Personal Finance - North Light Financial Services

RMD Precautions & Options

RMD Precautions & Options A reminder about mandatory withdrawals from IRAs & other retirement plans. Just what is an RMD? After you turn 70½, the IRS requires you to withdraw some of the money in most retirement savings accounts each year. These withdrawals are officially called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).1 You must take an RMD from a traditional IRAs after you turn 70½, even if you are still working. If you dont, a severe financial penalty awaits you may [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:28-04:00October 3rd, 2013|Financial Fitness, Income Taxes, Investing, IRA, Personal Finance|Comments Off

Taxes and Charitable Giving

You don’t need to be wealthy to make an impact and get a win-win. Do you have to make a multimillion-dollar gift to a charity to receive immediate or future financial benefits? No. If you’re not yet a millionaire or simply a “millionaire next door,” yet want to give, consider the following options which may bring you immediate or future tax deductions. Partnership gifts. These gifts are made via long-term arrangements between donors and recipient charities or non-profits, usually with [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:28-04:00September 18th, 2013|Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Personal Finance|Comments Off

Implications of Rising Mortgage Rates

Implications of Rising Mortgage Rates Are they threatening the recovery? Or is their effect overstated? Between early May and mid-July, the average interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose about 1%. Rates on 30-year FRMs have basically held steady since hitting a peak of 4.51% in Freddie Mac’s July 11 Primary Mortgage Market Survey – in the August 15 edition, they averaged 4.40% – but they could rise dramatically again.1,2 When mortgages become a bit costlier, things can get [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:28-04:00September 5th, 2013|Business/Economic News, Personal Finance|Comments Off

How Financial Planning Has Changed for Same-Sex Couples

How Financial Planning Has Changed for Same-Sex Couples Retirement & estate planning strategies are being greatly altered. When the Supreme Court affirmed the legality of same-sex marriage in June, its ruling profoundly altered the financial planning landscape for gay and lesbian couples resulting in some night and day differences. Yet in looking at the financial before and after, same-sex spouses and their advisors must also consider the when and where because the Supreme Court ruling only applies to [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:29-04:00August 8th, 2013|Estate Planning, Personal Finance, Social Sercurity Planning, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Where Did Inflation Go?

Where Did Inflation Go? Shouldn’t it be rising with all this bond buying? Consumer inflation just hit a 50-year low. So indicates the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.1 Besides tracking consumer inflation, the PCE price index measures household purchases, a major factor in GDP growth. The core PCE index does the same thing without including volatile food and energy prices. The broad PCE index hit [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:29-04:00July 11th, 2013|Business/Economic News, Personal Finance|Comments Off