Brian Cochran, Financial Planner | CFP® | CKA®
Clearing Up Tax Refund Confusion
As if tax refunds weren’t already a misunderstood area of personal finance, politicians and media outlets are adding unnecessary anger and confusion to them. Tax refunds are really quite simple. If you overpay funds to your state or the US Treasury, you are entitled to a refund upon filing your taxes. Refunds are not a…
Back to Basics
At JMA we teach Six Keys to Financial Success: Spend less than you make Be prudent about debt Build liquidity Set long‐term goals Act like a manager, not an owner Give Generously These timeless principles not only help you meet long‐term goals, but also prepare you for the hard times we all face at some…
When the Road is Uncertain, Stay the Course
When the market is volatile, the temptation to sell stocks is strong, but it rarely benefits investors. According to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, investors pulled $39 billion out of stock funds and over $8 billion from bond funds in the week ending Dec. 12, 2018. These extreme fund flows tell us that investors are selling…
Tuition Paid & Lessons Learned
Millennials are now the largest generation in the US and the most represented age group in the workforce. I’m one of them. We are starting to save and invest in stocks, real estate and other markets, which is great news. Everyone benefits from a new generation of buyers as the baby boomers retire and become…
Correction Spelled with a “W”
Mark Twain is credited with saying that “History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Market history is no exception. Stock markets are extremely unpredictable in short periods but we can draw clues and patterns from the past. Stock market corrections (like the one we have been experiencing over the last several weeks) seem…