The Wealth Conservancy, Inc.: Recent Episodes

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Wealth Coaching, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation

The post Keep The Kids in Mind Podcast with Myra Salzer appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

In this episode of Generations of Wealth, host Derek Dombeck is joined by Melissa Hoyer of The Wealth Conservancy for a thoughtful conversation on the importance of estate planning and its role in helping individuals and families truly connect with and embrace their wealth.

Melissa shares insights on how a well-crafted estate plan goes beyond legal documents—serving as a bridge between wealth, values, and legacy. The discussion highlights how intentional planning can provide clarity, confidence, and continuity across generations.

Whether you are early in your financial journey or focused on legacy planning, this episode offers valuable perspective on building and preserving wealth with purpose.

The post How to Keep Your Family’s Money for Life with Melissa Hoyer, CFP®, PCC™ appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

We’re so excited to share this special episode of Can I Get A Refill?, hosted by Steph Bruno-Newton, featuring Myra Salzer!

In this conversation, Myra dives into some of the challenges of inheriting wealth. She shares her unique perspective and wisdom gained from years of experience, offering insights on how she works with inheritors to help them align with and understand their relationship with their wealth.

The post Taking Control of Your Wealth with TEDx speaker Myra Salzer appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

In this episode of Truly Passive Income with hosts Clint Harris and Neil Henderson, our colleague Melissa joins the conversation to explore the unique challenges of being born into retirement.

Melissa shares her perspective on how growing up with financial stability can sometimes lead to a lack of motivation, drive, or clear sense of purpose—contrasting this with the experiences of individuals who naturally develop resilience and direction through the demands of everyday work. She explains how she navigates these challenges with clients when working through her coaching program, Way Into Wealth.

This thoughtful discussion digs into the deeper side of wealth, mindset, and fulfillment, offering lessons for anyone navigating the intersection of financial independence and personal meaning.

The post Achieve Financial Purpose Beyond Your Bank Balance with Melissa Hoyer, CFP®, PCC™ appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Join us as our amazing coworker Melissa sits down with Samantha Holland on the Beautifully Balanced Podcast!

In this episode, Melissa dives into the fascinating world of money archetypes, or, the patterns and mindsets we each carry when it comes to finances. She shares insights on how to recognize these archetypes, how they influence our decisions, and the strategies she uses in her coaching program, Way Into Wealth, to help clients navigate them with clarity and confidence.

If you’ve ever wondered why you relate to money the way you do—or how to shift toward a healthier, more balanced relationship with your finances—this conversation is packed with valuable takeaways.

The post How to Live in Harmony with Your Finances with Melissa Hoyer, CFP®, PCC™ appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

By: Jake Gensemer

In today’s world of rapid technological advancement and digital convenience, cyber-attacks are not just more common, they’re more convincing than ever. For individuals who have recently come into sudden money through an inheritance or other means, the risks are especially high. Cybercriminals often target those who may be managing inherited wealth for the first time, knowing that financial transitions can make people more vulnerable.

Take Jerry, for example. He received a phone call that appeared to be from his bank. The caller claimed there was a fraudulent charge on Jerry’s credit card and offered to help dispute it and recover the funds.

There were red flags from the start. The caller was pushy and insisted that Jerry act immediately or risk losing the opportunity to reverse the charge. This urgency is a hallmark of many scams, designed to override rational thinking and create panic. Jerry was also told to stay on the line because he wouldn’t be able to reach the caller again if he hung up.

In an attempt to be cautious, Jerry cross-referenced the number with the one on his bank’s website. When they matched, he let his guard down and trusted the caller. What Jerry didn’t know was that a scam artist had altered their caller ID to appear as his bank. After following their instructions, Jerry unknowingly transferred money to the scammer—and didn’t realize it until after the call ended. What he initially perceived as a beneficial interaction, actually was a costly transaction.

Unfortunately, Jerry’s story is all too common. Many individuals who receive a sudden windfall of money—whether from an inheritance, legal settlement, or other circumstance—may not be prepared to spot the signs of digital fraud. And today’s scams can be as subtle as a malicious link hidden behind an “unsubscribe” button in a seemingly ordinary email.

