Mindy Cleaveland

Life during a pandemic feels like the twilight zone. The comfort of routine, the bustle of activities to keep us busy every day, the predictability of tomorrow, essentially washed away overnight. Our lives turned upside down and now here we are five months later. What do we make of all of this?

Changing your lifestyle or improving your health – in this case, your financial health – takes significant time and effort. Instead of trying to overhaul your entire life all at one time, it might be prudent to take it one step at a time. Alone, improving and maintaining your financial health is not as difficult as you may think. Yes, it will take some dedicated time in the beginning, but once you are set up it becomes mostly a matter of “checking-in.”

As financial advisors, we get asked a lot of challenging questions: “How do I make sure I’ll have enough money for retirement?” “What’s a good strategy for lowering my tax burden?” “What’s the best way to pass my business on to my children?” “How aggressively should I invest?” “What if the markets have a downturn?”

Now that we’re in the last quarter of the year, there are some areas to focus on to ensure you close out 2019 with a bang. Use this checklist as a guide to assess your financial wellbeing.

If you or a loved one has disabilities or special needs, you know that the costs related to care can be substantial. The good news is, you may be able to reduce these costs by maximizing the tax strategies available to you.