Keen On Retirement

Each year, we invite our clients and friends of the firm to an Open House at our headquarters. This year, we hosted over 400 guests! With all the storms recently in the Midwest, we were grateful to have enjoyed an almost perfect weather day for the event. As has become a bit of a tradition, we served Jack Stack barbeque with a special burnt ends demonstration, enjoyed a wonderful jazz band, snacked on Sheridan’s frozen custard, and crowded into photo booths. We sprinkled in some games to make for a wonderful amount of fun, fellowship, camaraderie and good times. We are so grateful that our friends and clients would spend an afternoon and evening with us to bring in the Summer.

When love is in the air, some folks have a tendency to lose their heads. That can be fun if you’re planning to sweep your loved one off his or her feet this Valentine’s Day. But when it comes to your finances, letting your heart get in the way of your head can lead to some serious problems. Forget about killing the romance – if couples wearing rose-tinted glasses aren’t careful, these money mistakes can kill their financial future.

Most New Year’s resolutions are made to fail. Only 8% of people manage to keep their resolutions, and according to some studies, an incredible 80% of resolutions don’t even make it to February.

On today’s show, we discuss how charitable giving factors into your year-end tax planning preparation. A little forethought and some guidance from a financial professional can help you maximize your generosity – which could make a big difference in another person’s life this holiday season. According to experts, giving could give your own health and happiness a big boost as we head into the new year.

No, we can’t look back at 2017 and tell you definitively how the market is going to behave in 2018. But we can look for potential “rhymes,” the lessons of the past year and the trends that may echo into the next. In particular, I think there are four important takeaways from 2017 that you should keep in mind when discussing your 2018 financial plans with your fiduciary advisor:

As you’re working your way through the holiday bustle and thinking ahead to 2018, use these five tips to set solid resolutions that won’t melt away before the end of January.