If you’ve recently come into inherited wealth, it’s crucial to take cybersecurity seriously. Protecting your financial future starts with awareness:

Be cautious of urgent requests or unfamiliar contacts.
Avoid clicking on links unless you are certain they are safe.
Never share personal or financial information over the phone unless you initiated the call and verified the number yourself.
When in doubt, contact the institution directly using a known and trusted source.

At The Wealth Conservancy, we specialize in helping clients manage inherited wealth and navigate the unique challenges that can come with sudden money. Cybersecurity is a critical part of that conversation. If you have questions about protecting your financial information or want guidance on safe digital practices, we’re here to help.

Disclaimer: The events and characters in this article are based on real people and occurrences, but certain details have been altered or fictionalized to protect privacy and maintain confidentiality. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is unintentional and purely coincidental.

The post The Dangers of Technology appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

By: Riley Burridge

Much of the conversation around financial planning focuses on preparing for the future, crafting a thoughtful estate plan and ensuring your legacy is protected for generations to come. But will that bring you joy?

Consider the story of Olivia and Nicole—a mother and daughter whose journey illustrates the transformative power of timely generosity.

Fifteen years ago, Olivia experienced the emotional and logistical challenges of inheriting a sudden windfall following her father’s unexpected passing. The inheritance was deeply meaningful—an echo of her father’s character and care—but it also brought confusion and weighty decisions at a vulnerable time.

Now 54, Olivia is determined to do things differently for her daughter, Nicole. Rather than wait until her estate settles, Olivia wants her support to be timely, purposeful, and affirming. She hopes to provide help that encourages Nicole’s ambition without undermining the drive that fuels it.

At 25, Nicole is on the cusp of a remarkable career. She’s in her final year of medical school, with dreams of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. But between student loans and the years of low-paid residency that lie ahead, financial security remains a distant goal—perhaps 15 to 20 years away. The stress is real, even as the future shines brightly.

Olivia saw this and acted. With guidance from her advisors, she made deliberate, informed choices that would alleviate Nicole’s burden without compromising her own financial wellbeing. She gifted her daughter a house and a diversified portfolio of stocks, assets that offered both stability and flexibility.

For Nicole, this generosity wasn’t just financial, it was emotional. For the first time in years, she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. She felt seen, supported, and understood. What might have felt like a transaction years from now—part of an estate, arriving after loss—became instead a moment of connection, a gesture filled with presence and love. It didn’t just change her financial picture; it changed how she saw herself in the world.

Instead of facing her 20s overwhelmed by debt and stress, Nicole now has the freedom to focus on what matters most—her studies, her personal growth, and her dreams. The gift came exactly when it was needed, and its impact will be felt for decades.

Olivia and Nicole’s story is a powerful reminder that your legacy isn’t just about what you leave behind. Sometimes, it’s about what you choose to give right now—and the joy that comes from witnessing its impact.

If you’re wondering whether you can afford to make lifetime gifts, we invite you to start the conversation with us at The Wealth Conservancy. Let’s explore how your generosity today could help shape a brighter tomorrow for the people you love most.

Disclaimer: The events and characters in this article are based on real people and occurrences, but certain details have been altered or fictionalized to protect privacy and maintain confidentiality. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is unintentional and purely coincidental.

The post The Validity of Giving While Living appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

By: Jake Gensemer

Sarah is one of the youngest members of a small, distant family. When her estranged uncle passed away, she was shocked to learn that she had been named the beneficiary of his home. Though grateful, she began to feel tremendous amounts of guilt for being so distant from her uncle. Sarah was quickly overwhelmed by a wave of emotions, followed by questions and responsibilities she hadn’t anticipated.

Despite being well-educated and financially literate, Sarah wasn’t sure what to expect. She found herself wondering:

What will this mean for my taxes?
Will I have to go through a lengthy legal process?
Could I sell it and pocket the proceeds?
Should I lease it out or turn it into an Airbnb?
If so, will my insurance cover it?
Does the property have a mortgage or any liens against it?
What exactly are my next steps?

