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In the realm of investing, few financial instruments have garnered more controversy than annuities. Unquestionably, annuities have their share of critics, especially when they are applied improperly, but, in the right situation, their benefits may be unmatched.

Life insurance and annuities have always been considered to be among the safest of all financial instruments. Even as banks were being shuttered during the Great Depression resulting in people losing their life’s savings, life insurers emerged as the bed rock of financial security.

It is not often that the topics of life insurance and annuities are brought up in the same discussion, primarily because they serve two very distinct purposes. Although they are both products of life insurance companies, life insurance policies are protection against dying too soon, and annuities are protection against living to long.

Intro

If you’ve been investing in stocks or bonds for several years, you may feel like you’re beginning to get a hang of this precarious trade. At this point, you may be making plans to diversify your portfolio or research a more complex investment strategy. But in reality, you should be using this time to get back to the basics.

Intro

With a new bear market settling in, new opportunities for a prosperous investment can feel few and far between. However, this current bear market caused by the COVID-19 crisis feels like a new beast entirely. In many ways, the US’ economy has been turned upside-down by this infectious disease. So, where are you supposed to turn to make an even moderately successful investment?

In the story of Alice in Wonderland, Alice arrives at a fork in the road and wonders aloud which road to take. A smiling Cheshire Cat appears and asks her what her destination is, to which she replies, “I don’t know.” The toothy cat then proffers the only possible response, “Well, then it doesn’t matter.”

Most people think estate planning is only for wealthy people.  Certainly, the 55% of Americans who died without a will thought so, even though all of their estates ended up in probate court subject to the laws of the state.  Sadly, the surviving families were thrust into a situation that resulted in unnecessary distress, expense and, for many of them, devastating financial consequence

If you are the parents or grandparents of a child of any age chances are good that the escalating costs of higher education are on your mind.

The quick answer is “it depends.”  But, for the 33 percent of retirees who now rely more heavily on their Social Security benefits to sustain their lifestyle, the answer takes on even more significance.  Generally, your income from Social Security is not taxable on its own; but when it’s combined with other sources of income for tax reporting purposes, a porti

When it comes to investing, people can be their own worst enemy. Nearly all of the mistakes made by investors can be attributed to their behavior which is typically dictated by their emotions. Fear and greed have a way of driving even the most rational people to making investing decision which is why most investors typically under perform the markets.