Beacon Wealthcare

10 Mar 2022 College – What’s it Worth?

Posted at 20:55h in The Friday Brief by Ellen Martin

Ahh, spring. The season when days get longer, flower bulbs emerge, and sneezing fits from allergies return. Plus, it’s every high school senior's (and their parents') favorite time of year – college decision season! Acceptance letters and financial aid offers arrive by mid-April, with most...

03 Mar 2022 Keep a Steady Hand on the Tiller

Posted at 14:30h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

Uncertainty surrounding Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has combined with historically high inflation in the U.S., rising interest rates and pandemic related supply chain bottlenecks to bring volatility back to the stock market after a long hiatus. It would appear that daily, multiple percentage point...

24 Feb 2022 What’s $1,000 Worth?

Posted at 13:28h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

What's $1,000 worth? As with most things in personal finance, the answer is, "It depends." Are we talking about a thousand bucks received a year ago? If so, then about 7.5% more than if received today. If used to reduce debt, it's worth $1,000, unless...

17 Feb 2022 “Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

Posted at 14:03h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

The title for this blog comes from the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, though I first heard it on an Optimist Club baseball field in Southern Pines, North Carolina when I was in fifth or sixth grade. I was playing third base--with a habit...

10 Feb 2022 Amazon, Past Its Prime

Posted at 19:01h in The Friday Brief by Ellen Martin

Two weeks ago, Wesley and I were reading in our peaceful living room, and our dog Ollie was nestled into his blankets on an armchair. It was almost 10pm, and we were about to call it a night when Ollie heard a disturbance outside and...

03 Feb 2022 What Tax Forms Should You Expect To Receive?

Posted at 14:40h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

Like it or not, on Monday, January the 24th, the Internal Revenue Service announced the start of our nation's tax season. That's the date when the IRS began accepting and processing 2021 tax year returns. Of all the seasons we could pick from--the holiday season,...

27 Jan 2022 Stock Market and Beacon Portfolio Updates

Posted at 21:29h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

Through Wednesday, January 26th, the S&P 500 index is down 8.7%, which, obviously, is not a great start to the year. (Average January returns going back to 1980 are +.82%.) While prices are down, volatility is up: we've already had 6 trading days where the...

20 Jan 2022 “Buy Things, Not Experiences”

Posted at 20:55h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

I have since early childhood been fascinated by the idea that you can use something for a long, long time. The origin of that fascination, as best I can tell, is the fact that the house I was raised in was built in 1890. And...

13 Jan 2022 Life is Pure Adventure

Posted at 20:48h in The Friday Brief by Ellen Martin

Every January, we are inundated with articles on New Year’s Resolutions and starting fresh, which sounds especially appealing after the past two chaotic years. One root of the word resolution is resolve, or having a strong determination...

06 Jan 2022 The Best Is Yet To Come…

Posted at 14:55h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

...but the worst could be right around the corner. 2021 was a pretty remarkable year for the stock market. Due in part to a stronger than expected economic recovery, the S&P 500 finished the year up 28.7% including dividends. That marked its third straight year of...

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