She turned to a few family members for advice but remained skeptical about the information she received and had many unanswered questions. Feeling uncertain and emotionally burdened, Sarah reached out to us.

As a fiduciary, The Wealth Conservancy is legally obligated to act in the best interest of its clients. Sarah explained her situation, and together we began to unpack the details of her inherited property.

To her surprise and relief, Sarah discovered she had inherited the home through a Transfer-on-Death (TOD) deed — a legal arrangement that allowed the property to pass directly to her without going through probate. This meant she avoided a potentially lengthy and expensive court process, giving her some much-needed control and efficiency.

Beyond the legal questions, Sarah still had to navigate the financial implications of her inheritance. We helped her understand how the TOD deed affected her capital gains tax, potential estate taxes, and ongoing property tax responsibilities. Every decision was made with her goals, values, and financial circumstances in mind.

At The Wealth Conservancy, we work with inheritors like Sarah every day — helping them navigate the emotional, legal, and financial complexities that come with inheriting wealth. From real estate and investments to legacy planning and personal transitions, we’re with you every step of the way. If you’ve inherited assets or are a part of a family system and are unsure how to best manage everything, let us help you make informed, confident decisions. Schedule a consultation today.

Disclaimer: The events and characters in this article are based on real people and occurrences, but certain details have been altered or fictionalized to protect privacy and maintain confidentiality. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is unintentional and purely coincidental.

The post The Complexities of Inheriting a Home appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Perpetual trusts, also known as “dynasty trusts,” seem to be all the rage. These trusts are designed to last multiple generations and avoid the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP). You might ask why they are bad ideas. We’ll give you some examples, and the reasons will become self-evident.

There are many reasons these trusts are becoming increasingly common. States enjoy the benefits of having trusts managed and domiciled in their state so they can collect income tax returns and fees on these trusts for generations. Attorneys may benefit from these trusts, too, especially if they have personal interests in trust companies in the states that allow these perpetual trusts, which is a conflict of interest!

It’s reasonable to ask, “What could be the problem? What’s wrong with wanting your assets to last for many generations? What’s wrong with controlling how the assets are invested or distributed to your progeny?”

The thing is, we cannot see the future and how current trust language will affect your heirs 100 years from now, let alone 200 or 300 years from now. For example, the grantor of a dynasty trust that was created around 1920 did not want their heirs to have an incentive to adopt a lot of children to get a bigger “slice of the pie.” So, they specifically put in the language of the trust document that beneficiaries must be “of the body.” Who could have imagined in 1920 that there would be such a thing as surrogate mothers. This is exactly what happened in that family 70 years after the trust was funded. Imagine the cost of litigating that issue!

That is just one simple example of the downside of creating trusts that will last hundreds of years. In another example, a grantor created a philanthropic organization before community foundations had been conceived (in 1914). This non-profit’s purpose was to thank the residents of a small Southern town for making it possible for the grantor’s family to profit handsomely. The grantor’s family had the best of intentions to “give back” – but that town is now a ghost town, and an enterprising wealth holder bought the town and became the sole beneficiary of the trust. This is not quite the outcome the grantors intended.

In both of these examples, the grantors’ intentions were honorable and forthright. As you’re planning your estates, it might be best to consider that you cannot predict the future, and accept that you cannot or may not want to control from the grave for many generations. Your heirs may make mistakes, and they may lose money. They may also decide not to have children, which we have seen repeatedly, leaving no heirs to receive the benefits of your dynasty trusts. It’s important to accept these possibilities and move on.

Listed below are states that allow perpetual trusts:

Alaska
Delaware
Nevada
South Dakota
Wyoming
Florida
New Hampshire
Ohio
Tennessee
Missouri
Rhode Island
Utah
Virginia

These states have reformed or abolished the Rule Against Perpetuities. While there may be advantages to creating trust in these states, before you set up any trusts – especially irrevocable trusts – it’s advisable that you fully understand why you’re creating those trusts in any of those states. All of those states also allow non-perpetual trusts, and there may be good tax reasons for implementing them.

