The Signature Blog
Practical tips and resources on building your ideal life.
Choose a topic you need help with or scroll through the posts below and explore our approach to money and life.
Market Update October 2019
As the fourth quarter of 2019 began, volatility in financial markets has ticked up a little bit as worries seemed to intensify, then dissipate, only to have intensify again over a number of factors. Manufacturing has slowed, oil prices…
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What Is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and How Does It Impact Small Business Owners?
The last couple of years have seen Congress deadlocked about several issues, which has left the country frustrated. However, one major piece of legislation that was successfully passed in 2017 was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This law was…
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Market Update September 2019
August lived up to its historic reputation as one of the worst-performing months of the year for the stock market, as the S&P 500 index fell by about 1.5% last month, basically erasing July’s gains. Interestingly, for as great…
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Not Ready to Fully Step Away? It’s Time to Consider Part-Time Work in Retirement
For many older workers, the prospect of retirement is lurking just around the corner, but there may be options, like part-time work, that you haven’t seriously considered. Maybe you’re excited about finally being able to have more time to accomplish…
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Market Update August 2019
We got a break from tariff talk recently, but it was replaced by talk of the yield curve, unfortunately. The 2 are probably related, as concerns about tariffs, and Hong Kong, and Russia, have caused some stock owners to sell…
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Set Yourself Up For Investing Success (Even If You’re Not Ready To Start Yet)
If you’re not taking steps toward planning for your future, you may be shocked to learn that you’re already wasting valuable time. It’s never too early to start investing, but it’s also to easy to become complacent if you…
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What You Need to Know About Property and Casualty Insurance (Before It’s Too Late)
Some people do not put insurance high on their priority list. For some, insurance is the first to get either cut down or eliminated entirely if finances get tight. But that is not a decision to be made without fully…
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Market Update – July 2019
I hope you all had a nice time celebrating Independence Day last week. I suppose that’s sort of the unofficial “halftime” for summer, and for the year, too. With that in mind, I wanted to give you an update…
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Your Retirement Location Is Critical to Your Financial Planning. Here’s Why:
Where you plan to live when you retire impacts a lot more than just the view you have beyond your kicked-up feet when relaxing. If you haven’t given some serious thought to this topic, we’re here to say: you should.…
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Simple Guidance for the Complex Decision of Student Loans
Scribbling your signature on a piece of paper (or sometimes even just clicking on a computer) to take out a student loan for college is an easy, fast process. Quite possibly, too quick and easy. Though simple to agree to,…
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Market Update June 2019
After a relatively tough month in May, with the S&P 500 index down about 6.5%, we’ve had a dramatic reversal in June, gaining about 5% as of June 13th. As always, there’s no shortage of headlines, with oil tankers, China…
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Facing the Truth and Creating a Budget
An unfortunate reality is that many people do not have an accurate picture of their financial well-being. All too often it can be easy to fall victim to the mentality of not wanting to honestly analyze your financial decision-making and…
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Market Update May 2019
As I write this, the market is all over the place due to uncertainty of our trade agreements with China. Terms were not met as of last night’s deadline, so additional tariffs will be imposed on imports from China. …
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6 Pillars on Which to Build Your Foundational, Clear Vision for Your Future (And Financial Success)
It’s always great when you have a plan in motion. When individuals and families save for the future, no textbook method works for everyone. Be that as it may, it can be hard to find out how much you…
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Your Golden Ticket: 6 Ways to Manage Your Credit Score (With Minimum Effort)
Loans applications, debt payments, and interest rates are part of everyday reality for millions of Americans. Whether it’s car payments, student loans, the mortgage on your dream house, or something else, debt is common and sometimes necessary, which is why…
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Lose the Shoebox: 10 Ways to Set Yourself Up for a Stress-Free Tax Season in 2020 and Beyond
Woo-hoo, your taxes are done! Now you can sit back, shove that grungy shoebox of receipts back under your bed for another year! I mean, you could do that, but that doesn’t mean you should. Are you someone who is…
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Leveraging Your Legacy: Structuring Your Charitable Endeavors into Your Estate
No matter where you are in your journey to retirement, one thing that should still be at the forefront of your mind is your legacy. What kind of charitable impact are you planning to leave behind, not just for…
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Market Update March 2019
Given the stock market (S&P 500) pullback over the past 2 weeks, I wanted to provide my thoughts on what might be happening. First, I think this is just a fairly normal reaction to the very abnormal run higher we…
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