Your Complete Year-End Financial Checklist

Personal Finances

There are lots of fun things happening around this time of year, but don’t forget to give yourself an annual financial checkup! As we prepare to usher in the new year, take a moment to go through this year-end financial checklist. Review your budget Is your monthly budget still working well for you? Are you stretching some spending categories or …

Retirement Planning: The Basics

Directions Financial Solutions

You may have a very idealistic vision of retirement — doing all of the things that you never seem to have time to do now. But how do you pursue that vision? Social Security may be around when you retire, but the benefit that you get from Uncle Sam may not provide enough income for your retirement years. To make …

Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs

Directions Financial Solutions

You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you’ll need to fund your retirement. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because retirement planning is not an exact science. Your specific needs depend on your goals and many other factors. …

CARES Act: Retirement Plan Relief Provisions

Directions Financial Solutions

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020.  This $2 trillion emergency relief package represents a bipartisan effort to assist both individuals and businesses in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and accompanying economic crisis. The CARES Act provisions for retirement plan relief for individuals under federal tax law are discussed here. For …