Welcome to 2021! There are always things you want to change with a New Year. One of the things I want you to look at is your asset allocation. You want to make sure you have the right mix between stocks, bonds, and cash in your investment portfolios. Depending on your risk tolerance, you may have to rebalance your portfolios. What is your risk tolerance? If you do not know, please contact me at nancy@financialgroup.com for an investment questionnaire to determine your risk tolerance. If you find that your stock portion has grown too large within your retirement accounts, then reallocation may not create an adverse tax consequence.
Stay tuned for more New Year investment items you should pay attention to.

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We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity, and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
“Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” -Goran Persson
“My New Year’s resolution is to stop hanging out with people who ask me about my New Year’s resolutions.” –Anonymous
“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” -Carl Bard

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Whatever is beautiful,
Whatever is meaningful,
Whatever brings you happiness…
May it be yours this Holiday Season
and throughout the coming year!

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“Family isn’t always about the people in your life who are blood relations. It’s about the people in your life who want you to be in theirs. It’s about the people in your life who accept you for who you are, support you in the things you choose to do and no matter what, are there for you. It’s the people in your life who love you, respect you and who you can depend on. Now that’s “family!” – Anonymous

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Many people are looking for the next hot stock or mutual fund that they can make a killing with. What industry will be going crazy, what company will shot straight to the moon? That is not how you have a successful retirement. Looking for the next hot investment will not work.
What will work – and here is the secret – is how you manage your spending. It is not sexy or glamorous – it is calculated decision making that works. Every time you spend, you need to ask yourself “is this a need or a want?” If the answer is a need, then you have to spend the funds, if it is a want, you may need to think twice before spending.
Managing cash flow can be tricky or easy, depending on how much work you are willing to put in. You need to take a hard look at your fixed, regular expenses, than add in your discretionary spending to see what changes you have to make.
Time is on your side when planning for your retirement, use it, and make your spending decisions wisely.

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The Presidential election is over, at least I think it is. Now is the time to look at all of the various tax proposals, changes to Medicare and Social Security, and decide if you need to make changes now before any laws are changed.
Will the tax brackets go back to the pre-Trump brackets? Will capitals gains tax go back up? Will you have to pay more in Social Security Tax? All of these changes will impact everyone, no matter what your income level is. There is a proposal to make Medicare mandatory at age 60 vs. the current age 65, what impact will that have on your health care choices?
Granted, these are all just proposals. Depending on what happens with the Senate recount in Georgia, these may all be moot, but they may not.
Meet with your financial professional before the end of the year. If you do not have one, feel free to contact me at nancy@financialgroup.com.

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Today is Election Day and it is a divisive one. I know that many people are very emotional about this election. People have lost friends, stopped talking to family members, and have gotten very angry over this election. We may know tonight who the next President will be, we may not know for a few days. Some people will be very happy, others will not. Please be kind, this is not worth losing family and friends over.

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https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/601620/the-politics-of-election-year-financial-planning

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Q: I will be 70 next September and will start taking my Social Security at that time. My wife, who will reach full retirement age for Social Security in March has been receiving Social Security Disability payments for years. Do we need to do anything to have her Social Security payments go up to her full payment in March so she can receive the higher spousal benefit?
A: From what I have experienced, the Social Security payment will automatically increase without you having to notify the Social Security Administration. If you do not receive any increase, make an appointment with the Social Security office in your area to address any changes that need to be made to get the higher benefit.

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I love questions. Questions allow you to learn about people. You can find out about someone’s background, their likes and dislikes, and what they plan for their future. Questions can be fun, questionnaires on the other hand, not so much fun. We have an Investment Questionnaire that is only 13 questions long but feels like so much more. Many clients have commented that it really seems like 3 questions asked in several different ways. We use this questionnaire for two reasons; first it is required by the regulators in our business, second it allows me to assess a clients’ feelings about risk of investments over different periods of time. It allows me to put together a sound investment mix geared toward their tolerances to risk over their investing lifetime. If you are interested is taking our Investment Questionnaire, please email me at nancy@financialgroup.com.

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