If your attorney is recommending a trust that raises concern for any reason, and you are wondering what the impact may be on future generations, please feel free to contact us at The Wealth Conservancy. We are not attorneys, and we are not salespeople, but we can give you an objective thought on the direction you’re considering.

The post Buyer Beware: Perpetual Trusts appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

When asked what The Wealth Conservancy is all about, our reply is that we guide our clients to navigate the trauma of inheritance. I bristle when someone responds with, “I wish I had that problem!” though I can understand where they’re coming from. Most of us see the advent of an inheritance as a solution to a lot of problems and traumas of a different nature. Our clients, however, have received financial resources without training or preparation, often as a result of someone’s death or a divorce.

So where does the trauma come in? Mind.org.uk defines trauma as follows:

Trauma is when we experience very stressful, frightening or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or out of our control. It could be one incident, or an ongoing event that happens over a long period of time.

Much of a person‘s life trauma has evolved from unmet needs as a child. It is not unusual for families with significant financial resources to delegate the responsibility of raising a child. This often takes the form of the child being raised by nannies or being sent off to boarding schools. The child’s unmet need for love and connection can manifest as trauma for the rest of their life. Then, when they do inherit, they associate the financial resources with their childhood unmet needs and the money becomes toxic.

Divorcees and widows experience similar traumas, though later in life. The divorce or death is traumatic, in and of itself, and when coupled with the responsibility of managing, maintaining, understanding, and taking responsibility for the management of financial assets, the stress can become overwhelming.

At TWC, planners and coaches are wealth counselors, not therapists. We coordinate with all our clients’ advisors, including their tax planners, attorneys, Family Office, insurance advisors, and philanthropic advisors. We’re experts at identifying what’s there, what’s missing, and what needs to be done to protect our clients and their resources. We do this with an understanding of the emotional impact our clients are going through, and can guide them through the process with empathy, while coaching them to flourish.

The post Inherited Wealth, Inherited Wounds: Healing from the Trauma of Legacy appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

In this two-part blog post series, we first went over the big picture items that leafplanner has to offer for estate organization, and in this part, we will detail the importance of your leafplan in the day-to-day aspects of life. If you missed last week’s blog and are unfamiliar with TWC’s newest partner, leafplanner, you can read it here.

Fortunately, you don’t need to die to enjoy the day-to-day benefits of leafplanner and how it can positively contribute to you, your advisors, and others’ lives.

First, there are alerts you can schedule. The alerts are a nice touch when things get busy, and your mental checklist gets bogged down with more pressing items. You can set alerts for passport applications, license renewals, birthdays, and much more. You can set multiple alerts for one item to have them staggered at different days or months.
Second, there are descriptions and notes that you can selectively leave in your documents and contacts so that when you share the information with whomever needs to know. They could, for example, get notified about the medical conditions of an elderly parent or pet; to how you acquired a custom art piece that has been in your family for decades; and/or how to respond to an earthquake or hurricane while you are out of town.
Third, is the ability to have your passwords in a centralized location. You have the option to add most or all your passwords to your leafplan and if you would prefer to have your passwords contained elsewhere, you can easily enter in a leafplanner a reminder for yourself of where you store said password.
Fourth, you can write personal letters to your loved ones and store them in your leafplan for your trusted advisors to distribute to them when needed. This enables your loved ones to get to hear your last words for them, without the possibility of the letters getting lost.

If you’re not a TWC client, but want to learn more about leafplanner, reach out to them here. If you’re already a TWC client and are interested in learning more about how you can start a leafplan, or if you’re not a client but are interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with navigating your estate plan or the complex aspects of an inheritance, please give us a call, or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances.

