A Place of Possibility

The New York Times reported that people leaving California outnumbered newcomers by more than 700,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. A further breakdown shows that over 407,000 people left between July 2021 and 2022, plus an additional 343,000 people left California in 2022 alone. That's the highest exodus of any state in the US in history. So, why are we seeing such a mass movement? The...

With the roller coaster of inflation, interest rates, and more, 2023 was a wild ride. But the real driving force seems to be the dramatically pessimistic media. If one of your goals for 2024 is to improve your financial health, then you're in the right place. In our opinion, the first step is to ignore market predictions, no matter how scary they seem. They're usually far from accurate! We have re...

As the calendar pages flip towards the imminent 2024, it's the perfect moment to execute those strategic financial maneuvers that will set the stage for a successful tax season and ensure you leave the year on a high note. If you've been tuning in regularly, you already know we've been through the year-end rodeo before, and for our newcomers, buckle up because we've meticulously crafted a hit list...

Discussions about the housing market are always a hot topic. Here in the Bay Area, the housing market has been interesting, to say the least! Local reports say that since August of 2023, home prices are back on the rise after a 14-month decline, the longest period since 2012. And yet demand is still high, with some homes selling within just nine days of being on the market and interest rates hitti...

Elder abuse - it's a topic often avoided because the reality of it is difficult to face. However, it's a vital conversation and brings forward the importance of combating mistreatment through education and advocacy. Unfortunately, the elderly population is more susceptible to being taken advantage of due to physical and mental decline, and believe it or not, 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 60 wi...

Retirement is a milestone we all aspire to, and for many, choosing a lump sum can be the key to financial freedom. However, it can also be daunting. While enticing, the prospect of receiving a substantial cash payout from your employer can come with a particular responsibility and the need to make critical financial decisions. This lump sum represents your life's work, and it can be challenging to...

With aging comes many difficult decisions. One of those is determining the best living situation for your later years, specifically, choosing a senior living community. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the number of adults 65 and older who will need to move into senior living communities is expected to reach 27 million by 2050. That's a lot of people! While ma...

Contemplating what will happen to you after you die can be emotionally challenging, so it's no wonder most of us avoid it at all costs. However, certain end-of-life choices have to be dealt with one way or another. 82% of people don't pre-plan their funeral and cemetery details, which means their family members are left to make tough decisions at the last minute while grieving, as well as take on...

Have you ever heard of the adage "shirtsleeve to shirtsleeves in three generations?" It refers to the inability of children and grandchildren to manage family wealth that has been passed down. And it starts with the classic American dream story. One of the first generations hits it out of the park with success, but by the third generation, two things have happened: One, the money is all gone, and...

In simple terms, retirement planning is what we do to prepare for life when we stop working – financially and via lifestyle choices. It's about determining specific goals for this future time in our lives and how we can achieve them by identifying income sources, estimating expenses, building necessary savings plans, and much more. We all know that preparing for retirement is an important endeavor...

If you're a homeowner, how often have you been overwhelmed by home repairs and maintenance? You find a problem, like a leak, and before you can even begin hiring someone, you must research to find out who to call. But how do you know where to start? And who can you really trust in your home? And on top of all that, there's cost. On average, homeowners spent nearly $6,000 on home maintenance and re...

It's a phone call no parent wants to get. Their 18-year-old child has gone off to college, leaving the nest for the first time, and despite being the most level-headed and responsible teenager imaginable, they've landed in the hospital. Every parent's natural inclination is to do everything possible to help their child, but after attempting to talk with the treating physician, they're told they ca...

Creating and sticking to an investment strategy that considers our personal values and the welfare of the planet and its people might seem like a relatively new concept, but it has been around for quite some time. In fact, centuries ago, the Quaker religion not only forbade its members from enslaving people but also from investing in companies that profited from slavery. Undoubtedly, it's also a c...

If you think that estate planning is something that can wait until your more "mature" years, you're not alone. Unfortunately, many people share this same impression. After all, what is there to plan for if you have no spouse, no children, and only modest assets? Plenty! There's much more to estate planning than merely deciding who gets your assets and other possessions when you die — putting it of...

In most industries, you can generally rely on a legitimate professional's opinion for guidance. But the investment industry — or more specifically, the investment PREDICTION industry — is an altogether different animal. That seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? It sure feels like that trade would be filled with legitimate pros whose advice you could literally take to the bank. After all, we're inun...

The recent failure of three regional banks has been front and center on our news screens. It has caused some substantial volatility in the financial markets, though not as much as you expected, given the circumstances. After all, it's pretty rare for FDIC-backed banks to fail, but here we are. And when three banks collapsed rapidly, it acted as a force multiplier in the public consciousness. Espec...

Inflation and interest rates. They've been in the news quite a bit lately, and with good reason. Both have a profound effect on our everyday lives. We cannot help but feel inflation's sting every time we buy groceries or fill our gas tanks. And even those seemingly trivial items we once purchased online without batting an eye cause us to think twice before hitting the "Buy Now" button. Inflation s...

More retirement changes are here, as the Secure Act 2.0 passed Congress in the waning days of 2022, almost three years to the day after version 1.0 of the Act became law. Most of us harbor enough cynicism where the government is concerned to expect little in the way of "purpose-built" legislation, so it might come as a surprise that the Secure Act 2.0, like its predecessor, addresses a boatload of...

"If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." This axiom has been drilled into our heads — often since our youth — and most of the time, it's absolutely true. But, like many of the adages we've grown up with, there are exceptions. With its austere, "cut and dried" sensibilities, the IRS tax code would seem to be the last place you would find these exceptions. The agency itself has an...

Many of us — if not most of us — have had it drilled into our heads since we were old enough to become consumers that carrying any debt, regardless of what kind of debt it is, should be avoided whenever possible. We see this belief constantly reinforced via shelves of financial "self-help" books, as well as on television and radio. The most notable of the latter has to be Dave Ramsey, whose caller...

Fear of Missing Out — better known as FOMO these days — is a strong human emotion, to begin with, and when money is involved, its already considerable influence becomes even more powerful. You can make a pretty strong case that nothing taps into this alchemy of money-fueled emotion quite like IPOs do. In the financial and mainstream media alike, it seems that we're constantly regaled with stories...

The end of 2022 is upon us, and boy, has it been a bit of a roller coaster this year with inflation. But with only a few weeks left, it's time for us to make some important financial decisions and adjustments before that December 31st deadline. The heart-to-heart you have with your finances now could reduce the burden of your taxes and increase Medicare savings, retirement savings, investments, an...

Medicare Open Enrollment – a term that may be very familiar to you and nearly everyone else, but especially to those who are already on Medicare and want to drop or switch plans. October 15th through December 7th of each year is the period known as open enrollment and allows individuals ample opportunity to investigate whether they can benefit from switching up their coverage. But Medicare is conf...

Property insurance. Even if you consider yourself responsible, it might not be something you give much thought to — a "set it and forget it" item. At one time, you probably went out and bought the coverage you THOUGHT you needed, likely based on an incomplete set of considerations. And we're going to take a wild guess that you haven't really given your property insurance much thought over the year...

You've probably pondered the idea of investing in real estate, but with today's high prices, you might feel that it has become the exclusive territory of the wealthy. Or maybe the prospect of becoming a landlord brings more anxiety, with visions of late-night calls from tenants, water leaks, mold problems, and more. If you look at real estate investment from a traditional perspective, your concern...