The Trip Of A Lifetime

I just got back from a mini family reunion on my father’s side of the family. And for those of you that don’t know, my father died when I was 16, which means he’s been gone for the better part of 40 years now. And the Fricke side of the family, for whatever reason, hasn’t really kept in touch with each other over the years. So at our mini family reunion, which was to celebrate the 90th birthday of one of my aunts, it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen most of my aunts, uncles or cousins for at least 10 years, some I haven’t seen in 20 years.

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Low Cost Is Not Always The Best Approach

If you are looking for a simple low-cost investment management approach you might be interested in a fairly new technology being offered by a major brokerage firms as well as some independent startup companies. This technology is often called Robo advisors. The good news is for a very low fee, about one quarter of one per cent, you end up with a diversified investment portfolio typically made up of index mutual funds. One big brokerage firm even claims to provide this service for free!

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What To Do If You’re A Victim Of Tax Fraud

You’ve probably heard stories about large companies having their data hacked. These thieves steal customer and employee information like name, address and Social Security numbers. A while ago one of our clients who works for a large company was notified by their employer that they in fact had been hacked. Several months went by with nothing happening so they thought they had dodged a bullet.

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Financial Lies That Can Crush Your Retirement

Even after the financial crisis of 2008 retirees continue to be victims of lies and myths of Wall Street and the financial media. So-called gurus and experts manipulate statistics to convince you-not educate you-that if you don’t invest the way they suggest you are in great danger of outliving your money. Here are two popular myths you should ignore if you want to protect your nest egg.

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The Best Way To Buy A Car

I believe in spending time doing the things I enjoy doing. I’d rather seek professional help with activities that I dislike and am not an expert at. Many people don’t realize they can employ the services of an automobile broker to purchase a late model or low mileage car, often at tremendous savings, over what it would cost to buy a new car. Buying a new car can be very intimidating and as a result, most people purchase a new car with little or no preparation. Walking into a new car dealership can be a very scary experience if you don’t know what you’re doing.

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3 Tips to Make Sure You Have an Emergency Fund That is Right for You

One of the worst things that can happen to you if you live in Florida is to have your air conditioning go out during the middle of summer. Often times this means you have the unexpected surprise of having to replace your entire system, which could run anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000. Or, maybe you’re retired and some of your income is coming from rental properties, and then, horror of all horrors, your tenant stops paying rent. Or, you have unexpected repairs to perform on the rental property which will eat up most, if not all, of your rental income. These are just a couple of examples of why it is so critically important to have a rainy day, emergency reserve fund. You may wonder how much you should have in your emergency fund and where you should put the money? Here are 3 tips to guide you. 

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