The post The Value of a Digital Estate Repository – Part II appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

If you have dealt first-hand with having to organize a messy estate binder and want to make your own plan more accessible, going electronic might be your answer. With more of the world switching from physical hardcopies to a more digital environment, you may find it easier to switch your estate binder to a digital repository platform. A digital repository allows you to share your windfall wealth management plan with your heirs, without them having to piece together countless documents that may or may not be useful. This is where TWC is excited to announce our partnership with leafplanner.

In this two-part blog, we will go over the big picture items that leafplanner has to offer in today’s blog, and in next week’s blog, we will detail the importance of your leafplan in the day-to-day aspects of life.

Leafplanner is an estate repository software that is easy to use, readily available for family members and contacts to access what you want them to see and contains your data with the most up to date security measures. After security, leafplanner sets out to make usability and customer satisfaction their top priority. With easy customization, you are able to tailor your information to have the necessary documents and policies.

For those of you who have thought ahead and have already built a binder or booklet, there is still an incentive to make a digital copy of your hard work.

The first is extra security. If you happen to lose your binder due to misplacement, damage, or other reasons, having it backed up online will keep it alive and in a place that can be found without having to search too hard for it.
The second is that a digital repository can be used as an inheritance management tool. For families that have created a windfall for their heirs and want to leave behind some help for the inheritors, a digital repository can have everything in one place for them to have access to, all from their home’s comfort.
The third is the ability to update your plan at a moment’s notice from anywhere in the world. If you are updating an insurance policy and want to add the new policy to your plan, it would only take you a few seconds to delete or archive your old policy and update it with your new policy.
Finally, having your estate plan on a digital platform allows you to link up to your accounts in real time. This will make it painless to view all your accounts in one setting, without logging into your different accounts one by one.

Since we are partnered with leafplanner, your TWC concierge will input all of your data on your behalf and actively manage your account. If you are not a client but are interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with navigating your estate plan or the complex aspects of an inheritance, please give us a call, or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances. If you want to learn more about leafplanner, reach out to them here.

The post The Value of a Digital Estate Repository – Part I appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

The challenge of maintaining a healthy financial discipline while having varying views on money affects most couples in the United States. For some, one partner may be inclined to save every penny earned, while their significant other may spend money the second the direct deposit hits their account. Others may feel insecure about how much they make relative to their partner, as in the case of this average American marrying an inheritor who has been handed down a large family estate. One way to mitigate the stresses of finances that has become increasingly popular among couples is keeping separate bank accounts.

Keeping separate bank accounts allows for more flexibility in spending as an individual (and you can more easily purchase that birthday gift for your partner in secret!). Having full control over your own finances can help you have more peace of mind about your partner’s spending habits; be accountable for your own debts without having to absorb your partner’s; and feel like you’re able to contribute, especially for those marrying into money. However, there are complications that may arise from keeping a separate bank account from your partner.

While the financial gap is narrowing, most people in America still earn a different wage than their significant other. This may lead to a feeling of unfairness when paying an even 50/50 split on the mortgage, bills, and groceries. While there are many options for addressing this dilemma, a common one is creating a formula that creates an even contribution amount for each partner, as shown below:

Partner A: Earns $150,000 annually; Partner B: Earns $75,000 annually;
Together: $225,000 annually; Monthly Bills: $5,000 monthly

Step 1: Finding the percentage for each partner

A: ($150,000 / $225,000) x 100 = 66.67%
B: ($75,000 / $225,000) x 100 = 33.33%

Step 2: Creating the contribution amount per partner

A: $5,000 x 66.67% = $3,333.50
B: $5,000 x 33.33% = $1,666.50

Step 3: Continue to recalculate formula as needed

If you’re not a spreadsheet lover and would prefer to have the formula automatically updated for you, there are apps available to help you and your partner in this journey. If you would like a more human approach to figuring out the best setup for your scenario, clients of The Wealth Conservancy are always welcome to reach out and seek guidance from their advisors. If you’re not a client but are interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with the complex aspects of financial planning, such as marrying into a family that has given your partner an unexpected windfall, please give us a call or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances.

The post The Advantages of Having Separate Bank Accounts appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Leaving money in a will for a pet was once a practice mostly associated with the wealthy, but it is now becoming more common. As more people view their pets as family members, including them in estate plans has gained popularity.

