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Let’s Manage Your Tax Bill
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Let’s Manage Your Tax Bill

July 9, 2020

Here’s something you never hear:  “I love paying taxes!”  They’re an awful chore to do every year, and if you pay a professional to get the dome, that simply adds to the costs.  Very few people even like to think about them.  Still, income taxes are a necessary evil, and we’re stuck with them. That’s why it’s extremely important to give your tax situation some thought during the actual tax year, rather than waiting until the year is over.  That way, you may be able to manage your tax bill so that it’s either lower right now, or potentially over your entire life — or both. The middle of the year may be the perfect time to evaluate where your tax situation stands, because doing so could potentially save you a lot of money at filing time next year.
A Long-Term Care Insurance Plan That We Really Like
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A Long-Term Care Insurance Plan That We Really Like

July 2, 2020

As you may have heard, the costs of long-term care (LTC) keep going up, with no end currently in sight.  And along with those costs of care, the premiums for LTC insurance have also risen tremendously over the past 15 years, just to keep up. Did you know that your long-term care insurance premiums can rise even when you’ve already got a policy in force?  And what if you never even need to use that policy?  In the minds of many, long-term care insurance seems like a potential waste of money. With the uncertainties of costs, and not knowing if you’ll ever need the policy in the first place, planning for what could be a huge expense out of your nest egg is difficult at best.  Nobody wants to have their retirement savings decimated by the cost of long-term care. Yet this is exactly what often happens to people who don’t prepare for those expenses.  Since planning is ultimately about finding potential solutions to problems down the road, we have what we believe may be just the right answer to these LTC issues.

A College Education Credit You May Have Missed
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A College Education Credit You May Have Missed

June 25, 2020

ou probably don’t need us (or anyone) telling you that college costs are high, and going higher each year.  When you consider tuition, fees and housing, and add in various supplies and more, even the cheapest local university can cost more each year than a new car.  So what can you do? To be frank, there’s not much anyone can do about these expenses by themselves, so if your child or you have decided to go the college route, you’ll either have to pay them in full, or hope the school administrators give you a break.  But there’s a little-known way that you may be able to recoup some of those costs, thanks to the federal government’s American Opportunity Tax Credit.  

Keeping Calm During Turbulent Markets
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Keeping Calm During Turbulent Markets

June 19, 2020

Is this a time of crisis?  Many would probably say that it is, especially in terms of public health and the economy.  These days it may seem as if things will never get back to “normal,” whatever normal might be, and that any improvement in our situation is happening much too slowly. Time, of course, has historically been the great healer.  This has been true of just about everything, including the stock market.  We’ve been through times of crisis so often in the past that it’s easy to forget exactly how often we’ve had to overcome difficulty.  With each event in history, though, the markets have reacted with volatility; and so far, they’ve always come back. In this week’s edition of Lucia Capital Group Weekly, “Professor” Rick Plum, CFP discusses these game-changing events in history, and how the markets reacted both during and afterward.  How do you keep calm when everything around you is chaos? 
5 Key Factors to Consider Before Investing
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5 Key Factors to Consider Before Investing

June 11, 2020

nvesting in the markets is tricky, and often comes with a great deal of risk, especially over the short term. Even when stocks on a solid upswing, as they were for most of the time period between 2009 and 2020, the wrong investment strategy can cause serious damage to your portfolio. But investing is not only about asset allocation, asset location, and P/E ratios: it’s also about you as an individual. Are you prepared to take a loss if you need to sell some assets? Do you have a suitable time frame for investing in order to potentially lessen that risk of loss? What are your goals for the money you want to invest? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you commit any amount of money to the stock market.  Whether times are good or times are volatile, those issue are important.
An Up Market in a Down Economy?
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An Up Market in a Down Economy?

June 4, 2020

Just a month or so ago, oil was trading around zero, the quarantine orders were in full effect, and since that time we’ve seen more bankruptcies and stress in the economy — especially with small businesses. Fast forward to today and the market is close to where it all started. Why is that? In this week’s edition of Lucia Capital Group Weekly, Ray Lucia Jr. speaks with Lance Helfert, portfolio manager and Senior Vice President of Lucia Wealth Services, about what’s going on with stocks and the market in general. They also discuss interest rates, and why ignoring the noise and simply focusing on what is actually observable may be one of the biggest keys to successful investing.
New Rules for Hardship Retirement Plan Distributions
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New Rules for Hardship Retirement Plan Distributions

May 21, 2020

The recently-enacted CARES Act introduced us to some new rules regarding qualified retirement plans (like a 401-k) and IRAs. These new rules are actually more like temporary “allowances,” as they provide a window of opportunity that may allow you to take advantage of some penalty-free distributions during the pandemic. What’s new is something called a CRD — COVID-Related Distribution — and it’s important that people who need to access their savings during this time of crisis know how they work. If done properly, they may provide some much-needed relief. And while we don’t always recommend that someone take loans or premature distributions from their retirement plans as their first option, this may be the right thing for certain people to consider.
Staying Financially Healthy
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Staying Financially Healthy

May 14, 2020

There’s a lot of talk these days, understandably so, about health. This is extremely important, and following proper guidelines may help save your life. But besides personal health, it’s also important to make sure you’re financially healthy as well. Thus, it’s a good idea to do a checkup every so often to assess where you are right now, and decide if you’re prepared for any potential roadblocks that may occur.   So where does financial health start? It begins with the simple things: an emergency fund, one that may cover your basic expenses in case your income is slowed or stops. But there’s more to it. What about debts? Are you taking advantage of any employer matches in your company retirement plan? Have your goals changed in the past few years? If so, are you still set up to get to where you want to be? 
Questions Regarding the Partnership with LPL Financial
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Questions Regarding the Partnership with LPL Financial

May 1, 2020

We are really excited to announce that LPL, the country’s largest independent broker-dealer firm, will be partnering with Lucia Capital Group later this year. A broker-dealer is a company that provides regulatory compliance and support to registered investment advisor firms, and acts as the buyer and seller of securities for its customers. In addition, LPL will also act as Lucia Capital Group’s clearing firm that will custody our brokerage and advisory assets.
Navigating These Treacherous Stock Market Waters
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Navigating These Treacherous Stock Market Waters

April 23, 2020

We’ve seen several eras of stock market volatility over the past few decades: the dot-com bust, 9/11, the Great Recession of 2008.  But somehow, this market, this new era, feels a lot different. Whether it is or is not remains to be seen, but as we work our way through this time of absolute uncertainty, it seems more important now than ever before to have a steady hand on the wheel and an eye on the long term. We’re hearing a lot of talk about a “flight to quality,” or a “flight to safety,” and the potential benefits of active management versus passive management when the markets do crazy things.  But what does that mean? Do you really change your investment style in times like these, or did you already have a strategy to deal with these inevitable turns so that you can just stay the course? Difficult questions, indeed.