Latest posts four columns

The events that started to unfold at the end of last week at Silicon Valley Bank (parent company SVB Financial) may seem like a world away from East Tennessee, but it definitely brought flashbacks of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. While the differences are significant between the two events, and to elaborate on those is beyond...

Our clients and social media followers know that we have been encouraging savers to pull money from their low yielding bank accounts and put it into short-term Treasury obligations. If you do, you’ll earn more than 5% (annualized) for six month to 12 month terms. When considering your options there are subtle differences between the...

At this time of year, I always struggle and worry that “there’s not enough hours in the day.” The start of Spring is a convergence of my favorite time personally and my most challenging time professionally. On the work side, tax season runs from the beginning of the year through April. Additionally, it’s baseball season...

If you are earning less than 4.5% on your bank savings dollars, you are giving your bank permission to steal from you. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had multiple conversations with clients, friends and family about banks and other investment companies offering them alternatives to the traditional savings account. The most common alternative offered...

A close friend of mine recently confided in me about how all he does is give money to his kids. Whether it’s money for gas, a school lunch or needing new clothes or shoes, he’s constantly under financial siege from his children to meet their needs. They are high school and college-aged and not yet...

The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. When the first ETF was created in 1993, few people could have envisioned how transformative this investment product would be over the coming decades. In the early 1990’s, it was normal for mutual funds to charge between 1.00%-2.00+% in annual operating expenses, in addition...

In a recent discussion with some friends about our modern-day, techno-savvy society, one of my friends said, “Well, we’re so old fashioned that we still plant by the signs!” Here is the background for those unfamiliar with this term. Going all the way back to biblical texts, farmers have used the stars in the sky...

As we get close to the filing season for your 2022 taxes, I’ve seen several articles talking about how to make tax filing easier. It got me to thinking about why tax season is so stressful for many people. As a CPA, this is the most stressful time of my year. I often feel like...

It passed! While many were still in a deep sleep from the 8 meals they ate per day over the Christmas holiday, the SECURE 2.0 Act was signed into law on December 29, 2022. My colleague, Jon Dockery, wrote about the possibility of this change in May of 2022 when he penned the blog post:...

It’s that time of year again. When gym parking lots are full, and you attempt to order a salad instead of a burger to help kickstart those resolutions you’ve made.  When you make motivational post-it notes to put on your bathroom mirror and you track how many steps you’re taking and water you’re drinking every...

The average annual cost of tuition for an in-state public university is just over $10,000. Add to that the costs of room and board, books and other supplies and that $10,000 becomes more like $25,000-$30,000. All-in, a four-year degree can easily cost over $100,000. Fortunately, there is a tax advantageous way to save for this...

The setting: You are enlisted and serving in your country’s army. You are winning on the battlefield which is far from home. Your platoon has stopped to savor the victories and even enjoyed the Christmas holiday with all of the traditions that you love from home. The moment: At 8:15 am on December 26th you...