Money Guide with Sterk Financial

Ever wanted to super-charge your tax deductions for charitable giving? In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Advisor Kelsey Bankey share strategies to create massive current-year tax deductions using Donor-Advised Funds.  Topics include: Charity Stocks Real Estate Assets Liability Business Gifts Tax Management Family Values Brokerage Account Highly-Appreciate...

Don’t pay a dollar more taxes than you have to! Sure - this is good advice, but it can be complicated to find every deduction and credit you can take. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Advisor Kelsey Bankey share a few mid-year tax hacks to help keep more of your money in your own pocket. Topics include: Medical Expenses Mileage Charity Fundraising Donati...

March is Irish Heritage Month, but did you know it's also Asset Management Awareness Month? In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey share key strategies you should be aware of when investing your hard-earned money. Topics include: Diversification Asset Allocation Investment Mutual Fund Growth Fund Squeue Risk Tolerance Level...

Emotions play a very powerful role in our decision-making, but investment decisions based in logic tend to have a better outcome. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk", Mary explains some ways to help you control your emotions so they don't impact your investment decisions in a negative way.  Topics include: Economy Recession Market Cycle Down Market Bankrupt Stock Market...

Can you lay your hands easily on your birth certificate? That is a perfect test for how organized you really are! In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey share tips about what financial information to focus on organizing.  Topics include: Loan Documents Digital Assets Paper Trail Online Filing System Identity Theft Passport Insur...

The biggest threat to your portfolio is unbridled emotion.  Listen to this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk" as Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey explain how to gain a strong understanding of the most important foundational investment principles, beginning with emergency funds.  Topics include: College Savings Emergency Fund Stocks & Bonds Portfolio Asset Alloca...

The primary goal of estate planning is to protect and preserve your family, not your assets. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Julie Chadwick share how a Family Love Letter can help you do just that.  Topics include: Legacy Greed Love Loss Living Will Estate Planning Assets Personal Property Disposal Beneficiary Designations Life Insuran...

Your 401(k) might become one of your biggest financial assets.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey learn simple guidelines and tools to help maximize the power of your 401(k). Topics include: Retirement Starbucks Inflation Investments Asset Classes Diversification Lifestyle Funds Target Date Funds Asset Allocation Divorce Be...

Divorce is difficult - emotionally and financially.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey will educate you about important factors to consider as you move through your divorce towards a brighter future.  Contact us today for a Divorce Checklist and ask us about our Divorce Financial Planning Program 605-217-3555. Topics includ...

The New Year is a great time to overhaul your financial life for the better, and one excellent place to start is by making good financial resolutions.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey share 7 smart resolutions to get your New Year off to a great start! Topics include: Getting Organized Savings Debt Retirement Financial So...

It's time to jump-start 2023!  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Julie Chadwick share smart resolutions for you to think about the year ahead and improve yourself from a financial standpoint.  Topics include: Credit Score Emergency Fund Savings Beneficiaries Per Stirpes Will Testamentary Trust Power of Attorney Subscribe to the “Mon...

The SECURE Act 2.0 will affect most people at some point in their life.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary explains the new law with some preliminary information to help you understand what you need to know at this time.  Topics include: ROTH IRA Required Minimum Distribution Retirement Beneficiaries Taxes IRS Tax Penalty 401(k) Catch-up Contributions Rollover 529 Ta...

As the end of the year approaches, you may want to take stock to see if there are any strategic tax strategies you need to implement by year's end. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Advisor Kelsey Bankey share insights about smart year-end tax planning that you may want to look into - before it's too late! Topics include: Long-Term After-Tax Ret...

You still have time to capture some timely end-of-the-year tax deductions.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Advisor Kelsey Bankey share some wisdom surrounding end-of-year tax strategy.  Topics include: Standard Deduction Tax Bracket Health Insurance Affordable Care Act Mortgage Interest Donor-Advised Fund Tax Loss Harvesting Tax Analysis Medical Receip...

When your company closes its doors, it can be quite traumatic for everyone.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary shares the top 5 must-know tips if you are the one locked out in the cold!  Topics include: Income Gap Analysis Cashflow Non-Qualified Monies ROTH IRA Insurance COBRA Taxes Retirement Plan Subscribe to the “Money Guide with Mary Sterk” podcast on apple podca...

You may be scared to retire during a recession – but it IS possible. If you make the decision to retire, go into it with eyes wide open. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary gives seven tips to consider to retire when you want, at the lifestyle you want, so that you can enjoy the life you want. Topics include: Financial Projections Retirement Accounts Investment Account...

All too often, holiday stress tends to dominate our holiday experience. Without a doubt, this time of year challenges us with unique expenses. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Julie Chadwick share time-tested strategies to reduce your financial stress and enjoy your holidays more! Topics include: Spending Goals Spending Cap Budget Sales...

While holidays bring cheer, they also challenge us with a unique layer of financial stress.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary shares time-tested strategies to reduce your financial stress and enjoy your holidays more!  Topics include: Credit Score Credit Cards Budget Online Shopping Impulse Buying Time Management Experiential Gifts Homemade Gifts Decorating Subscrib...

There's still time to capture some tax deductions this year. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Julie Chadwick share some tips and strategies surrounding end-of-year tax planning. Topics include: Post-Tax Funnel Pre-Tax Funnel Preferential Tax Treatment Brokerage Account Direct Mutual Fund Account Capital Gains Tax Tax-Sensitive Asse...

At the end of the day, it's not how much you earn, it's how much you KEEP of what you earned.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey share ways to keep more with a concept called tax-sensitive allocation. Topics include: Tax-Efficient Funnels Pre-Tax Post-Tax Tax-Advantage IRA Pension 401(k) Bank Accounts Brokerage Ac...

Many of our clients give to charitable organizations - both for personal satisfaction and for the tax deductions. In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk", Mary shares ways to create positive impact on the world and on your tax return with your giving.  Topics include: Standard Deduction 501(c)(3) Gift-stacking Philanthrophy Itemization Donor Advised Fund Estate Planning Will Ben...

Losing a spouse is a heartbreaking time, but did you know it also comes with significant financial changes that are often unexpected?  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Julie Chadwick share what to expect financially when your spouse passes away.  Topics include: Life Insurance  Estate Documents Will Social Security Bank Statements Inves...

Planning for retirement has a lot of moving parts.  Many people wonder if they have thought of the potential pitfalls that can derail a retirement.  In this episode of "Money Guide with Mary Sterk," Mary & Sterk Financial Advisor Kelsey Bankey discuss four retirement expenses that might catch you by surprise.  Listen in to learn how to safeguard against issues that you might not have...

How do the wealthy invest during market downturns? They know there can be wonderful opportunities if you have the right frame of mind, the right information and the right emotional capability to take advantage of them.  In this episode of “Money Guide with Mary Sterk,” Mary shares tips for strategic investing during a recession. Topics include: Supply & Demand Inflation Dollar Cost Averaging C...

Recession talk is on everybody’s mind. When people get emotional and nervous about investing, they start to make mistakes. In this episode of “Money Guide with Mary Sterk,” Mary shares tips to help you understand recessions, and strategic ideas to help you navigate your investments during a recession. Topics include:  Risk-Aligned Investing  Flexible Selling Pattern  Flexible Spending  Diversifica...