The possibility of investing in rental real estate has been a hot topic with clients of late. Entering the world of being a landlord is a not a decision to make lightly, with many factors to consider and ins and outs of the business to understand. Calculating income or loss on rental real estate for […]
Owning the right rental real estate can be a profitable endeavor, and often even with a property that’s making money, the tax bite can be minimal or even provide you with a deduction. Of course not all properties will be money makers, and while no one likes losing money on an investment, saving tax dollars […]
What a week for the stock market- the big losses last Friday and Monday were followed up by a jaw dropping 1000 drop at Tuesday’s open. Didn’t bode well for the week. Based on that, who’d have thought that this Friday (8/28) would have closed just about where the market opened Monday morning. I don’t […]
As a follow up to my last post on mutual funds, this one will focus on another breed of investment funds — the closed end fund as suggested by a reader. The name closed end fund may suggest simply a slight variation of what we normally think of as a mutual fund. But in reality, […]
The theory of risk reward says that in order to obtain more reward, one must take on more risk. In a recent post, I wrote about the little reward available these days in accounts that by design must be safe. For money that can and should take on risk in pursuit of a better return, […]
Finding how much your investments really cost can be difficult, but not impossible. You can scour your statements for fees, look up your funds on Morningstar, or ask your adviser. 401(k) plans though have been among the least transparent investment vehicles and often believed to be a free service from your employer (they’re not). New […]
One of the byproducts of the financial crisis is that folks are taking a closer look at their own personal finances and have developed a healthy sense of skepticism about the financial industry. They want to understand better what they have and how their investments work. Knowledge is power, and even if you have someone […]
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered- so goes the old saying, and something our furry friend Dutch learned recently. Not literally of course. Besides enjoying bones, Dutch also likes shoes. High heels are his favorite; he ventures into sandals occasionally- mine of course. He likes to hide under our bed and find a shoe to […]
I’m a big believer in helping people and in safety nets. I am. And certainly with so many still struggling in our country more needs to be done. But I don’t think turning that job over to the government (our wasteful, bloated government) is the best way to go. I believe much of that job […]
