By Jeff Gilbert

Most of us entered 2021 with hope and expectation that the pandemic would end, life would go back to normal, and we could move on from 2020. Instead, we learned that uncertainty doesn’t have an expiration date and each year brings its own set of challenges. Concerns about inflation, potential tax changes, and new COVID variants have many people wondering if next year will be any better. But when it comes to your personal finances, 2022 does not have to follow in the same footsteps as the last two years. There are many ways to take back control of your finances and set yourself up for a successful future. Make sure all your bases are covered before the new year with these 5 tips.

1. Review Your Tax Strategy

One of the most important actions you should take heading into 2022 is to review your taxes and make any necessary changes in light of the potential passage of the Build Back Better Plan. This bill could have far-reaching implications for people in all tax brackets and it’s important to review how your financial plan may be impacted. Some of the potential changes to be aware of include:

• Increased business taxes
• New surtax on Americans making more than $10 million per year
• New cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions
• Common tax-advantaged retirement strategies, including Roth conversions and backdoor Roth IRAs, could be eliminated or strictly regulated

If you have significant estate assets, are planning to retire, or you are expecting substantial capital gains in the next few years, be sure to review your plan with a financial professional to ensure you are taking steps to mitigate any potential risk.

2. Evaluate Your Asset Allocation & Invest with Impact

The end of the year is also a great time to review your asset allocation strategy and incorporate ESG and impact investing if desired. Given the dramatic rise of inflation over the last few months, it’s crucial that you evaluate your investments and make sure your portfolio is properly diversified. It should also be tailored to your specific risk tolerance level, ensuring that you are earning enough returns to keep up with inflation, but you are not overexposing yourself to risk. 

If you are interested in using your funds to support environmental, social, or governmental issues (ESG), you can also consider impact investing as a way to earn returns while also promoting change on causes you care about.

3. Consider Charitable Donations

Charitable donations are another option that can be reviewed as the year-end approaches. The holidays are a great time to give money and assets to your favorite non-profits, churches, and organizations. 

Charitable donations can be used as part of your overall tax strategy, or as part of a comprehensive estate plan. Both options provide many potential benefits including supporting causes you care about, reducing your taxable income, and reducing your taxable estate.

4. Use Up Your Employee Benefits

While every employee benefit plan has its own rules and regulations, many of them expire or reset at the end of the year. You worked hard for these perks, so be sure to use them before it’s too late!

Medical and Dental Benefits

Now’s the time to take care of all your healthcare needs before your deductible resets. Dental plans in particular often have a maximum coverage amount. If you haven’t used the full amount and anticipate any treatments, make it a priority to set an appointment before December 31st.

Flexible Spending Account

Like your health insurance benefits, you’ll want to use up as much of your FSA (flexible spending account) dollars as possible by the end of the year since you are only allowed to carry over $500 each year. 

Sick and Vacation Time

Depending on your company, your sick or vacation time might expire at the end of the year. Check with your HR department to learn about any expiration dates. If it does expire, fit in a last-minute staycation or take some time off to work on projects you’ve been putting off. If you need to make any trips to the doctor, schedule those appointments now to make use of paid-time-off benefits before you lose them.

5. Revisit Your Plans and Policies

Lastly, take another look at your estate plan and insurance coverage. If you took the time and energy to create an estate plan, check it periodically to ensure all the documents are up to date and no major details have changed. 

Your insurance needs may also change as the year goes by, so periodically review your coverages and designated beneficiaries to bring them up to date to reflect your current financial situation. For example, if you paid off debt, you may not need as much life insurance coverage since your family’s liabilities have decreased. You might also want to evaluate your need for other types of insurance, such as long-term care or disability insurance. 

Partner With a Professional

At Balboa Wealth Partners, we can help you take back control of your finances after a rocky couple of years. Together, we can achieve your financial New Year’s resolutions in 2022! Reach out to us today by calling our office at 949-445-1465 or emailing me at [email protected].

About Jeff

Jeff Gilbert is the founder and CEO of Balboa Wealth Partners, a holistic financial management firm dedicated to providing clients guidance today for tomorrow’s success. With nearly three decades of industry experience, he has worked as both an advisor and executive-level manager, partnering with and serving a diverse range of clients. Specializing in serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth families, Jeff aims to help clients achieve their short-term and long-term goals, worry less about their finances, and focus more on their life’s passions. Based in Orange County, Jeff works with clients throughout the entire country. To learn more, connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. 

