CPA Chad Storck joins Joel Adams and Associates as co-owner
Chad Storck Joel Adams and Associates is pleased to announce that Certified Public Accountant Chad Storck joined the firm as a co-owner at the start of 2023. This announcement follows the 2022 year-end retirement of financial advisor Joel Adams, who fo …
read moreJoel Adams and Associates, Inc. launches its own SEC-registered RIA
We have some exciting news to share: On July 1, we’re making a transition from the independent contractor division of Raymond James to the registered investment adviser (RIA) and custody services division of Raymond James. Essentially, we’ve created ou …
read moreInvestment advice: All about 529 plans, just in time for National College Savings Day on May 29
I’m at the age where many of my old college friends now have kids who are headed off to college themselves. If you can tell me where all the time has gone, I’d appreciate it.
read moreFinancial tips for the twenty-somethings in your life
Recently, I spoke with a 27-year-old who works at a local manufacturing company. Our office helps to manage his employer’s 401(k) plan, and, on this particular occasion, he called to discuss a recent case of FOMO, or the “fear of missing out.” He expre …
read moreWhy you should consider giving to charities from your IRA
$27,800: That’s the standard deduction in 2021 for a married couple, both over age 65, filing jointly. Because that number is so high this year, most folks are no longer able to itemize their charitable contributions. If you’re like most people I know, …
read moreRemembering Sylvia Porter
For more than 50 years, Sylvia Porter was a financial columnist who dispensed middle-class investment advice. She began her career in the 1930s under the byline S.F. Porter to conceal that she was a woman, but in time she began to use her full name, wh …
read moreConsider investing in target-date retirement funds
Recently, a man in his early 50s asked me to review his retirement plan. A senior manager at a large employer, he had just paid off all of his debts and set his sights on saving and investing for a successful retirement at age 70. So far, so good. But …
read moreFinancial Planning 101: Free Classes in June
We bet they didn’t offer you Financial Planning 101 back when you were in school. Well, it’s never too late to learn. You’re invited to join Bray Creech, MBA, CPA, CFP® for Financial Planning 101 every Wednesday in June. Simply pick an online class bel …
read moreSECURE Act removes the stretch inherited IRA
Passed in December 2019, the SECURE Act marks the first major retirement income overhaul in more than a decade — and, so far, it’s kept financial advisors like myself busy fielding questions about changes, new challenges and concerns
read moreHow the SECURE Act impacts your retirement savings
I come bearing good news for the new year: The SECURE Act of 2019, a retirement savings reform bill, was signed into law last month. SECURE, a clever acronym for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, expands access to tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts, and, ultimately, it aims to help Americans save for a secure retirement. While I could spend an entire article listing all of its provisions, I’d rather focus on just a few areas that may impact those of you at or near retirement.
read moreWinning more by losing less with retirement investment savings
Is it possible to win more by losing less when it comes to your retirement investment savings? Well, it depends. But, if you’re close to or in the early years of your retirement, the answer could be yes.
read moreOctober 2019 Letter to Clients
October 2019 Hope has bred change again and again. To be hopeless is to disregard history. – Ava DuVernay DuVernay is a filmmaker whose directorial work includes Selma, the criminal justice documentary 13th and Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, which made he …
read moreHow to give to charities from your IRA
A recent article in Nonprofit Quarterly suggests that “smaller and midlevel donors are slowly but surely disappearing — across the board, among all organizations.” Taking their place are larger gifts from the extremely well off.
read more“How to maximize your Social Security benefit” webinar recorded on 8/28/2019
https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/390276451486119435
read moreJoin us: Maximize Your Social Security Benefits webinar, Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 7:00pm (Eastern)
With thousands of complex rules and hundreds of claiming options, creating a plan of action for Social Security can be an overwhelming prospect — and one Social Security misstep could leave you missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lif …
read moreNew website highlights essential investor rights
A new website was launched today at investorrightsforum.com that brings together data and investor perspectives on the right to file shareholder proposals. The website is in response to proposed efforts to roll back those essential investor rights. …
read moreMistakes that can sabotage your retirement savings
Recently an older gentleman called our office in a bit of a panic. He asked if we could we see him right away. He didn’t say what it was about — only that it was urgent. He wasn’t a client, but, nevertheless, we allotted some time to meet with him that week. When he arrived, he brought a statement of his accounts from a major online stock trading platform. He was a do-it-yourself investor. Nothing wrong with that. But, before he turned his statement over to me, he declared with utmost confidence, “I believe marijuana is the future.”
