Money and You

Medicare: Health Care in Retirement (10-18-23 Lakeside Chat)

October 25, 2023 | Topics: Retirement Planning, Recent Videos

Choosing the right Medicare plan is an important part of retirement planning but due to its complexity, it can often leave people wondering if they are making the best choices for their health care in retirement. That's why we wanted to bring in an expert to help.

Simplifying the FAFSA® Process (Lakeside Chat 9/13/23)

September 13, 2023 | Topics: Recent Articles, Video, College Education Funding

Every fall, securing financial aid for your current or prospective college student can be one of the most stressful times of the new school year. Especially with changes to the process and definitions being phased in this year, it can feel as daunting as ever. We want to help! 

Do you Know Who's Managing the Family Money? You may be surprised.

Do you know who manages the family money? You might be surprised.

For many families, this is a question getting new answers today because of changing family dynamics and the growing number of aging parents or family members. Long gone are the days when it could be assumed that managing family finances defaulted to “the man of the house.” At the same time, the Sandwich Generation is coming to terms with their aging parents and family members who need caregivers to help with many aspects of their lives, including managing their finances.  Managing the family's investments is increasingly shifting to the one who is most likely to schedule the medical appointments, get the kids to school, and be the caregiver for aging parents: the working Mom.

Your Digital Assets and Accounts: What Happens After You're Gone?

February 16, 2023 | Topics: Recent Articles, Articles, Risk Protection

These days, it’s likely that most of your important financial information is stored digitally through a combination of online accounts, saved documents on your personal computer, and your smartphone. Chances are you keep a lot of other important information stored digitally too.  If you’re a small business owner with registered domain names, a thriving e-commerce website or a money-making blog, you should recognize these as important digital assets as well. Have you thought about what will happen to these financial and sentimental digital accounts when you die?

Big Life Change? Helpful Financial Strategies for Women in Transition

Are you a woman in transition? If you’re facing a big life change — as a successful owner or manager of a rapidly growing business, someone with a recent inheritance, or perhaps recently widowed, divorced, engaged, married, or dealing with illness — then you’re a woman in transition, and you have special financial needs.

What is a Daily Money Manager? (Lakeside Chat 12-7-22)

December 7, 2022 | Topics: Financial Planning, Video, Older Adult, Recent Videos

This month we were joined by Robyn Young, Certified Daily Money Manager®, a professional who collaborates to help with bill paying and more. Robyn is the founder and owner of Money Care, LLC. She is also currently Vice President of the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM) and is a member of the Vermont Elder Resource Group.

Understanding the FAFSA® (Lakeside Chats 10-5-22)

October 6, 2022 | Topics: Video, College Education Funding, Recent Videos

The FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form is available each academic year beginning October 1st and is one of the most important parts of receiving financial aid for college or university. Stephen Jagard, a 529 College Savings Plan Specialist with John Hancock Investment Management, will share what to expect with the FAFSA® process in the 2022-23 academic year – as well as the major changes scheduled to take place the following year.

Medicare 101 (Lakeside Chats 9-14-22)

September 14, 2022 | Topics: Retirement Planning, Video, Recent Videos

Back by popular demand, folks joined us in September for a Lakeside Chat on the topic of Medicare. We were joined by Roberta Eckert who is the Vice President of the Nationwide Retirement Institute and our guest expert to discuss some important things to know when you're looking at Medicare, including who's eligible, when you can apply, and how much you might expect to pay based on the different plan options. 

Small Business Entities Explained (Lakeside Chats 5-11-22)

May 11, 2022 | Topics: Video, Business Owners, Recent Videos

In honor of National Small Business Week, we were joined by our host Mark Perkell, Esq., who specializes in working with small business owners; he’ll share with us information on different entity options, the pros & cons for each, and why changing from one entity to another might make sense (and what the process would be).

Aging in Place (Lakeside Chats 3-2-22)

This month's Lakeside Chat topic was about "Aging in Place". When a senior or older adult chooses to live at home rather than move into an assisted living or skilled nursing facility, it's known as "aging in place". It's a decision that is gaining popularity and is a question that often comes up for folks as they plan their retirement.