Wiser Wealth Management Blog
The Everyday Investor

3 Business Books Worth Reading

What do some of the most successful people throughout history have in common? They never stop learning. By discovering how some of the business world’s most accomplished individuals achieved greatness, you’re sure to find valuable lessons, perspective and inspiration. For the Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs are a breed of their own, and perhaps the boldest and most enterprising entrepreneur today is Elon Musk. Musk’s singular vision of a more accessible and ecological era of exploration has driven him to blaze an impressive trail that’s captivated both the

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wadmin May 19, 2016
The Everyday Investor

Social Security – Don’t Rush for the Payout

When planning for clients we use social security optimization tools to help us give the best advice. Many clients initially think that taking SS at 62 or full retirement age is the best. Not necessarily. This recent article from Vanguard does a great job describing our thought process. For most Americans, Social Security is a big part of their retirement income An estimated 91% of Americans aged 65 or older receive Social Security benefits1—the average annual benefit for a retiree is about $16,000.2 For most

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Casey Smith April 14, 2016

The Great “Debt-ate”

Mortgage vs. Debt payoff: The Great DEBTate My goal is to save about $60k for a down payment on a condo in FLL. I also have about the same amount, $60k, left to pay on my student loan. I’ve been going back and forth with which goal I should attack first. On one hand, I want to make the purchase in Florida before home prices rise too much higher, and before interest rates rise too much higher as well. Moving to Florida will also save me

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wadmin April 14, 2016
The Everyday Investor

Social Security Planning Update – A Loophole is Closed

During the financial planning process here at Wiser, we use planning software to determine the best strategy to take Social Security benefits. Social Security can be applied for and received in many different ways. A lot of clients assume that they should take it as soon as possible, but for many this option could hurt them in the long run. Assuming you did planning, a common way to take Social Security for a couple was called file and suspend. The file and suspend method worked

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Casey Smith December 12, 2015
The Everyday Investor

Checking a Broker’s Background Gets a Mandatory Link

FINRA, the regulatory authority for stock brokers and investment advisors, has recently approved a new rule requiring brokers to place a link on their webpage to connect the retail client to the FINRA broker check website. The FINRA broker check site provides professional background checks on advisors, disclosing client complaints and professional disciplinary actions against the advisor. The link, unfortunately, is not required to take the viewer all the way to the broker’s background. Instead the viewer will need to enter the brokers name or

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Casey Smith November 11, 2015
The Everyday Investor

Right Now You Need to Do Nothing

“Your best move is to stay invested and keep your fingers crossed.”-Jack Bogle, founder, Vanguard Group The original publication of this article can be found here.  The following is an interview done by CNBC with Vanguard founder Jack Bogle. Mr Bogle is a very wise man and all individual investors should listen closely to his advice.  In the wake of the market’s worst week since 2011, the question for individual investors is what to do? Nothing, says Jack Bogle, the legendary founder of the world’s largest

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Casey Smith August 25, 2015
The Everyday Investor

Fear is NOT an Investment Strategy

The stock market has been jumpy the last few months. Greece, the Federal Reserve looking to raise interest rates, China’s Stock market plunge and some weak corporate earnings have all contributed to recent volatility. We must also acknowledge that the stock market has been on a good run since March 2009 with only a few setbacks. When I see the market behaving in this manner, I remember a quote from William Bernstein, a financial theorist and best selling author, “In the short-term the stock market

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Casey Smith July 30, 2015

Withdrawing Money from an IRA

Question I have an IRA which holds $100K and would like to withdraw some of it to buy a new home. But, I am also collecting Social Security and wish to understand the possible tax consequences of IRA withdrawals. How would my tax situation change? Answer Over the age of 59 1/2, withdrawals from IRAs are taxed at your standard income rate. If your only income is social security, your taxable rate could be low, as your Social Security is probably not taxed. If you

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Casey Smith June 23, 2015
The Everyday Investor

Avoid Tax Settlement Scams

Tax relief companies use the radio, television and the internet to advertise help for taxpayers in distress. If you pay them an upfront fee, which can be thousands of dollars, these companies claim they can reduce or even eliminate your tax debts and stop back-tax collection by applying for legitimate IRS hardship programs. The truth is that most taxpayers don’t qualify for the programs these fraudsters hawk, their companies don’t settle the tax debt, and in many cases don’t even send the necessary paperwork to

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Casey Smith May 22, 2015
The Everyday Investor

Teaching Your Kids About Money

By Casey T. Smith, President, Wiser® Wealth Management My wife and I were standing at our back window one early morning looking at our grass that seemed to have grown overnight. As we were observing, my wife said, “is that Kate’s new doll in the yard? Look, there is Ethan’s baseball glove! They just don’t seem to take care of their stuff.” I said, “It’s like they don’t understand that we work hard to provide them these things!” This was our aha parenting moment to start

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Casey Smith April 28, 2015

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