AFP Staff
Financial Freedom, Financial Planning

How the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Will Affect your Charitable Donations This Year

charitable donations

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by congress in late 2017 came with a lot of changes. Among the most notable is the raising of the standard deduction to $24,000 for couples, $12,000 for singles, and $18,000 for household heads. This is almost double what the standard deductions were before the new law. According to Evan Beach, CFP® of Campbell Wealth Management in Alexandria, VA, this raise in the standard deduction makes it so that only about 10% of…

AFP Staff
Financial Freedom, Financial Planning, Investments

3 Long-Term Strategies to Slash $163,000 off Your Mortgage

mortgage

Read this article even if you don’t think your mortgage costs this much! Paying off your home faster gives you more money to put towards other activities and priorities in your life. Though it may be a challenging idea, you can do it with a little know-how and good old-fashioned grit! Here are three ways to help you shave off unnecessary mortgage interest allowing you to buy a new car, travel the world, retire earlier, or do whatever you want!…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning

Are You Protected Against The Next Bear Market?

Bear Market

It has been nine years since the Great Recession, and you’ve seen some outstanding gains in your portfolio, but every great run will end somewhere. In his article How To Face The Next Bear Market With Confidence Frank Holmes, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of U.S. Global Investors, shares that economists have raised the likelihood of a bear market occurring in the next 12 months to 16 percent, up from 5 percent in January. Reality is that whether it happens…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning

What Should I Do With An Inheritance?

inheritance

Making large financial decisions after the passing of a loved one can be a very difficult process, especially on top of the grief you’re going through. If your loved one blessed you with an inheritance in addition to their lifelong investment of love, here are some important considerations to keep in mind. 1. Consider the tax implications. The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure that you don’t blow all your money and then find yourself unable to…

AFP Staff
Financial Freedom, Financial Planning, Investments

5 Pitfalls To Avoid On Your Path To Financial Freedom

financial pitfalls

On your path to financial freedom there are several pitfalls to avoid. The following are the top 5 danger zones to watch out for on your way to achieving your goals and dreams. 1. Burdening yourself with debt. In its proper place, debt can be leveraged to help you achieve your dreams, such as when you’re buying a house, paying for education, or seeking to build credit. All too often, however, debt can also be a set of handcuffs keeping…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning, Investments

Is Your Portfolio Diversified Enough?

investments

The importance of diversification in investing cannot be emphasized enough. When divvying up all your investment eggs, it’s important not to put them all in one basket. So what does a well diversified portfolio look like? Different asset classes. An asset class is a different type of investment such as a stock, bond, or money market account. Each of these asset classes serves a distinct purpose according to its risk tolerance, duration, and rate of return. Limiting your investments to…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning

How to Invest in the Stock Market

stock market

A commonly known investing philosophy is to buy low and sell high. When it comes to the stock market, however, many investors do exactly the opposite. Why do they make this common mistake? The tendency for many people is to want to get in on stocks when they are rising and cash out on them when they are falling. The psychological factor behind this is the investors’ fear of missing out on a good thing. They would rather buy stocks…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning

Guarding Against Identity Theft

med school residency credit card

More than 10 million people become victims to identity theft every year. This translates to 19 new victims every single minute. Identity theft scams are many and range from card-skimmers at gas stations, to romance scams, fake Social Security Administration calls, tricky email phishing scams, and many other forms. It can cost victims hundreds of hours and an average of $1,000 to recover from identity theft.[1] In order to protect yourself from the vicious threats of identity theft you can…

AFP Staff
Financial Planning

The Benefits of a Financial Plan

Financial planning guards against pitfalls. Unfortunately, no one is free from risk and you could lose all your assets by investing poorly, failing to have the proper insurance products, or by exposing yourself to too much risk. Financial planning looks at your entire situation and protects you from these nuclear threats. Your financial health is only as strong as its weakest link. Financial planning increases your chances of success in the future astronomically. Nothing is sure to destroy your future hopes…