Blog

Rules for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are complex and widely misunderstood. Errors can be costly, sometimes in cash, and other times in lost opportunities. First and foremost is the eligibility to contribute, which now is only circumstantially related to age. Contributions were formerly limited to people under age 70-1/2. That restriction was eliminated in 2020, […]

America is aging, and we owe a great deal of gratitude to the medical community for prolonging lifespans. Unfortunately, with advancing ages come increasing incidences of Diminished Mental Capacity, or DMC. That fact is changing the world of financial planning and investing. Professional financial planners must increasingly deal with Longevity Risk for so long as […]

Difficult as it is to look back at 2020 with any fond recollections, for some Americans the single-year suspension of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from Qualified Retirement Accounts was an actual highlight. The introduction of COVID-19 to our shores created severe turmoil in the markets, and most account balances were in need of bolstering. As […]

Personal financial planning is extremely challenging and requires the use of several mathematical concepts. Van Wie Financial attempts to simplify math concepts when explanations are needed. Our example today pertains to the reporting of household Net Worth. Simply stated, Net Worth is the numerical difference between a family’s total assets and their total liabilities. The […]

Inflation is ubiquitous, reminders are everywhere, and nearly every American is feeling the pinch. Go to any gas station, grocery store, restaurant, car dealer—you name the place, and inflation has preceded your visit. This week we were informed by the Bureau of Labor Standards, or BLS, (the government agency assigned to monitor, calculate, and report […]

Academia will study most anything, so long as they are hopeful of proving a hypothesis. One particularly dubious study concerning investment returns in Roth IRAs attempted to show that results are somehow influenced by the annual incomes of the account holders. Finding #1 – Lower-income investors experienced lower investment returns than did their higher-income counterparts. […]

Although attendance was virtual this month, the annual Davos (Switzerland) World Economic Forum took place as usual. This year’s dog-and-pony show, which is always attended by carefully selected and invited uber-wealthy, self-important, so-called world leaders, produced noteworthy insight into U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s enthusiasm for John Maynard Keynes’ discredited economic theories. As if we […]

In 1997, then-President Bill Clinton signed into law the Taxpayer Relief Act, (TRA) and with that signature was born the Roth IRA. Its namesake, Senator William Roth, was a Republican from (ready?) Delaware and Clinton was a notorious tax raiser. Somehow, the stars aligned, and TRA became the law of the land. Twenty-three years earlier, […]

Debt management and control is crucial for achieving long-term financial independence. Success seems out of reach for too many Americans, often because they are so far in debt. In our Financial Planning practice, we have guided more than a handful of clients through the process of relieving a debt load. While it is never easy, […]