Estate lawyers now routinely suggest a “pet directive” as part of a will. This allows pet owners to name a guardian for their animals and allocate funds for their care, ensuring that pets continue to receive the attention and resources they need after their owner’s passing.

Including pets in estate planning has become increasingly accessible, thanks to online estate-planning services like Trust & Will. These platforms make it easy for people to add provisions for their pets, regardless of the size of their estate. Some pet owners set aside substantial sums to ensure their animals’ well-being, reflecting the importance of their companionship.

Planning for pets in an estate is especially important given that pets are legally considered personal property, meaning they cannot directly inherit money. Instead, funds are allocated to the appointed caretaker. If no guardian is specified, pets may end up with whoever inherits the rest of the estate, which could lead to complications or even the possibility of the pets being abandoned or placed in shelters.

Without proper planning, pets can become the subject of disputes among heirs or may be surrendered to shelters. Pet rescue organizations, such as Hope for Paws, have had to intervene in cases where pets were left without a designated caretaker.

For pets with long lifespans, like parrots or turtles, long-term planning is particularly crucial. Some owners choose to arrange for their animals to be cared for by sanctuaries, such as the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center at Texas A&M University, which provides lifelong care for a variety of pets.

What is a Pet Trust?A pet trust is a legal mechanism designed to ensure the care and well-being of your pets should you pass away or become incapacitated. It involves setting aside funds and naming a trustee who will manage these resources to benefit your pets. Unlike a will, which may simply mention your pet, a pet trust legally enforces the care instructions you provide, ensuring that your pets receive the attention and resources they need.

This trust can take effect immediately if you become incapacitated, providing continuity of care, and offers accountability for how the funds are used.

How Does a Pet Trust Work?A pet trust involves three key roles:

Grantor (You, the pet owner): The person who creates and funds the trust.
Trustee: The individual responsible for managing the funds and ensuring they are used appropriately for your pet’s care.
Caregiver: The person who will physically look after your pet according to the instructions you have laid out.

When establishing the trust, you allocate specific funds exclusively for your pet’s needs. You also appoint a trustee to oversee these resources, and in some cases, the trustee may be different from the caregiver. The trust document should provide detailed instructions on your pet’s routine, diet, medical care, and any other specific requirements. The trustee is legally bound to follow these directives and can be held accountable for any failure to do so.

It is also important to note that, unlike guardians for children, pet guardians are not typically under court supervision. This means there is no legal mechanism to ensure that a pet guardian follows the instructions left in the will. Estate lawyers advise careful selection of a trustworthy guardian to ensure that pets are well cared for after their owner’s death.

If you are interested in learning more about qualified organizations and how to include your pets, please reach out to one of the planners here at TWC.

The post Legacy of Love: Ensuring Your Pet’s Care Through Your Will appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Your Social Security number (SSN) is a key part of your identity, and keeping it secure is crucial. Many companies ask for your SSN, but it’s essential to know when you can and should refuse to provide it. Here’s why and how you can protect your SSN:

Why Protect Your Social Security Number?

Prevent Identity Theft: Your SSN can be used by fraudsters to open accounts, take out loans, and commit other types of fraud in your name.
Maintain Privacy: Keeping your SSN private helps you keep control over your personal information.
Reduce Risk of Scams: The more places your SSN is stored, the higher the risk of it being stolen in a data breach.

When Can You Say No?

Non-Essential Services: Many companies ask for your SSN for convenience rather than necessity. For instance, a doctor’s office or utility company might request it, but often you can refuse without affecting the service.
Retail and Loyalty Programs: Retailers or loyalty programs might ask for your SSN, but you can often provide alternative identification, such as a driver’s license number.
Job Applications: While employers need your SSN for tax purposes, it’s usually not needed until you’re hired. You can offer it later in the hiring process.

