The Biggest Purchase of My Life – Part I

By Ryan Streilein, CFA®, Equity Analyst
During the pandemic, my fiancé (now wife) and I arrived at the conclusion that a one bedroom, 750 square-foot apartment is not ideal for two people and a dog to share 24-7 for an extended period of time.
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Cryptocurrency in Your Estate Plan

Rasti Nikolic, Associate Financial Planner
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. Each cryptocurrency uses a unique electronic address for transfer between users’ digital wallets. The user must have a ‘private key’ to be able to move cryptocurrency. If the owner does not provide a fiduciary with a ‘private key,’ the cryptocurrency is inaccessible by anyone upon the owner’s incapacity or death. This is known as a “black hole” wallet because the cryptocurrency becomes inaccessible and essentially worthless. Cryptocurrency is difficult to counterfeit because of this security feature. A
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Buy vs. Lease — Car?

By Kristan Anderson, CEBS®, CFP® | Dir. Of Retirement Plan Services & Dir. Of Financial Planning
Last summer, my daughter wanted her own car, to get to work and show rehearsals. But I didn’t feel like we needed to buy another car, specifically for someone who was going off to school soon. So, I was left with the task of figuring out how to provide transportation, without creating unnecessary long-term costs. This led me to the question: When should you buy a car, versus lease? It’s complicated and, like a lot of financial decisions, depends on a number of circumstances.
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Who Let the Dogs Out?

By Kristan Anderson, CEBS®, CFP® | Dir. Of Retirement Plan Services & Dir. Of Financial Planning
As an independent young adult, soon after I brought home my first puppy, I found myself in the vet’s office. He had apparently ingested a piece of metal, making him throw up repeatedly.
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What’s in Your (Digital) Wallet?

By Rasti Nikolic | Associate Financial Planner
If you want to own Bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency, you need to have a digital wallet. The purpose of a digital wallet is to provide a space to send and receive cryptocurrency and to store private keys. Private keys are known only to the owner and are needed to authorize transfers.
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Paying for College – Top 529 Plans

By Kristan Anderson, CEBS®, CFP® | Dir. Of Retirement Plan Services & Dir. Of Financial Planning
In this, the first in our series of blog posts around paying for college, we take a look at the Morningstar report regarding the top 529 College Savings Plans.
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Traveling to Europe in Times of COVID

By Rasti Nikolic | Associate Financial Planner
It seems strange (and difficult) to travel outside of the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, but when you have family across the world, like I do, then you may have no choice.
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