This time of year it is not uncommon to find yourself burdened with an abundance of credit card debt. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) provides this list of their top six tips to help you come out from under the weight of credit card debt.
In the spirit of the season, a donation has been made to the Fair Lawn Food Pantry in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and to the All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota, Florida.
A 90-second read by Anthony Benante: What 5 things should you be thinking about at the end of the year when it comes to your finances?
Many young people face the dilemma of looking to purchase a home while still having student loan obligations. For example, you might question, is it better to pay off the student loan in its entirety and then work towards saving for a home purchase? Or continue paying off the student loan while saving for the home purchase?
A 30-second read by the Baron Team: At Baron Financial Group, we are committed to education and further advancing our knowledge of the industry to best serve our clients. In November 2018, one of our Baron team members, Victoria Cannillo, earned the CFA Institute Investment Foundations® certificate from the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst®) Institute to help with her role as a financial analyst as well as a member of our internal investment committee.
A 30-second read by the Baron Team: Baron Financial Group strives to stay up-to-date on the current information and newest advancements available in the financial industry regarding financial planning and investment management, practice management, and security. To that end, Baron Team members attended the 2018 Schwab Impact, held in Washington, D.C. from October 28th – 31st, the financial industry’s largest gathering of experts and visionaries.
A 30-second read by the Baron Team: As is our tradition, Baron Financial Group sponsored Spectrum for Living’s Annual Walkathon. This year’s event was “D’Feet Disabilities – 5K & Doggie Dash.” The event was held Saturday, October 13, 2018 at Overpeck Park in Ridgefield, NJ. Victoria Cannillo of Baron Financial participated in the 5k walk/run.
Social Security will begin increasing payments beginning in January of 2019. Why did this happen - because October 11th is the date when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its report of inflation. Social Security uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as their measure of inflation.
This is an update to our September 2017 blog post concerning the Equifax data breach that occurred in September of 2017. Due to the data breach, we advised considering freezing your credit reports to stop thieves from opening new credit cards or loans in your name. Freezing your report also prevents you from opening new accounts, so each time you apply for a credit card, mortgage or loan, you need to lift the freeze a few days beforehand.
When you are planning to fund your child’s college education, the 529 plan can provide several tax-benefits for your savings. A 529 plan is a plan operated by a state or educational institution, with tax advantages and potentially other incentives to make it easier to save for college and other post-secondary training, or for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school for a designated beneficiary, such as a child or grandchild.
A 30-second read by the Baron Team: As Financial Advisors, it is our responsibility to protect all of our clients from financial abuse, if possible, but it is the senior client that may be the most susceptible and needs our protection. Unfortunately, they may become victims of financial abuse at the hands of their caregivers or family members. Often, abusers isolate their victims from loved ones or professionals in order to hide their fraudulent activity. If you have a client or know someone that you suspect is a victim of abuse (of any kind), Aginginvestor.com provided these “Three things to do if you think your client is being isolated from others”:
As you prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Florence, we thought this Red Cross checklist would be a helpful resource. If you click on the picture see the complete document.