Advisory services provided by Balboa Wealth Partners, Inc., an Investment Advisor registered with the SEC. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Balboa Wealth Partners and its Investment Advisor Representatives are properly licensed or exempt from registration.

Securities offered through Chalice Capital Partners, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

Balboa offers advisory services independent of Chalice. Neither firm is affiliated.

By Jeff Gilbert

Wisdom comes with age. We all know this, and we’ve all experienced the learning and growing that comes from making mistakes or forging our own path. But if you had the chance to go back in time and give your younger self some hard-won advice, what would you say? 

As a financial advisor who helps countless people prepare for the future and set their finances up for success, my three pieces of advice center around managing money. Here’s what I wish I had known about money when I was younger.

Pay Yourself First

In practice, paying yourself first means depositing into your savings and investment accounts before you divvy up your paychecks amongst your living expenses and wants. 

Wouldn’t you rather be your own bank when you are older? Money is simply a resource that gives us options. No money means no options. The ultimate goal is to accumulate enough wealth to live off of in complete financial freedom. Financial freedom is defined as having sufficient personal resources to live without needing to work to cover the basics. It means you have the time and money to pursue fulfillment in your life. If you have financial freedom, you can focus on living your life rather than making a living. But financial freedom doesn’t happen accidentally. Short of inheriting a windfall, financial freedom becomes a reality through patient and disciplined saving.

By investing and growing your portfolio at a young age, you increase your money’s potential for growth. That’s the power of compound interest—it helps the money you put away grow faster due to interest building upon itself. It means that not only do you earn interest on your principal, but on the interest you’ve already earned as well, so you are earning interest on interest. You can make your money work smarter rather than harder to pursue your goals.

Beginning to invest at age 25 and contributing regularly could result in more than doubling the value of your investments at age 65, compared to waiting to start at age 35. 

Be Strategic With Your Savings

You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s a tried-and-true solution for wealth management that works every time. Start with a 401(k) if your employer offers a retirement plan, especially if an employer-matching contribution is offered since it is a guaranteed return on the funds contributed. You can also save a percentage of your monthly income in an investment account such as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA and/or a taxable investment account, depending on your situation, to minimize your tax liability either now or in the future. 

The key is to be disciplined and consistent. Set up automatic contributions to tax-advantaged accounts and create an investment strategy that’s aligned with your goals.

Prioritize Education

Another way to be strategic with your savings is to take advantage of college savings accounts to prepare for the costs of higher education for your kids and grandchildren. With tuition costs climbing year after year, saving for higher education is incredibly important.

Enter the 529 plan. This type of educational savings plan is a qualified tuition plan created so that families can receive tax benefits for saving toward qualified higher-education expenses. After-tax money is invested in a 529 plan, where it grows tax-free. When the money is later taken out for qualified expenses, there are no federal taxes due. Over 30 states also offer a deduction or tax credit for contributions to a 529 plan. (1)

Just like saving for retirement, saving for college early and often will help you optimize compound interest and offset the cost of education.

Take the First Step

At Balboa Wealth Partners, we understand the impact that financial planning and good money habits can have on the wealth of an individual or family in the long run. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a complimentary meeting. To get started, contact my office by calling 949-445-1465 or email me at [email protected].

About Jeff

Jeff Gilbert is the founder and CEO of Balboa Wealth Partners, a holistic financial management firm dedicated to providing clients guidance today for tomorrow’s success. With nearly three decades of industry experience, he has worked as both an advisor and executive-level manager, partnering with and serving a diverse range of clients. Specializing in serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth families, Jeff aims to help clients achieve their short-term and long-term goals, worry less about their finances, and focus more on their life’s passions. Based in Orange County, Jeff works with clients throughout the entire country. To learn more, connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. 

Advisory services provided by Balboa Wealth Partners, Inc., an Investment Advisor registered with the SEC. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Balboa Wealth Partners and its Investment Advisor Representatives are properly licensed or exempt from registration.

Securities offered through Chalice Capital Partners, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

Balboa offers advisory services independent of Chalice. Neither firm is affiliated.

