Beacon Wealthcare

26 Jun 2020 How to Maximize Your Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Posted at 08:00h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

[vc_video link='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nncNbL9Qfnk'] What is an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and how does it work? How should you incorporate it into your financial life and what’s the most important decision to make prior to enrolling? It’s easiest to understand how an ESPP works by first understanding the...

19 Jun 2020 Contagious Diseases, Vices, and Virtues

Posted at 08:00h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

In my annual late-December reading of Charles Dickens' delightful short story A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite lines is this: "It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so...

12 Jun 2020 A Proclivity For Panic or a Propensity For Patience

Posted at 12:06h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

It’s hard to believe that the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 at the end of the trading day on Thursday, was "only" down 6.23% year-to-date in 2020. This after it fell 30% in just 22 trading days - the fastest 30% decline...

05 Jun 2020 The Dark Side of the Moon

Posted at 07:00h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

On December 21st, 1968, Apollo 8 lifted off from what’s now known as Cape Canaveral with three men aboard. Their mission was to enter the moon’s orbit, slingshot around the dark side, and return home safely. A manned flight around the moon had never been...

29 May 2020 New Website, Same Great Service

Posted at 07:00h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

Unless you are visiting our site for the first time (in which case, welcome!!), you will have noticed by now that it's new and--we believe and hope--improved. A website for any sort of professional services firm is an interesting thing. We don't sell a tangible product...

22 May 2020 4 Things That Will Dramatically Simplify Your Finances (and Your Life)

Posted at 07:00h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

"Our life is frittered away by detail...

15 May 2020 The Brief – Then and Now

Posted at 11:39h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Way back in June of 2001 I introduced Beacon’s first Friday Brief. Its purpose was to communicate, educate, and occasionally console as in a one-on-one conversation. On that inaugural day, there was a lot of worry and deep concern about our country, our safety and...

08 May 2020 Is College a Good Investment?

Posted at 08:00h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

There has a been a lot of talk the last few years about whether a college education provides a good return on investment (ROI). High tuition, absurd annual increases, and stagnant employee wages (not to mention the rise of the Gig economy) over the past...

01 May 2020 Tough Facts To Swallow

Posted at 08:00h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

Here are some facts which I present, for now, without commentary: From February 19th to March 23rd the U.S. stock market was down about 35%. Since March 23rd, the market has been up over 30%. The stock market is still down about 15% since the...

24 Apr 2020 A Quick Update

Posted at 09:43h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

We’re wrapping up an historic week for the US economy. On Monday, the unthinkable happened when oil prices dropped below $0 a barrel for the first time ever. On Thursday, the US Labor Department announced an additional 4.4 million first-time claims for unemployment, effectively wiping out...

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