

The Federal Reserve's decision at their Dec 15 FOMC meeting leaves them with room to try and slow down rising prices without raising interest rates - for now!

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

A few months ago when the Federal Reserve (The "Fed") began to describe the dramatic increases in prices for consumer goods and services, they described it as "temporary." I wrote a blog then ("Inflation - Should you Finally Be Concerned...

Saturday, September 4, 2021

The economic impact of COVID-19 has been felt from coast to coast. And, unfortunately for many pre-retirees, it could potentially impact Social Security benefits as well. We have heard the ominous warnings over the past couple decades...

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

What is the most effective and powerful investment strategy to building wealth? Is it buying low and selling high? Is it correctly timing the ups and downs of the market? Could it be the ability to take advantage of leveraging...

Friday, July 23, 2021

Required Minimum Distributions The new rules regarding Required Minimum Distributions (RMD’s) are in effect in 2021. The “SECURE ACT” of 2019 and the “CARES Act” of 2020 were enacted to change the rules...

Thursday, May 13, 2021

In hindsight, it is not surprising that prices of everything from limes to used cars, to vacations are rising at a rapid pace. Most businesses in the U.S. economy spent practically an entire year scaling down business operations...

Monday, October 26, 2020

The upcoming election is prompting some people to reconsider their investment strategy. In fact, 45% of consumers with $100,000 or more investable assets expect to make changes to their portfolio due to the upcoming 2020 presidential...

Monday, October 19, 2020

On October 13, 2020, the Social Security Administration (SSA) officially announced that Social Security recipients will receive a 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2021. The increase seems pretty low, doesn't it?

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

“We remain committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy for as long as is needed.” -Jerome Powell – Chairman of The Federal Reserve, Tues, Sep 22, speaking to the House Financial Services...

Monday, September 14, 2020

On the last day of July, 2019, the Federal Reserve lowered the fed funds rate for the first time in over ten-years. The rate increase was widely expected for several weeks prior to the change, but I admit I’ve struggled with the...

Monday, August 24, 2020

This month, many universities and colleges are welcoming students back to campus, even if most campuses are largely online this year. But that's not all that's different. The current administration has issued an executive memorandum...

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

The Roth IRA has been available as an alternative investment since 1998, but To the average investor, however, there are things about the Roth IRA that remain unclear enough to discourage many investors to ever consider one. But there...

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Welcome to Carr Wealth Management, LLC. Our mission is to help clients manage the uncertainties of tomorrow, and we certainly have run into uncertain times. Due to the coronavirus, our economy along with the global economy is heading...

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Many investors today are grappling with the sudden and shocking downfall of their investment portfolios. Just a few weeks ago the financial headlines continued to inform the public of the record highs that various indexes were...

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Information on the SECURE Act The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, better known as the SECURE Act, was signed into law on Friday, December 20. Here are the major changes created by the new law. • Required...

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Issuing a list of items that are designed to help reduce your tax bill three weeks before the end of the year may appear to be cutting it close, but would you really review a year-end to-review-list in early November? Besides, most of...

Monday, November 18, 2019

The 2020 Medicare Part B premium has been announced by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).The base premium for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors' fees and outpatient services, will increase to $144.60 per month in...

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

On the last day of July (last Wed), the Federal Reserve lowered the fed funds rate for the first time in over ten years. The rate increase was widely expected for the past few weeks, but I admit I’ve struggled with the rationale...

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Just as it is in any investment, choosing to create (or convert to) a Roth IRA requires analyzing the risk and return of such a strategy. But unlike other investments where risk of loss is compared to possibility of gain, the risk and...

Thursday, June 13, 2019

The House overwhelmingly approved a bill last month designed to promote retirement security by making it easier for small businesses and other companies to offer retirement plans. The Senate will vote on the bill soon. The bipartisan...

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

When we speak of portfolio allocations, we typically use percentages such as “60/40,” which generally means that riskier assets, such as stocks, comprise sixty-percent of a portfolio. The remainder of the portfolio will...

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

The new tax rules for 2018 are far-reaching and impact ordinary tax rates, standard deductions, personal exemptions, itemized deductions, business expenses, moving expenses, alternative minimum tax, and various credits. However, an...

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Buy Low and Sell High – That’s Still The Right Way, Right? It is said that the two emotions of fear and greed control most of our financial decisions (how it applies to decisions in everyday life is beyond my expertise)....

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The Federal Reserve last month raised the fed funds target rate for the third time in 2018 and for the eighth time since monetary tightening began in December of 2015. It’s expected that the Fed will increase the rates again in...

Thursday, March 22, 2018

So, You Want To Know My Risk Tolerance? When it comes to investing, risk comes in many forms, and it can apply to many different types of investments. But there’s one type of risk that has been universally known since man began...

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Imagine an investment that produced returns that are linked to the general level of rising prices. Individuals living on a fixed or mostly fixed level of income must deal with the risk of rising prices outpacing their income growth....

Monday, November 27, 2017

Just because someone is divorced from their former spouse doesn’t mean they are ineligible to receive spousal benefits. In fact, most of the rules involving married spouses will pertain to divorced spouses. There are a couple of...

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Medicare premiums are based on the income you reported on your most recent tax return. Sounds simple enough but there’s a couple of things to know: The “most recent tax return” rule is intended to be from Social...

Monday, July 31, 2017

When the term “compounded growth” is used in investment talk, it’s about as appealing as watching paint dry; it’s boring. There is a slight innuendo of long-term disciplined investing in the term...

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

“Acting In Your Client’s Best Interests!” – Who knew it could be so complicated? Well, apparently it is. But to the typical investor, it shouldn’t be. Once they’ve gotten over the initial shock that...

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Why Should I Wait Until Age 70? According to the Social Security Administration, 43% of Americans file for Social Security Benefits at age 62. Approximately 9% wait beyond age 66. Of course, there will be situations where the need for...

Saturday, May 13, 2017

It may not be “THE” question, but deciding to invest or convert to a Roth IRA instead or from a Traditional IRA can have a substantial long-term effect on your financial future. The use of compounding and tax deferral are...

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

When the market is up, investors will pay less attention to the total costs of their investments since the returns are positive, but when the market is down, many investors become more interested in how much they're paying for their...

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Social Security – Is It a Tax, an Investment, or Insurance? Technically, Social Security tax, or what we affectionally know as FICA, is indeed a tax, but it’s not like any other tax. The acronym FICA stands for the Federal...

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Following a staggering surge in the stock market during the first quarter of 2017 (actually, since November), it may make sense to consider “rebalancing” your investment portfolio. But what is portfolio rebalancing and how does it work?

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Passive Investing is generally assumed to be an investment strategy that requires one to "do nothing." But actually, there is a great deal of work to be done in order to take advantage of using low-cost investment vehicles to help...

Friday, April 22, 2016

“You mean they weren't acting in our best interests to begin with?” On April 06, 2016, the investment industry was rocked by a much anticipated Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule that obliges financial professionals who are...

Monday, March 14, 2016

Staying away from high fees and excessive trading is a step in the right direction for investors, and the growing use of automated investment systems signal that many investors no longer want to pay higher fees for their investments...