___________

(1) https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/how-much-is-your-state-s-529-plan-tax-deduction-really-worth

By Jeff Gilbert

Have you ever cared for an aging grandparent, parent, sibling, or spouse and thought, “Who is going to take care of me when I struggle to get out of bed?” or “How much will it cost my family?” If so, you are not alone. Long-term care has quickly become one of the most pressing concerns for adults in America. With advances in medicine and technology allowing people to live longer, as well as the collective retirement of the baby boomer generation, 7 out of 10 people turning 65 this year will require some form of long-term care in their lifetime. (1)

Unfortunately, most families will not have a plan for how to handle the rising costs associated with aging. So, what exactly is long-term care and how can we make sure we are mentally, emotionally, and, most importantly, financially prepared when the time comes?

What Is Long-Term Care?

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services defines long-term care (LTC) as “a range of services and supports you may need to meet your personal care needs.” (2) This includes help with everyday tasks like eating, bathing, getting dressed, and using the bathroom (known as custodial care) as well as medically necessary care like physical therapy, intravenous injections, and catheter care. (3)

While the length and level of care fluctuates depending on each person’s unique health situation, aging is something that is common to everyone. As we age, the risk of dementia and disease increases exponentially, (4) and if there is no plan in place, the burden (and costs) of care usually falls to friends and family. 

In 2015, it was estimated that over 43 million people in the U.S. had been an unpaid caregiver in the last 12 months. In fact, about 80% of all long-term care is provided by unpaid caregivers, with roughly 14% of those caregivers already over age 65 themselves. (5)

How Much Does Long-Term Care Cost?

Care is most often provided by unpaid friends, family, and neighbors due to the hefty cost of professional LTC services. This cost varies greatly depending on your health condition(s), type of care required, and where you are located. The national annual average ranges from over $43,500 for care in an assisted living facility to over $92,000 for a private room in a nursing home. (6) The average annual costs in California are approximately $60,000 and over $137,000, respectively, with those numbers projected to reach over $93,000 and $190,000 by 2040! (7)

These costs can be staggering, especially if both spouses require LTC. It can be overwhelming and out of reach for individuals and families to accommodate, thereby leaving many to choose between paying out of pocket or becoming caregivers themselves. 

How to Plan for Long-Term Care?

There are many options to help mitigate the costs of LTC and provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones.

Medicare and Medi-Cal provide some assistance, but it’s not much. Medicare does not cover custodial care or assisted living facilities, and Medi-Cal has strict income eligibility requirements that make it difficult to qualify. Private health insurance usually doesn’t cover LTC at all.

Because of these limited coverage levels, it is becoming increasingly common for families to purchase long-term care insurance, or add riders to existing life insurance or annuity policies.

No matter which option you consider, it is important to plan ahead. Premiums increase as your risk of serious illness increases, meaning younger people typically have lower overall premium costs. Because of this, LTC planning is generally recommended for individuals between the ages of 50-60. 

With roughly 6 million Californians currently over the age of 65, (8) it’s more important than ever to assess your family’s LTC needs. 

How We Can Help

Thankfully, just as we are not alone in aging, we do not have to be alone in planning for the possibility of long-term care. Balboa Wealth Partners is here to help guide you through the process. Call us at 949-445-1465 or email Jeff at [email protected].

You can also reach out to our Scottsdale office at 480-801-5100 or [email protected] for a no-obligation conversation and a complimentary risk assessment here.

About Jeff

Jeff Gilbert is the founder and CEO of Balboa Wealth Partners, a holistic financial management firm dedicated to providing clients guidance today for tomorrow’s success. With nearly three decades of industry experience, he has worked as both an advisor and executive-level manager, partnering with and serving a diverse range of clients. Specializing in serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth families, Jeff aims to help clients achieve their short-term and long-term goals, worry less about their finances, and focus more on their life’s passions. Based in Orange County, Jeff works with clients throughout the entire country. To learn more, connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. 

Advisory services provided by Balboa Wealth Partners, Inc., an Investment Advisor registered with the SEC. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Balboa Wealth Partners and its Investment Advisor Representatives are properly licensed or exempt from registration.

Securities offered through Chalice Capital Partners, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

Balboa offers advisory services independent of Chalice. Neither firm is affiliated.

