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Three Hidden Benefits of the Roth IRA

March 5, 2021

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are designed to be used as savings vehicles for your retirement.  As an added incentive to save, they often come with distinct tax advantages, such as deductions, deferrals, or tax-free withdrawals.  There are also, in most cases, penalty taxes for removing your money from the account too early. With the Roth IRA, though, there are exceptions to this “penalty tax,” potentially allowing you to access your money before you would normally be allowed to do so.  How might you be able to benefit from that? 

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Why You Should Take Your RMDs Early in the Year

February 25, 2021

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) can be a tricky thing to navigate.  This has always been true, but even more so for last year (2020), when some of the rules either changed or were temporarily put on hold.  Not understanding these rules, or having the wrong information, can be costly. But did you know that you… View Article

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Practical Advice on Buying and Selling a Home

February 18, 2021

Homeownership is for many people a major goal in life.  And while it’s often the most expensive thing we will ever buy in our lifetimes, there are also several potential financial benefits for owning, purchasing, or selling a home. If you’ve got plans this year to either buy or sell a primary residence, there are some things you should consider before doing so. 

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Beware of the Hidden Taxes in Retirement

February 11, 2021

One of the bigger myths that people often take into retirement is that their tax situation will become simpler once they’ve stopped earning a paycheck.  While this may be true in some instances, it’s certainly not the case for everyone.  In fact, it may be that your tax headaches are just beginning. Knowing what to expect, and then making plans in anticipation of that, is one of the best things you can do to potentially improve your financial situation in retirement. 

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How the 2020 Economic Relief Acts Will Affect You in 2021

February 4, 2021

If nothing else, 2020 was a year of change.  Most of it temporary, some of it permanent.  This was true in all phases of life, including finance.  We saw, among other things, stimulus checks (two rounds), extra unemployment benefits, and people who were forced to relocate and change their lives completely around. Each of these… View Article

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Is It Smart to Pay Off Your Mortgage?

January 7, 2021

If you’ve ever considered taking some extra money and paying down (or paying off) your home mortgage, you may have found that arriving at a decision wasn’t as easy as you thought. The choice usually is this: either put those funds toward the mortgage, or invest it and hope for greater net returns. There are two aspects to consider here: the emotional and the rational. And those two are often in conflict with one another.  How do you decide what to do?

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Living Trust or Will? What You Need to Consider

December 17, 2020

When you’ve worked hard over your lifetime and you’ve done all you can to be a conscientious saver, it stands to reason that you’d want some control over what happens to your assets after you’re gone. Having an estate plan may ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. But what should that estate plan include? Do you need a standard will, or should you have something that offers you a few more options? These are questions that should be considered by anyone who’s concerned about potential conflicts and costs for their heirs. Questions, of course, need answers.

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Beware the High-Yield Siren Song

December 10, 2020

Once upon a time in America, a married couple could afford to have one spouse stay at home and take care of domestic responsibilities while the other spouse went out and earned the income.  And while that scenario does still exist today, it’s far less common than it was 30 or 40 years ago. It would seem plausible that having two incomes instead of one would make a family more financially secure.  This is true, but only to an extent – especially for affluent households.  In fact, having two working spouses may in some cases have an adverse effect on a family’s financial situation.

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The Dual-Income Dilemma

December 3, 2020

Once upon a time in America, a married couple could afford to have one spouse stay at home and take care of domestic responsibilities while the other spouse went out and earned the income.  And while that scenario does still exist today, it’s far less common than it was 30 or 40 years ago. It would seem plausible that having two incomes instead of one would make a family more financially secure.  This is true, but only to an extent – especially for affluent households.  In fact, having two working spouses may in some cases have an adverse effect on a family’s financial situation. Are two incomes really better than one? 

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Happy Thanksgiving from Lucia Capital Group

November 25, 2020

Well, folks, it’s been quite a year. Nobody has ever seen anything like 2020 and hope we don’t have to go through another one like it ever again. But with all the chaos we’ve seen over the past 11 months, we still have so much to be thankful for, and it all starts with you,… View Article

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Does Mixing Your Investments Raise Your Retirement Confidence?

November 19, 2020

Did your doctor ever tell you to eat a variety of foods to keep yourself healthy?  That was probably some good advice.  As it turns out, the same may hold true in the world of investing. If you own just a simple mix of traditional stock and bond investments, you may be at risk of… View Article

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Sorting Out the Self-Employed Retirement Plan Options

November 12, 2020

Retirement Plan Options blurb: If you run your own business, chances are pretty good that you know a lot about the products or services you offer. That’s why you’re in business for yourself, right?But while you’ve surely got that part of it down, you may find that you aren’t nearly as familiar with your business finances — taxes, payroll, accounting, and employee benefits, just to name a few. For those with employees, the financial complications can become overwhelming, especially if you’re not familiar with all of the rules and options available to you as a business owner. One particularly confusing aspect has to do with employee retirement plans. Even if you have no employees and you yourself are the only one involved, you still may want to set up a retirement plan for yourself. There are several tax-advantaged options available to a business owner, and finding one that’s suitable for you can be a daunting task.