Financial Foresight

The latest news and information about financial management. This page is updated monthly to provide current and topical advice, so please view often.

Why a Business Owner's Exit Plan Is So Important – July 2008

There are plenty of days when we want to “take that job and shove it.” But what happens when we’re sick of a job we’ve created for ourselves in a business we’ve founded?

The idea is to make a plan that allows you to get out before you tire of your company or before you are overwhelmed by personal, industrial or economic factors that force you to sell, transfer or close a company. This is called an exit plan. Read More...

Why Going Green in a Blue Economy Can Be a Smart Investment – July 2008

While the real estate market is slow and high energy prices are challenging everything from the way we heat our homes to the way we get around, it might make sense to bring a green approach to a tough economic environment. Read More...

With the Market So Uncertain, Are Immediate Annuities A Good Way To Preserve Your Retirement Savings? – April 2008

One day, the market is up 400 points. The next day, down 300. Stocks in 2008 haven’t won any points for stability. In periods of market uncertainty, you’ll hear a lot about safe harbor investments that will supposedly guarantee income for life. One of these alternatives is an immediate annuity. Read More...

A Long-term Care Insurance Primer – April 2008

As millions of Baby Boomers head into their retirement years, it’s surprising how few actually know that the government provides little more than a few weeks of financial support for home-based or nursing home care when the average person needs it for at least a year. Read More...

Get A Head Start On Tax Planning For 2008 – March 2008

It's still a month until most of us will file our 2007 tax returns, but it's a good idea to keep in mind key tax changes that will affect our 2008 returns. Here are some of the highlights. Read More...

Investing Smart in a Health Savings Account – February, 2008

Last year, new provisions went into effect on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that not only give individuals a better nest egg for serious health situations, but a nest egg that can serve them in other ways as well. Now that the rules allow people to contribute more than their deductible, you can start to use HSAs for greater long-term savings. Read More...

When Recession Fears Surface, Check Your Plan. Or Make One – February, 2008

It’s been a wild week on Wall Street. When trading reopened on Tuesday after the Martin Luther King holiday, the Federal Reserve Board responded to world pressure and swooped in with a rate cut to put a floor on Dow losses that were approaching 20 percent since last October. By today, things seemed to be stabilizing. Read More...

Homeowners in Trouble Need to be Proactive – January, 2008

According to a November, 2007 report by Standard & Poor's, about half a trillion dollars' worth of adjustable-rate mortgages are due to reset to higher rates in 2008 when their two-year teaser rate periods come to an end. Read More...

Try and Avoid These Stupid IRA Mistakes – December, 2007

Fortunately, Dec. 31 is not the final decision date for what we do with our individual retirement accounts – the final 2007 IRA contribution deadline comes on April 15 next year – but it’s a good time to review the do’s and don’ts of successful IRA management. Read More...

What You Can Do Before the Kiddy Tax Loophole Closes – November, 2007

When President Bush signed new legislation in May to limit gifts to children that take advantage of their lower tax rate, it was the second time in just over 12 months that Congress extended the reach of the so-called kiddy tax, which subjects a child's income to his/her parents' higher tax rate. Read More...

How Your Personality Affects Your Financial Decision-making – September, 2007

The recent volatility in the stock market has everyone a little jumpy – even folks who have worked with a trusted financial planner for years. But if you've never worked with a planner before, one of the first things I will do is ask you to fill out a risk analysis questionnaire. Read More...

Is Pet Health Insurance Worth It? – September, 2007

How much do we love our pets? Somewhere near the tune of $40.8 billion – the total amount Americans will spend on their pets this year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

Somewhere in that figure is $230 million – the amount that was spent on pet health insurance in 2006, according to research firm Packaged Facts, which projects that amount will rise 24 percent in 2007. Read More...