______________

(1) https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-need

(2) https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/what-is-long-term-care

(3) https://www.cms.gov/Medicare-Medicaid-Coordination/Fraud-Prevention/Medicaid-Integrity-Education/Downloads/infograph-CustodialCarevsSkilledCare-[March-2016].pdf

(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3385995/

(5) https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/who-will-provide-your-care

(6) https://acl.gov/ltc/costs-and-who-pays/costs-of-care

(7) https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html

(8) https://www.cahf.org/About/Consumer-Help/Guide-to-Long-Term-Care

By Jeff Gilbert

In 2021, surveys show that 31% of all small businesses or franchises in the U.S. are owned by women. (1) This number has increased by 4% since 2020, which is inspiring given the pandemic and economic turmoil the majority of business owners have faced over the last year. 

Although most business owners work extremely hard and overcome significant obstacles to make their businesses succeed, women face unique challenges in the business world that most men simply don’t have to reckon with. 

As longtime investment advisors, we know the financial concerns women entrepreneurs contend with on a daily basis. Below are the top 3 challenges we’ve seen women business owners face (and overcome) over the years.

1. Access To Funding

Research is finding that although more women entrepreneurs are applying for business loans, the loans they’re granted are more than 40% lower than loans approved for male entrepreneurs, despite a trend for higher average operating expenses within women-owned businesses. (2)

Not to mention, women entrepreneurs have a more difficult time accessing funding from venture capital investors. (3) Reasons for this particular challenge are varied, but one likely explanation may be because male investors prefer to invest in male-owned businesses. Conversely, female investors may be more inclined to invest in women-owned businesses. (The psychological term for this phenomenon is the similarity-attraction effect.) (4)

With fewer women venture capitalists, female entrepreneurs have a smaller pool of potential investors to pitch their ideas to.

2. Not Charging What You’re Worth

Because women have had to work so hard to break glass ceiling after glass ceiling in business and industry, they’ve been inundated for decades with subtle and not-so-subtle messages that their work is less valuable. Oftentimes, women business owners charge less for their services or products because they’re afraid potential consumers will balk at more expensive prices. In fact, one survey found that women who work for themselves earn 28% less than their male peers. (5)

To rectify this, women business owners must charge prices that similar businesses in their industry are charging. And if potential clients or customers try to negotiate, move on. More than likely, there are other prospects out there willing to pay you what you’re worth.

3. Knowing When To Scale

Working women everywhere know the challenges of balancing career responsibilities with domestic responsibilities, and perhaps no one knows this better than the female business owner. Despite ever-increasing numbers of women in the workforce, many women are still expected (or expect themselves) to shoulder most of the childcare and housework burdens.

With this ingrained mindset, it’s no surprise that women business owners have high expectations for themselves to be able to run their business entirely on their own. But not only is this mindset likely to result in burnout, it’s also likely to hold you back from growing your business and making more money.

For most business owners, there comes a time when it’s in your best interest to spend more time on money-making tasks and less time on administrative tasks. Although hiring outside help might feel counterintuitive at first, knowing when it’s time to scale your business can result in much greater returns down the road.

How We Help

At Balboa Wealth Partners, we’ve helped dozens of female entrepreneurs overcome these challenges and more. We provide financial planning services for both your business and your personal life so you can spend more time doing what you do best. To find out how I can help, give me a call at 949-445-1465 or email me at [email protected] to schedule a no-obligation conversation.

About Jeff

Jeff Gilbert is the founder and CEO of Balboa Wealth Partners, a holistic financial management firm dedicated to providing clients guidance today for tomorrow’s success. With nearly three decades of industry experience, he has worked as both an advisor and executive-level manager, partnering with and serving a diverse range of clients. Specializing in serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth families, Jeff aims to help clients achieve their short-term and long-term goals, worry less about their finances, and focus more on their life’s passions. Based in Orange County, Jeff works with clients throughout the entire country. To learn more, connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. 

Advisory services provided by Balboa Wealth Partners, Inc., an Investment Advisor registered with the SEC. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Balboa Wealth Partners and its Investment Advisor Representatives are properly licensed or exempt from registration.

Securities offered through Chalice Capital Partners, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

Balboa offers advisory services independent of Chalice. Neither firm is affiliated.

__________________

(1) https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/women-in-business/

(2) https://www.biz2credit.com/research-reports/women-owned-business-study-2020

(3) https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5268-women-entrepreneur-challenges.html

(4) http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/socialpsychology/n517.xml#:~:text=Definition,to%20be%20around%20the%20person

(5) https://www.freshbooks.com/press/data-research/women-in-the-workforce-2018