Our Insights

January is Financial Wellness Month, which means it’s a good time to remind people to plan and update their financial strategy. Now is a great time to connect with your Patriot advisor to discuss your financial situation and aspirations for the future. You should also assess if your financial strategy needs any adjustments or changes based on your lifestyle. Defining Financial Wellness The first thing to do is define what “financial wellness” means for you. This varies drastically from person

In the final days of 2022, Congress passed a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier to contribute to retirement plans and access those funds earmarked for retirement. The law is called SECURE 2.0, and it’s a follow-up to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, passed in 2019. The sweeping legislation has dozens of significant provisions, so to help you see what changes may affect you, we broke the major provisions of the

Quarterly Market Insights – Fourth Quarter 2022 U.S. Markets Stocks ended a volatile fourth quarter with a slight gain, which helped repair some of the damage since the beginning of the year. For much of the quarter, sentiment was boosted by stronger than expected earnings, a deceleration in inflation, and a growing belief that the Fed may start to scale back on the pace of interest rate hikes.  However, the upbeat mood soured in December as recession fears were rekindled

Wondering if you are best prepared for the upcoming giving season?  The holidays will be here before you know it, and to minimize stress and maximize your gifting abilities, it is important to keep in mind a few details that you may or may not be aware of.   If you are not sure how your finances match up with your year-end giving strategy, now is the time to prepare yourself by making your lists and checking them twice. Organization is

The Internal Revenue Service has released new limits for the coming year. After months of high inflation and financial uncertainty, some of these cost-of-living-based adjustments have reached near-record levels. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) IRA contribution limits are up $500 in 2023 to $6,500. Catch-up contributions for those over age 50 remain at $1,000, bringing the total limit to $7,500. Roth IRAs The income phase-out range for Roth IRA contributions increases to $138,000-$153,000 for single filers and heads of household, a

As the holiday season draws near, most people are thinking about their finances over the next few months and budgeting for how they can celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Which is perfect timing because October is National Financial Planning Month! Let’s use this month to celebrate the importance of proper financial planning and share some tips and tricks on how to get your financial planning in order. Create a Budget The first step in understanding and taking

Markets Have Challenging Third Quarter Global equity markets had a poor third quarter with all major markets in the red, leading to overall declines not seen in decades. Further, entering the fourth quarter of 2022, the DJIA and S&P 500 are both at their lowest since November 2020, while NASDAQ is at its lowest since the end of July 2020. For the third quarter of 2022: The DJIA dropped 6.7%; The S&P 500 fell 5.3%; NASDAQ lost 4.1%; and The

Life insurance is one of those financial products that we put off thinking about. No one wants to talk about the eventuality of passing away and we especially don’t like to talk about what would happen if we passed away suddenly. However, life insurance is an important part of any financial and protection strategy. For National Life Insurance Awareness Month, we wanted to share some helpful information about life insurance, including what it is, its different types, and how it

If you have a child, you may want to read the recent analysis from the Brookings Institute which details just how expensive raising kids can be. It’s downright frightening. According to the Brookings Institute analysis, the average amount a married, middle-income couple with two children would spend to raise through age 17 is estimated to be $310,605. That’s over $18,000 a year, a 9% increase from the previous estimate due to inflation. Again, that $18,000 per year is per child.