Blog

As a military family, you face challenges and opportunities in managing your finances. Planning for your financial future is important, regardless of where you are in your journey. Here are a few key financial considerations for military families.

Every year, the holiday season sneaks up on us and, before we get to turn around, it’s over. This frenzied time of year is filled with shopping excursions and office parties, and it’s easy to let financial planning slip through the cracks at the very moment when it may have the greatest impact. Here are some tips for timely year-end planning that may make a big difference.

In 2017, the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) offered many different taxpayers a variety of benefits including changing deductions, depreciation, expensing, tax credits, and other tax-related items. The provisions were never intended to be permanent, as they had a termination date unless Congress moved to keep the benefits in place.

Inheriting comes with many emotions, from sadness to confusion to perhaps even joy or relief. An inheritance can take various forms, such as cash, properties, stocks, bonds, property, or other assets. The person leaving the inheritance, the decedent, will likely specify how their wealth will be distributed through an estate plan or will at their death.

If you have a 401(k) plan at work and need some cash, you might be tempted to borrow or withdraw money from it. But keep in mind that the purpose of a 401(k) is to save for retirement. Take money out of it now, and you'll risk running out of money during retirement. You may also face stiff tax consequences and penalties for withdrawing money before age 59½.

Contributing to a 401(k) plan is an excellent method for saving for retirement. There are many benefits to having a 401(k) plan, and you often hear that you are supposed to max out your account. Yes, that is true, but not so fast. Consider these four reasons why you may not want to max out your 401(k) right away.

Between work commitments, children’s schedules, and fall cleaning, how much time is left in our busy days to think about financial planning? Many of us choose to delay thinking about our finances until much later or to manage them on our own, confident that seeking the help of a professional is something we might defer indefinitely.

The goal for your saving plan is up to you. Some people enjoy travel or the latest electronics. Others may save for school or a home purchase. While there are a thousand ways to spend your money, there’s only one way to save it — stick to the plan.

If anything good has come from the last few years of uncertainty and volatility, it’s that many of us are becoming more financially literate. We’re more aware of our finances and are better at prioritizing our expenditures. We’re also more aware of how important it is to save for the future, while still enjoying the present moment.

If you’ve had to reconsider or drastically change your spending and saving habits because of the current economic environment, you’re not alone. But there may be an opportunity in this current market to teach good financial habits to your teenagers; ones that they can carry into adulthood.