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Michael Baumeister
Sep 29, 20224 min read
Why Does the Federal Government Raise Interest Rates?
Federal Reserve Bank officials raised interest rates by 75 basis points last week. This was the third consecutive interest rate hike by...
Jim Richter
Sep 20, 20224 min read
Fourth Stimulus Payment to be Issued for Illinois Residents
Many Illinois residents will begin receiving a “fourth” stimulus payment in the coming weeks. The Illinois Family Relief Plan grants...
Jim Richter
Sep 15, 20224 min read
Mortgage Rates and the Economy
Mortgage rates surged to 6.02% this week. This is the highest rate we’ve seen on 30-year fixed rate mortgages since November 2008, and...
Jim Richter
Sep 13, 20227 min read
My COVID Story
Two weeks ago, I was driving into work on September 1st and listening to a song by CeCe Winans called “The Goodness of God.” As I was...
Michael Baumeister
Sep 1, 20225 min read
Student Loan Forgiveness: Your Questions Answered
On August 24, 2022, President Biden announced debt forgiveness for federal student loan borrowers. He also announced a final extension on...
Michael Baumeister
Aug 24, 20226 min read
The Inflation Reduction Act
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on August 16th. The bill is currently the most expensive climate change agenda...
Jim Richter
Aug 11, 20223 min read
Social Security Payments Set To Rise by $2300 Next Year
The Social Security Administration’s projected 2023 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is projected to hit 11.4% next year if the current...
Jim Richter
Aug 3, 20224 min read
Are We In a Recession?
A recession used to be defined as two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Production (GDP) growth, as measured by the Bureau...
Michael Baumeister
Jul 27, 20224 min read
The Roth IRA (Part 3 of 3)
This is the third article in our series covering the value of Roth IRAs. To read the first article click here. To read the second article...
Michael Baumeister
Jul 18, 20224 min read
The Roth IRA (Part 2 of 3)
This is the second article in our series covering the value of Roth IRAs. To read the first article, click here. Contributing to a...
Michael Baumeister
Jul 7, 20226 min read
The Roth IRA (Part 1 of 3)
The two certainties in life are death and taxes. While we have little control over the first, we have significant control over the...
Michael Baumeister
Jun 30, 20224 min read
What are I Bonds?
With inflation increasing at alarming rates, investors are looking for ways to counteract the slaughter of their dollar. With most bank...
Jim Richter
Jun 23, 20224 min read
Inflation - Who Does it Benefit?
Throughout 2022, we've heard a multitude of terms to describe inflation: shrinkflation, stagflation, and slumpflation to name a few. The...
Michael Baumeister
Jun 7, 20224 min read
Is Social Security Going to Run Out of Money in 2035?
The 2022 Social Security Trust Report that outlines the financial status of the program was released last week. Here’s a link to the...
Michael Baumeister
Jun 2, 20223 min read
Consequences of Failing to Make a Will
As summer kicks off and you start planning summer vacations and long weekends with your family, setting aside the time to complete your...
Michael Baumeister
May 27, 20223 min read
Backups, Delays, and Letters: What is Wrong with the IRS?
This week’s article is meant to address the extraordinary number of notices, letters, and corrections that many taxpayers have received...
Jim Richter
May 19, 20224 min read
Who is Joe Namath? And Why is He a Threat to Your Retirement?
If you are over 40 years old, you most likely know who Joe Namath is, and what made him famous! Joe had two claims to fame: 1) he boldly...
Jim Richter
May 5, 20224 min read
Cash is Not Trash
The following article was shared exclusively with our wealth management clients on April 1st of this year. Given the massive swings that...
Jim Richter
Mar 10, 20224 min read
Bonds: The Necessary Evil
Conventional wisdom tells us to get out of bonds. But is that the right move to make today? EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Federal Reserve has...
Jim Richter
Mar 3, 20224 min read
Ukraine, What Comes Next?
We wanted to share some perspective on the situation in Ukraine and what could happen in the markets. If you’ve already heard enough...
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