read moreJuly 2019 Letter to Clients
July 2019 “Oh when I look back now / That summer seemed to last forever / And if I had the choice / Yeah, I’d always wanna be there / Those were the best days of my life…” “Summer Of ’69,” single by Bryan Adams, from his 1984 album Reckless As we wri …
read moreFamily, Money and Values
How to you talk with your children or grandchildren about money? How does your family’s relationship to money reflect your values? How can they learn to manifest those values through your assets? We invited attorney Zac Lamb with Ward & Smith, P.A. …
read moreDivorce and Social Security benefits
One of the darkest (but funniest) movies I’ve seen about divorce is “The War of the Roses.” My favorite line is when Michael Douglas’ character asks Kathleen Turner why she’s seeking a divorce and she responds, in that sultry voice: “Because. When I watch you eat, when I see you asleep, when I look at you lately, I just want to smash your face in.”
read moreBefore You Buy: Things to Consider About Hot New Stocks (Video)
Have I got a hot new stock tip for you! Alright. I’m kidding. (Kind of.) But if that first sentence caught your eye, then I bet something else has captured your attention, too. Recently, a flurry of new companies hit the public markets for the first ti …
read moreDiversify your tax bill in retirement
This tax season, as folks prepared returns under the new federal tax law, I’m hearing a range of experiences that remind me of an amusement park. That is, there are more ups and downs than the average rollercoaster.
read moreHSA investing pays for more than doctor visits. It could help in retirement
Can you say “triple tax-advantaged” five times fast? Me either. But, now that I have your attention, let me add a triple tax-advantaged tool to your arsenal — because anything triple tax-advantaged deserves an exclamation point (or two). Often referred to as an HSA, a health savings account is a (triple!) tax efficient way for individuals to save for health care expenses. And even though HSAs have been around for a while now (they were created as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003), I still find that many people who might benefit from HSAs know little about them.
read more10 retirement milestones you should know
If you’re between the ages of 50 and 70½, and one of your New Year’s resolutions is to do a better job of planning for your financial future, then this column is for you. If you’re not quite there, age-wise, this is still for you; with healthy living — sprinkled with a dash of luck — you’ll reach these important milestones for making key financial choices
read moreInvesting advice: Using cash to protect against stock market volatility
Stock market volatility is never fun. It puts many of us on edge. Retirees withdrawing from investments may find the market’s inevitable bumpy periods especially difficult to manage.
read moreInvestment advice: What’s the best strategy for managing investment risk?
My Halloween scare came early this year. On a recent beautiful fall afternoon, while hiking a trail in Swannanoa with the dogs, my spouse and I came inches from stepping on a writhing thicket of horror. On the path directly before us was my worst nightmare come to life: three venomous snakes — two copperheads and one rattlesnake. Absolutely terrifying.
read moreVideo: Qualified Charitable Distribution
Bray Creech discusses this year’s tax law changes and how they affect donating to charity through Qualified Charitable Distribution.
read moreFinancial advice: Maximizing tax benefits from your charitable giving
This year, charities across the U.S. are concerned. Their donors, many of whom are middle-income retirees, may be discouraged from charitable giving — their gifts no longer reaping the tax benefits of years past.
read moreTry this strategy to save on taxes in retirement
People naturally want to minimize their taxes in retirement. Instead, what often happens is the opposite: Retirees too often face an abrupt and unexpected increase in federal income taxes due to large accumulations in tax-deferred accounts like IRAs and 401(k) plans….
read moreFinancial advice: Prioritizing competing savings goals
Our financial planning practice recently met a couple in their 40s with two young children. After discussing best practices for savings rates and coming up with an initial retirement plan, they settled on a sum to squirrel away every month for the future….
read moreTrying to save for a child’s future college? Get to know your 529
Can you imagine iconic brand names like Formula 409, Levi’s 501 and Heinz 57 without that funky alphanumeric mix? They sound like someone’s computer password.
read moreFinancial advice: Generating income after retirement
Generating cash flow in retirement is a conundrum for many people. Oftentimes, because retirement income is limited to Social Security or maybe a pension, there is an income gap between the cash coming in and the cash going out. And in today’s low-interest rate environment, filling that retirement income gap can be a challenge.
