Judy Loy
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Be Diligent to Protect Your Money and Avoid Getting Scammed
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In any field, trust is important, but especially in banking and financial services. We trust that our cash is available by ATM or ACH or check. In last week’s CrowdStrike outage, a faulty software update took down airlines, stock exchanges and hospitals. CrowdStrike (CRWD) is an American cybersecurity technology company, which assists Microsoft (MSFT) and…
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What to Know About Roth IRAs
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When I first started at Nestlerode in 1992, the only option for a qualified retirement account was traditional, tax deductible for money being contributed. Money going into the typical retirement was deducted from taxes and taxes were owed on the distributions in retirement. In 1998, U.S. Sen. Will Roth of Delaware proposed the idea of…
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Interest Rate Bets
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The U.S. Federal Reserve took on the fight against high inflation by raising interest rates 11 times in the last two years from .08% to 5.25-5.5%, which is a 23-year high. Overall, the Fed has been successful with inflation going from 8% in 2022 to 3.36% as of April 30, 2024. The long-term average for…
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Election Year and Economic Fears
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This year’s presidential election is coming quickly on Nov. 5, 2024 (you may be familiar with the two candidates). Elections tend to bring out passion and fear in our population. Right now, citizens are polarized on candidates and the strong feelings are leading to trepidation about the impact of either candidate on our economy. Historically,…
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529 Plan Options: What to Know About Benefits and Drawbacks
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Americans have expected the next generation to have better lives than them throughout our history. Overall, it’s been true, with each generation creating more wealth and opportunities. For this and other reasons, grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents want to jump start their children’s future. A popular way to save for the next generation is a…
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The Economic Outlook for 2024
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The U.S. Federal Reserve gave investors a nice Christmas present this past week. The Federal Reserve, headed by Jerome Powell, meets eight times a year, usually every six weeks. On Wednesday of their meetings, they announce their rate decisions and Powell holds a news briefing after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regularly scheduled meeting. …
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For High Earners, 401k Tax Benefits
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The Secure Act 2.0 of 2022 provided changes to retirement savings, some good, some bad. Starting in 2024, older, high-income earners are losing a tax-advantage. To help older workers catch up on their retirement, as some are empty nesters and more focused on retirement, an additional contribution is permitted for people ages 50 and over.…
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Good Debt, Bad Debt
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Over the past year, interest rates have increased due to the Federal Reserve’s tightening. Their goal is to cut inflation to 2% and to do so, they are slowing the economy. For instance, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 3.22% in January. The most recent 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.57%. This means for the…
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The Value of the Greenback
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The U.S. dollar, or “greenback” in slang, is the reserve currency for the world and has been for over 60 years. However, what does being a reserve currency mean? To avoid exchange rate risk (different currencies moving in the wrong direction during a trade), countries’ central banks hold the same currency to use for trade.…
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What to Make of Recent Bank Crises
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In my 30-plus years as an advisor, 2008 was an auspicious year. Dan Nestlerode stepped down as CEO of Nestlerode & Loy, Inc. and I took over the helm of the company. The Great Recession also occurred during 2008. The S&P 500 dropped 56.8% from Oct. 9, 2007, to March 9, 2009, marking one of…