Montgomery Community Media

With the April 15th tax filing deadline still months away, it may seem early to consider taxes, but when it comes to reducing your tax bill, starting early makes eminent sense. Too often tax planning is delayed until very late in the year or until we complete our tax returns. By then it is often […]

With the high and rising cost of a college education, parents are looking for ways to increase affordability. Some families with talented child-athletes look to earning athletic scholarships as a primary means of funding higher education. But are they really coming out ahead financially when they pay for more than a dozen years of athletic […]

With the economy growing at a rapid pace and unemployment dropping, wages are showing strong increases. According to the Department of Labor, unemployment is at 3.9% and wages have been rising at a 2.7% annualized rate for the past three months. Companies are being pressured to pay more for talent and to keep their employees […]

With indications that current college students will need to accumulate well over one million dollars simply to remain in the middle class during their later years, pursuing financial freedom from an early age makes eminent sense. However, many teens or twenty-somethings tune out around talk about investing for retirement. Framing investment conversations that college students […]

A Target Date Fund (TDF) combines a variety of investment strategies into one mutual fund. The concept is that investors, based on their target date of retirement, can simply select one mutual fund that will be managed for them during their entire life. This is because the asset allocation and investments inside the TDF will […]

This year for Father’s Day, instead of another golf shirt, a gift card, or the ever popular power tool, if your dad doesn’t already have a written financial plan, consider giving him one. The millennial generation is poised to be the next “sandwich generation,” providing for their children while also having to care for elderly […]

You may have heard the expression, “Buy ‘term’ and invest the difference.” While this axiom makes sense for many, there are times when whole life insurance is appropriate. It may sound odd, but a good question to ask is this: “Do I want to have life insurance when I die?” If you answer yes, then […]

As the tax-filing deadline nears, many people are looking for legitimate ways to lower their tax bills. While the government doesn’t make it easy, I can offer a few tips—especially for younger workers—that can help reduce that tax amount payable to Uncle Sam. 1 – Fully participate in any company-sponsored retirement plan. Whether it’s a […]

April is Financial Literacy Month and a great time to focus on financial education. A lack of financial preparedness has huge societal costs, and in the coming years as Americans age, these costs will likely increase. There are daunting challenges facing not only the poor but also the working middle class. In the face of […]

Historically, or at least before the housing crash of 2008, home ownership was considered to be a sure way of increasing your net worth. America’s post World War II economy had a reasonably steady level of growth, and population increases and demand for housing supported a rise in prices. In addition, fiscal policy favored home […]