Author- Clay Wood

High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) are becoming more common in the healthcare space these days.  Because of this, we have been receiving a lot of questions from clients about how their Health Savings Accounts (HSA) fits into their financial plan.  I wanted to go over some of the questions that have been coming up.

Alabama’s 529 Plan recently received a “Silver” rating by Morningstar.  The Silver rating makes the plan rate in the Top 8 in the country!  That is a great rating, but you might be wondering why you shouldn’t just choose the Top “Gold” ranked plan?  If there is a better plan, would I not want my money in that one for my child?  If you live

At the end of September Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require reporting agencies to freeze reports for no charge.  This was a result of the data breach at Equifax that exposes around 148 million Americans’ personal information.  When you place a freeze on your reports, it restricts lenders from accessing your information.  But just because it is free doe

It’s almost Halloween, so we wanted to talk about something that can sometimes be a little spooky… Medicare.  Are you frightened yet?  Hopefully not, but we know from our experience when our clients have to enroll in Medicare for the first time it can be an intimidating thing.  Think about it, you have been on your employer’s insurance for years then one day yo

Medicare open enrollment is here – October 15^th to December 7^th  – and from our experience and client feedback, it can be pretty intimidating.  With the amount of sales advertisements that show up, the biggest question is where to begin.

Everybody knows that good savings habits are an integral part of a sound, healthy financial plan.  However, some people who think they are good at saving because they save consistently aren’t actually as good at it as they think.  There’s a lot more to being a good saver than just regularity. 

Annuities are a popular sales product of commissioned salespeople in the insurance and investment world.  Ask someone about an annuity they purchased and 9 out of 10 times they will say it was sold to them, not “I bought” or “I chose” an annuity.  Many offer promises of guaranteed rates of return, income for life and tax avoidance.  But those promises only

I recently received counterfeit bills in change from the grocery store.  Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to paste a “5” over the “1s” at the corners of the bill.  I thought it seemed like an awful lot of work and a lot of jail time to do (if you get caught) for only four dollars! Turns out, it’s actually common practice.

People often ask financial advisors if we have any ideas on how they can save more for things like retirement or college or dream trips around the world.  The answer is always yes, but some of our suggestions are not always welcomed with open arms. 

I, like many of you, am an animal lover.  I recently got a puppy with my fiancée.  Stevie Nicks, the puppy, is a Golden Doodle and quite possibly the cutest thing that I have ever laid eyes on, excluding my fiancée.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some advice and warnings when it comes to adding a furry companion to your family.