Personal Finance - North Light Financial Services

The End of File & Suspend for Married Couples

The End of File & Suspend for Married Couples A great claiming strategy to try & optimize Social Security benefits disappears. Congress just changed the Social Security benefit rules. On October 30, Capitol Hill lawmakers approved a two-year federal budget deal. As part of that agreement, they authorized the most significant change to Social Security policy seen in this century, disallowing two popular strategies people have used to try and maximize retirement benefits.1 Dreamstime image id 6253 The [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:17-04:00November 23rd, 2015|Congress, Personal Finance, Social Security|Comments Off

Saving Early & Letting Time Work for You

Saving Early & Letting Time Work for You The earlier you start pursuing financial goals, the better your outcome may be. As a young investor, you have a powerful ally on your side: time. When you start saving and investing for retirement in your twenties or thirties, you can put it to work for you. The effect of compounding is huge. Most people underestimate it, so it is worth illustrating. We will use reasonable annual return rates to do [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:18-04:00October 2nd, 2015|Personal Finance, Retirement, Savings and Investing|Comments Off

Protecting Yourself Against Cyberattacks

Protecting Yourself Against Cyberattacks How vulnerable is your data? 25% of Americans were cyberhacked between March 2014 and March 2015. The American Institute of CPAs announced that alarming discovery in April, publishing the results of a survey conducted by Harris Poll. Disturbing? Certainly, but the instances of pre-retirees being victimized were even greater 34% of adults aged 55-64 reported having their data stolen or compromised within that period.1 Small businesses are also commonly victimized. While identity theft has [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:18-04:00July 24th, 2015|Cybersecurity, Financial Fitness, Personal Finance, Well-being|Comments Off

Mid-Life Money Errors

Mid-Life Money Errors If you are between 40 & 60, beware of these financial blunders & assumptions. Between the ages of 40 and 60, many people increase their commitment to investing and retirement saving. At the same time, many fall prey to some common money blunders and harbor financial assumptions that may be inaccurate. These errors and suppositions are worth examining, as you do not want to succumb to them. See if you notice any of these behaviors or assumptions [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:19-04:00July 10th, 2015|Personal Finance, Retirement, Social Security|Comments Off

You Could Retire……But Should You?

You Could Retire...But Should You? It might be better to wait a bit longer. Some people retire at first opportunity, only to wish they had waited longer. Thanks to Wall Street’s long bull run, many pre-retirees have seen their savings fully recover from the shock of the 2007-09 bear market to the point where they appear to have reached the “magic number.” You may be one of them – but just because you can retire does not necessarily mean [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:19-04:00June 26th, 2015|Personal Finance, Retirement, Well-being|Comments Off