by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
Although there are many similarities these are two very different kinds of insurance. Disability insurance coverage protects wages lost due to an illness or accident. In contrast, long term care insurance is designed to help cover costs of health care services....
By Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
What is a Roth IRA?
One of the most popular ways to save for retirement is in a Roth Individual Retirement Account, or a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs first came out in 1997 after being championed by former Senator William V. Roth of Delaware. Tax-wise, a Roth IRA is...
by Jonathan G. Cameron, CFP®
A Roth conversion means taking your Traditional IRA, or some portion of it, and turning it into a Roth IRA. Whatever dollars are converted become taxable to you right then and there.
Who should consider a Roth conversion?
In a previous post...
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 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 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...
