by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
In this post I’m tackling a tax topic: The difference between ordinary income taxation and capital gains taxation. What’s the difference and why is it important to know? One word: taxes.
The IRS taxes your income, as you know, but it also taxes...
by Glenn Downing, MBA, CFP®
In a previous entry I discussed the difference in taxation of capital gains property vs. ordinary income property. That piece discussed what happens on your form 1040. This piece looks ahead to your eventual mortality. What happens when you...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
An important financial concern that we often hear from clients is, “How can I improve my credit score?” First of all, I have to give a quick disclaimer that our company, CameronDowning, is not a credit repair or debt consolidation service. Our goal is...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
Isn’t it funny that we are expected to make the biggest decisions of our lives when we are young?
We get married, we pursue a career path, maybe have children. We have to make quite a few decisions that will affect us the rest of our lives and...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
With this blog post I’d like to share some thoughts about investment risk tolerance.
Generally, we think about risk as a bad thing – something we want to avoid. “I won’t drive faster and risk a speeding ticket”, and, “No,...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
I’m here to tell you once and for all.
Yes, I know . . . this is a little off the beaten path for me.
The World is Not in Good Order
I usually write about financial topics, given that I’m a professional financial planner. But occasionally...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Channeling David Letterman and all those Top Ten lists. I thought it might be fun to compile one of my own. To wit:
The Top Five Mistakes People Make With Their Money
This is a list compiled after about 25 years of experience.
Mistake #5
You eat out way...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
Picture the scene: My wife has a group of friends visiting. I come home from work, greet everyone, and have a glass of wine to be sociable. At some point I announce that I’ll retire to my study for the evening. What does that verb mean – to retire?...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
We usually understand the time value of money in two contexts: the growth rate of an investment, and the inflation rate. Nonetheless, the TVM is a topic that should be understood by everyone serious about financial planning.
Sketch Out a Timeline
To...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
By early 2015, the amount of outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. exceeded $1.2 trillion. What a staggering number! Tens of millions of young professionals carry significant student debt balances. The payments may be stiff. It can take years to pay off...
By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
In this blog post I want to go just a little bit beyond the basics of traditional IRAs and how they work.
What are Traditional IRAs?
An IRA is an individual retirement account by definition, with the emphasis on individual. One IRA means one owner, so...
By Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
Most people are familiar with the 401k, but what’s a 403b? Basically a 403b is a retirement plan that is sponsored by a 501c3 organization, meaning a not-for-profit employer. A local school board or hospital are good examples. The employee invests in mutual...
