Tag: Financial Advice
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Emergency Fun(d)
What is an emergency fund? An emergency fund is a reserve of savings used expressly for unplanned expenses or financial distress. Whether medical bills or a car repair, an emergency fund is a cushion that absorbs those unexpected expenses. Ideally, an emergency fund will keep you from raiding your retirement savings or, worse, taking on…
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Why You Should Use an Independent Financial Advisor
There are a lot of financial advisors out there. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the United States has approximately 263,000 personal financial advisors. There are 3,330 St. Louis financial advisors, according to U.S. News. St. Louis has a lot of financial advisors and financial planners for a city of its size. For a St.…
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How Much To Save for College
It’s no secret that college is expensive, and college education costs have only accelerated over the past decade. The staggering cost of college and its acceleration will be a significant challenge for millennial parents to meet. Parents want to know first: “How much do I need to save for college?” How Much Should I Be…
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Beginners Guide to 529 College Savings Plans
A 529 plan is a savings plan is one of the best ways to save for tuition or college expenses. A 529 offers many tax benefits and designates an individual’s tuition and related education expenses. The two main 529 plans are prepaid tuition and more typical college savings plans. Prepaid tuition plans allow the account…
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Technology Sector Continues Selloff as Stock Market Falls
Markets are down significantly to start the year. The most reliable producers of earnings growth have begun to falter. Indexes are experiencing a broad-based sell-off led by big tech companies. Amazon, one of the largest companies in the S&P 500, dropped 14% on Friday to the lowest level since June 2020. Amazon lost $206.2 billion…
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Is It Better to Pay Down Debt or Invest?
One of the most common questions a financial advisor gets is paying off debt vs. investing. More specifically, is it better to pay down debt or invest? Should you delay retirement savings to pay down a mortgage or student loans? Should you pay off debt before starting an emergency fund? The simple answer is that…
