By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®

The SIMPLE IRA is the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees. The SIMPLE allows for both employer contributions and employee deferrals. The plan is deal for employers who want to contribute something – but not a lot – to employee retirement accounts.

The is the second in a two-part series about retirement plans for the small business.  The first was about the SEP IRA.  

Who Is Covered Under the SIMPLE?

The SIMPLE is for an employer with fewer than 100 employees who earned less than $5000 in the previous year. The employer cannot have any other retirement plan – only the SIMPLE. Any employee who earned $5000 in any of the previous two years and expects to do so in the current year is eligible to participate. The plan must be established before October 1st for the current year. After Oct. 1st it will become effective for the following year.

Employer Contributions

A big part of retirement plan design has to do with...

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

Young professionals are expected to accomplish a lot early in life. You’re beginning to make real money. Time to get sound financial advice to establish a good foundation from someone you trust. The problem is most financial advisors focus primarily on retirement planning. When working with young professionals, I believe this is a mistake. 

Where do I start? 

With young professionals, we start the financial planning conversation with:

• Debt payoff
• Saving for a home down payment
• Building an emergency fund
• Wealth building (including retirement)

In addition, actively maintaining a budget is essential to establishing a strong financial foundation.

Most financial advisors do not spend time working with clients on the first three financial points. Why? It is likely because there isn’t a product associated with these financial needs. In other words, there is no incentive to talk about debt, home purchase, or emergency fund.

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

1. Create a budget.

If this sounds too obvious, I’ll say it again for reinforcement – are you maintaining a budget? Seriously. Miami is one of the flashiest cities in the world. If you don’t have a budget I’ll put it another way — Estas loco? It has been proven that our propensity to spend money in Miami is directly proportional to our physical proximity to Brickell/Downtown Miami and South Beach. A budget is by far the best way to keep track of your money. If you have a budget, you’re already way ahead.

2. Want to build up your credit score fast?

Pay your bills on time. In other words, “Do what you say you’re going to do, Miami.” Your payment history comprises 35% of your credit score. By contrast, your length of credit history accounts for only 15% of your overall score.

3. Time is your biggest asset.

Spend extra time with the people you care for most in life. This is easier said than done...

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

Congratulations! You've read Your First Home Purchase Part I and Part II and taken the advice to heart.  Now you’re a first-time home owner in Miami, FL and you’re settling into your new place. The first year of home ownership brings many changes – new commute to work, new paint on the walls, and perhaps some remodeling.  It’s an exciting season as you make your house a home, and start a new chapter in life while building personal equity.

But one thing that can get lost in the excitement is remembering to file for your Florida Homestead Exemption! Not filing for a the exemption will likely cost you money.

What is a Homestead Exemption?

A Homestead Exemption accomplishes three main things — it reduces your property tax bill, protects you from creditors, and protects a surviving spouse when the other home owner dies.

Reduce your taxes with a Homestead Exemption

Florida allows up to $50,000 in Homestead...

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

A first home purchase is a big financial commitment. Not only are you taking on a mortgage, but you often need to deplete cash reserves to come up with the down payment. But what if you don’t have enough socked away for a down payment? or what if you prefer not to use all your cash reserves, leaving some cushion in your savings account? Normally the Internal Revenue Service levies a 10% penalty on distributions from a Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) before age 59 1/2.  They make an exception on distributions up to $10,000 for a first home purchase.

How Does the IRS Define a First Home Purchase?

To qualify, it’s important to know how the IRS defines a first time homebuyer. According to IRS Publication 590-B, a first time homebuyer is defined in the following way:

Generally, you are a first time homebuyer if you had no present interest in a main home during the 2-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the...

By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®

With this blog post I’m beginning a two-part series about retirement savings plans available to the small business owner. Earlier Jonathan wrote about the Traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. In this piece I’m going to explain the Simplified Employee Pension, or SEP IRA. It is best used in a small shop, with few (or no) employees. It can be established by an individual proprietor, filing a Schedule C, or by a corporation, LLC, or partnership.

The SEP – Simplified Employee Pension

The SEP is designed for the business owner with few employees. Money goes into the SEP from employer contributions only. All contributions are tax-deductible to the employer. There is no opportunity for employee deferrals. A SEP IRA account is opened for each participant, and all funds contributed are immediately vested. (There is an older version, called a SARSEP, or salary reduction SEP. Although many are still out there, they cannot be opened after...

By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®

Last year (2019) I watched the entire Upstairs Downstairs series on Britbox. Easily sixty episodes in all. My viewing interests are usually limited to either WWII or British crime stories, so this was a bit of a departure for me, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. As the name suggests, it is sort of a Downtown Abbey Lite. The time spanned goes from before WWI to the New York Stock exchange crash. It is the story of all the residents of 165 Eaton Place in London – the home of a member of Parliament who married a titled lady (the upstairs folks) and their household staff (the downstairs folks).

Richard Bellamy, MP, had two children – a married daughter in New York, and a son at home – James Bellamy. James was up at Cambridge, though no mention of a degree. He worked at a job he hated because it was, well, work, and then joined his regiment as an officer during the Great War. This is a fellow whose newspapers and shoelaces were ironed for...

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

When I originally wrote this, the Carolinas were experiencing the worst of Hurricane Florence.  As a native Floridian I've ridden out half a dozen hurricanes myself . The aftermath of a hurricane is not only about the damage to life and property, but for many it can take a serious personal financial toll. As you stock up on canned food, batteries, and bottled water, don’t neglect to address these top 6 financial priorities before a storm makes landfall.

1. Review Your Homeowners Insurance Policy for Windstorm Coverage

Odds are your home is your most valuable asset. Why roll the dice on this? Not having homeowners insurance coverage is a mistake. Having a homeowners policy with little hurricane windstorm coverage could become a catastrophe. Typically, your policy will have a windstorm deductible for hurricane damage claims in addition to your All Other Perils deductible for everything else. The deductible for hurricane damage can...

by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®

A few months ago I heard Susan Bradley from the Sudden Money® Institute say something quite profound regarding our relationship with money and financial windfalls:

When life changes, money changes.
When money changes, life changes.

The order in which change happens makes a big difference. The latter statement, referring specifically to financial windfalls, turns out to be much harder to handle for most people than the former statement. Let me explain.

Life Changes

Life changes are a constant: marriage, babies, a new home, family milestones, divorce, promotions, demotions, getting fired, moving to a new city, kids going to college, changes in health status (ourselves or in a loved one), growing old, and death.  As with any change, anticipated or otherwise, we regroup; we make budget adjustments; and move forward.  Whatever the life change, you hopefully take wise counsel and update your financial plan accordingly.

Money Changes

By ...

By Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®

Usually when we think of estate planning we have in mind the orderly transition of assets at death. Death is something that you have a 100% chance of experiencing – we just don’t know when. Tomorrow isn’t promised to us – and neither is this afternoon, for that matter. Consequently it is prudent to plan for this eventuality.

What Documents Do You Need?

A valid will

A basic will is the foundational document of estate planning. You need that once you own real property or begin to accumulate assets. Typically, at the earlier stages of life, most of what you have is going to pass by operation of a beneficiary arrangement – by contract, in other words. Think life insurance or IRA and 401(K) beneficiaries. What won’t pass by operation of contract? everything else that you own. This would be real property, or your car, for example – assets that cannot have a beneficiary attached to them.

Guardianship for your...