Keeping Your Cool During Market Volatility

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When the stock market has a downturn, many investors go into panic mode, selling off parts of their portfolio to avoid temporary drops, and then missing potential gains when it bounces back.

For example, last December the S&P 500 dropped by a whopping 9%, one of the worst Decembers for investing performance since the Great Depression. A dramatic downturn to be sure, but the upside to the story was the day after Christmas it enjoyed its best performance since 2009. Still, the downturn seemed to have more of a negative impact on many investors than the subsequent rebound did.

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Beware of Fast Cash

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Reprinted Courtesy of “It’s a Money Thing”

Predatory Lending

Like local car dealerships and personal injury law firms, short-term and payday lenders tend to have the most annoying commercials on TV. They’re often tacky and annoying, and tend to air during daytime talk shows or very late at night. Their promises of “fast cash!”, “guaranteed approval!” and no “credit check required!” are enough to make you change the channel—and yet, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to get your hands on some extra money fast, those commercials might start making sense to you.

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Cutting Through the Jargon: 13 Real Estate Terms Explained

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There are plenty of moving parts when it comes to buying and owning a home. It’s no surprise then, that the terms that go along with the process might be a tad confusing, especially when people bandy around acronyms.

Take heart — you can get up to speed on the definitions in no time.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of some common real estate terms you need to understand when navigating the homebuying process.

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Estate Planning Moves if Your Child Isn’t Good With Money

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As a loving parent, you want to protect your family if something happens to you. When your children are younger, you’ll need to provide instructions on managing your finances and property, and who will act as their guardian.

However when an inheritance involves adult children, the situation changes dramatically. They may be married with families of their own to care for, or living independently and making their own financial decisions.
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Don’t Fall for These Social Security Scams

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As fraudsters become more sophisticated, they find more ways to separate consumers from their hard-earned cash. One of the ways they’re making inroads is via a caller ID “spoofing” scheme pretending to be a representative from the Social Security Administration. Other scams use email or snail mail. There are variations of all these tricks, but the goal is the same – to steal your money, identity or both.  Here are just a few to guard against.

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Ask the Advisor: Which Takes Priority, Retirement or College?

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By Jason Persinger

Since 2012, Jason has enjoyed sharing the SchoolsFirst FCU difference, offering objective and caring advice, tailored financial plans and a highly competitive fee structure for investment products. Jason holds the designations of CFP®, ChFC® and CLU®, and is registered to sell securities and holds a California Life/Health Insurance License.

Portrait Of Family Sitting On Steps Outside Home

Like most people, you probably have many financial goals you’d like to accomplish. If you have children, helping them pay for college may top the list. Continue reading →