read moreInvesting advice: 4 tips to beat the market from Bray Creech
Recently a retired gentleman came to our office to interview us. Although he already had a financial adviser, things weren’t going well and he wanted to know about our process and services.
read moreGuest column: The importance of having an estate plan
Many people perceive estate planning as being only for the ultra-wealthy. We believe, however, that estate planning is really about making sure your wishes are carried out during difficult life events, regardless of your wealth or income level.
read moreBray Creech Obtains CFP® Certifications
Bray Creech has obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. Bray has worked at Joel Adams – Raymond James Financial Services since 2014. He and Joel Adams, Registered Investment Advisor Representative, deliver a team approach to all …
read moreHow to maximize your Social Security survivor benefit
I recently heard a statistic that stopped me in my tracks: 80 percent of American men die married whereas 80 percent of American women die single.
read moreFinancial planning: Your year-end to-do list, for balance and giving
I love making lists. I’ll make a list for anything: what to do at work, what to do on the weekend, what to worry about, what not to worry about. Compulsive list-makers know that lists keep us focused and that it’s incredibly satisfying to cross things off as we complete them. There are worse habits, right?
read moreApproaching retirement? Heed these tips for financial management
Recently I was talking with some friends, a lovely couple in their 60s who are contemplating retirement in the near future. Like many baby boomers, their retirement will not be supported by a pension.
read moreSocially responsible investing: Can it work in Asheville?
It’s fun to read some of the bumper stickers here in Asheville: “Clean and Green.” “Save the Earth, There’s no Planet B.” One of my personal favorites: “May the FOREST be with you.”
read moreInvestment advice: ‘Emotional cycle’ will cost you money
There’s an adage that your investments are like bars of soap: The more you handle them, the smaller they get.
read moreMay 29 means it’s time to plan kids’ college savings
I will go out on a limb and assume that May 29 — 529 College Savings Day — is not marked on your calendar. But if you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, maybe it should be.
read moreFinancial advice: Save for retirement or reduce debt?
When presented with many choices, especially if I like all the choices, I have a hard time committing to just one. At The Hop Ice Cream Café or Wedge Brewing Co., for example, I’m easily overwhelmed: “YES! I want all the ice cream, and I want all the beer!”
read moreClassical Meets Hip-Hop: Proud to Support “Mozartistic”
Supporting youth and the arts are longtime priorities for our office, so when the Asheville Symphony approached us about supporting its latest recording project, a CD titled “Mozartistic,” it was a perfect match. “Mozartistic” features Grammy-winning k …
read moreGuest financial column: Adding optimism to your plan
While it is well-documented that an optimistic attitude can improve your overall physical well-being, a positive approach may also improve your chances of achieving your financial goals.
read moreGuest column: Diversify your retirement tax burden
There is a lot of buzz about upcoming changes to the tax code. Lowering federal income tax rates is a known priority for congress and the incoming president. Whatever happens, it’s a reminder that federal and state tax rates are largely out of our control.
read moreBooks for the holidays
This year, as a holiday gift in honor of all of our clients, we partnered with the YWCA Primary Enrichment Program (PEP) to provide a group of 80 local children a trip to Malaprop’s Bookstore to hear a reading and pick out a book to take home, read and …
read moreAdvice column: Tips for Asheville’s nervous investors
I’m a nervous flyer. If there’s the least little bit of turbulence, the plane is about to crash — in my mind, at least. My heart races; I’m short of breath and white-knuckling the armrests for dear life.
read moreFinancial advice: Planning your year-end giving
It probably comes as no surprise to you that humans sometimes make irrational decisions — especially when it comes to managing our money.
read moreColumnist: How grandparents can help grandchildren with college
Growing up, my favorite set of TV grandparents was Russell and Anna Huxtable from “The Cosby Show.” Cliff’s parents — remember them?
read moreFinancial colunn: Behaviors that sabotage your savings
It probably comes as no surprise to you that humans sometimes make irrational decisions — especially when it comes to managing our money.
read moreColumn: How and why to make IRA catch-up contributions
Perhaps your family is going through its own “Brexit” this summer: A child is going off to college or they got their first job, with a real salary. Or maybe they’re getting married and starting a family of their own. Whatever the case, you’re about to enter a new financial reality.
read moreHeading into your 60s? Here’s a retirement checklist
My mom just turned 69; she made many decisions in the last decade that significantly impacted her retirement. When you’re in your 60s, key decision points for your retirement planning can rapidly sneak up on you.
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