Blog

According to my calendar (which I thoroughly believe must be lying to me, because we can’t really be this close), there are only a couple of months left until Christmas, 2023. By then, most Americans are pretty much done making financial decisions for the year, not really thinking about business until sometime in January 2024. […]

Earlier this year, we posted a Blog expressing our disgust at the way Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) are applied to certain government functions that affect most Americans. The Department of Labor is charged with the annual task of determining the net increase in overall prices we all pay. Their results are published as the Consumer Price […]

The U.S. Tax Code is a behemoth, and little understood. It is enforced by a [service-oriented] Department of the Federal Government. The Internal Revenue Service, or more commonly IRS, has the ability to ruin lives, and the American people rightly fear and loathe the “Service.” It is little wonder to me, as I share most […]

Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA – easy choice? Not so much. Add in Roth IRA Conversions (from Traditional IRAs), and year-end 2023 financial planning gets even more complicated. Yet, the long-term consequences of these conversions, positive or negative, are serious. Consequently, Van Wie Financial is already involved in our clients’ year-end planning. Naturally, it gets […]

In advanced mathematics, there is a tenet called Necessary and Sufficient. In financial planning, those terms are applicable to the relationships we maintain with clients, readers, listeners, and within our own business. As fiduciaries, we must always act in the best interests of our clients. As responsible broadcasters, we bring you the best we have […]

Last week we discussed the urgency of financial planning for 2024, and how it must start long before year-end 2023. Once the clock strikes midnight on December 31, it is too late to correct many oversights and/or errors. When dealing with tax-related items, some can be costly to taxpayers, while others manifest mostly as Opportunity […]

From the perspective of a professional financial planner, 2023 is nearly over. From the standpoint of elected federal officials, 2023 is waning, with far too much business remaining undone (as usual). How many of our individual businesses would survive if we operated the way the federal government runs our nation’s business? Elected officials hold power […]

According to a recent study, about 20% of Americans’ massive investments in 401(k) accounts belong to ex-employees. Enough of these accounts are neglected or forgotten that the government has established a National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits (unclaimedretirementbenefits.com) to assist former employees in reclaiming their accounts, which average about $55,000 each. Those accounts, properly integrated […]

Social Security and Medicare are going broke. Our elected officials readily admit the problem. What they won’t do is seriously discuss how to avoid an impending default. Every day, the problem escalates. Instead, when any brave politician mentions the need to repair the wounded system, political competitors point fingers and assure immediate political destruction. In […]