Focus’ Business Continuity Plan
What if we All Have to Stay Home for A Couple Weeks? By Jon Aldrich (View of my home office set-up) In today’s post, I am going to take a break from writing about the markets (we all know it is crappy right now, but as I have continuously mentioned, we will get through this)…
Read MoreShould we “Curb Our Enthusiasm”
By Jon Aldrich 2019 was a great year for stocks, bonds and virtually every investable asset class. This was a welcome follow up to 2018, when virtually every asset class except cash went down. The nice thing, though, is that just about everything went up much more in 2019 than they went down in 2018….
Read MoreThe SECURE Act and How it May Affect You
By Jon Aldrich It seems like every year, just days before the ball drops in Times Square, Congress passes and the President signs new legislation that affects taxpayers. This year was no different as the SECURE Act, which contains some significant changes in certain retirement accounts was passed on December 19th, and signed into law…
Read More(Un) Safe Deposit Boxes
Is That Bank Box Really Secure? By Jon Aldrich You probably consider a bank safe deposit box as a safe, secure place to store some of your precious valuables such as jewelry, watches, coins or important documents. You might want to re-evaluate that notion. Imagine walking into your local bank to access your trusty safe…
Read MoreAre You Really Going to Get $125 From the Equifax Settlement?
By Jon Aldrich You have probably heard by now either on social media, the news, or your friends that everyone is entitled to their $125 for damages from the Equifax data breach in 2017. Wow, this is great, how do I partake in this windfall? Well, not so fast. There is an inconvenient truth that…
Read MoreThink Twice Before You Download That App
By Jon Aldrich Our smartphones have become an indispensable part of daily life to many of us. You not only get phone calls and texts on your little wonder device, but now you use it to surf the internet, play games, navigation, watch movies, hail a ride, take pictures and movies, book vacations, as a…
Read MoreAre We Going To Lose The “Stretch” Provision?
A Discussion of some tax proposals affecting IRA’s currently making their way through legislation By Jon Aldrich Over the years we have grown accustomed to the tax laws affecting those of us with IRA’s. You know, the ones, like having to start taking money out at age 70 ½ as a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)…
Read MoreHappy Tax Day! Now, Let’s Shred the Old Stuff
By Jon Aldrich Happy Tax Day! That dreaded day when all of us here in the United States need to make sure that we have settled up with Uncle Sam for the previous year’s tax bill. Maybe you were one of the roughly 72% of taxpayers that received a refund, if so, then this day…
Read MoreHere is Your New “Post Card” Size Tax Return
By Jon Aldrich So, how do you like the new “Post-Card” size tax return for 2018? Well, it is a little bit larger than a post card, it is still 8-1/2 x 11 inches, so it is a really big Post Card, but it is supposedly simper. Due to the new Tax Cuts and Jobs…
Read MoreWhat Do You Mean My Health Insurance Won’t Cover Me Outside the Country?
By Jon Aldrich Have you traveled outside of the U.S. without travel insurance which includes a provision for medical costs? If you have and did so without incident, congratulations, you rolled the dice and may have dodged a financial nightmare. I know I have traveled with my family out of the country several times over…
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