In the future, will you become wealthier or poorer? Who knows, right? It seems like you would need a crystal ball to really answer that question given life’s up and downs. What if the answer is right in front of you? What if you can determine it from your present financial behaviors? Two economists present…

Where does your money go? If you find yourself asking that question from time to time, it may relate to cash flow within your household. Having a cash flow management system may be instrumental in restoring some financial control. It is harder for a middle-class household to maintain financial control these days. If you find…

LATEST ISM FACTORY PMI IS A LETDOWN The 3.2-point December descent of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index may not be as troubling as it first appeared to Wall Street. Purchasing managers surveyed by ISM noted that labor disputes at west coast ports held up raw material and hard goods shipments last month. At…

You can file your federal tax return starting January 20. IRS filing season will start right on time in 2015, and there is wisdom in filing your 1040 well before April 15. You can get it out of the way earlier, and if you e-file, you can put yourself in position for an earlier refund.…

Plan to put yourself steps ahead of your peers. If you have a young, growing family, no doubt your to-do list is pretty long on any given day. Beyond today, you are probably working on another kind of to-do list for the long term. Where does “saving and investing” rank on that list? For some…

THE ECONOMY IS BOOMING Looking at two vital indicators, it becomes hard to draw any other conclusion. In its final estimate, the Commerce Department put Q3 growth at 5.0% – the best quarterly GDP since Q3 2003, following a 4.6% expansion in Q2. Consumer spending was up 3.2% in the third quarter, business investment up…

If you hurry, you might realize some major tax breaks before 2014 runs out. Once again, Congress has acted at the eleventh hour to bring back some expired tax perks. H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act, was passed and signed into law by President Obama on December 19. Here is a rundown of the…

ONE WORD TURNS STOCKS AROUND That word was “patient,” and it was found in the Federal Reserve’s December 17 policy statement. The Federal Open Market Committee again pledged to take “a considerable time” to raise interest rates in the absence of easing, but added that it would also be “patient” in making a move. At…

Tax Extenders Bill Passes Congress, President Expected to Sign into Law On December 16, the Senate brought to an end this year’s tax extenders drama, passing a bill that extends all but a few tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013 through the end the current year. The President is expected to sign…

NEWS RELEASE  Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Expands Ambassador Program with Appointment of Robert Pagliarini as CFP®Board Ambassador for Orange County He Will Serve as a Local Resource for Personal Finance Issues   ORANGE COUNTY, CA, December 15, 2014 – Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. has expanded its CFP®Board Ambassador program in…