How to Say No

Ask Why: When asked for your SSN, inquire why it’s needed and how it will be used. Legitimate reasons include tax reporting, credit checks, or other legally required purposes.
Offer Alternatives: Suggest other forms of identification, such as a driver’s license or a passport number.
Be Firm but Polite: Politely explain your concerns about privacy and identity theft. Most businesses will respect your caution and may offer alternatives.

What If You Must Provide It?

If you absolutely must provide your SSN, take these precautions:

Verify the Request: Ensure the request is legitimate. Don’t provide your SSN over the phone or email unless you started the contact and know the recipient is trustworthy.
Secure the Information: If you must fill out a form, ask how your SSN will be stored and protected.
Monitor Your Credit: Keep an eye on your credit reports for any suspicious activity.

By being cautious and questioning requests for your Social Security number, you can significantly reduce your risk of identity theft and keep greater control over your personal information. Remember, it’s your right to protect your identity.

For anyone who is seeking information and/or needs help sifting through a mountain of questions, please contact one of our Financial Planners or Wealth Coaches here at The Wealth Conservancy.

The post Just Say No to Giving Out Your Social Security Number to Companies appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Team TWC recently participated in our annual volunteer day. This year we chose to return to the Community Food Share in Louisville, CO. Community Food Share has several programs, including an onsite pantry where families can come in one day a week and shop, as well as “pantries on wheels” where they bring the food to neighborhoods in Boulder and Broomfield counties. There is also an Older Adults Program and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), to name a few. Local corporations that donate food include Safeway, Ball, Danone, and Target.

Upon our morning arrival, we were greeted by Luke Gorka, Corporate Relations Manager, who along with Makenzie Ruppert gave us a tour of the warehouse facility and explained how the (very well organized) organization operates.

We spent the day repackaging pinto beans and assembling produce bags. Thanks to our collective efforts, we prepared a 990-pound pallet of beans and assembled 200 produce bags for distribution. These contributions play a vital role in ensuring that everyone in Boulder and Broomfield counties has access to nutritious food. Community Food Share is an affiliate of Feeding America, which is a nonprofit network of 200 food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States.

Pictured: Carl, Karen, Kemper, Myra, Steve, and Heidi (Melissa stayed home with Covid). Great work, team! To learn more about the organization TWC volunteered at this year, click here.

The post 2024 TWC Volunteer Day appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Privacy Protection

Blurring your house helps protect your privacy. Anyone can view your home’s exterior on Google Maps, which might make it easier for strangers to gather information about you and your property.

Security Concerns

Blurring your house can help reduce the risk of theft or vandalism. Detailed images of your home can reveal security features (or lack thereof), making it easier for criminals to plan a break-in.

Prevent Stalking

If you have concerns about being stalked or harassed, blurring your house can make it more difficult for someone to track you down using online maps.

Online Safety

For individuals who are prominent online, such as influencers, journalists, or public figures, maintaining a level of anonymity about their living arrangements is crucial to avoid unwanted attention or threats.

How to Blur Your House on Google Maps | Step-by-Step Guide

Open Google Maps: Navigate to Google Maps on your computer.
Search for Your Address: Enter your home address in the search bar and press “Enter.”
Enter “Street View”: Drag the small yellow figure (found in the bottom-right corner) to your location on the map to enter Street View.
Locate Your House: Once in Street View, find the image of your house. Adjust the view until your house is clearly visible on the screen.
Report a Problem: Click on the “Report a problem” link, usually found at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Select the Area to Blur: A new page will open with a form. Adjust the red box to cover your house. Ensure it accurately encompasses the area you want to blur.
Provide Details: Under “Request Blurring,” select “My Home” and provide any additional details required. Google may ask for more information to confirm your request.
Submit Your Request: Complete the captcha and click on “Submit.”

After submission, Google will review your request and, if it meets their guidelines, will blur the specified area. This process can take a few days to a few weeks, so be patient.

Important Considerations:

Permanent Change: Once your house is blurred, it cannot be unblurred. Make sure you consider whether you want your home to be permanently blurred on Google before submitting your request.
Other Map Services: Consider checking other map services (like Bing Maps) and follow similar steps if they also display your home’s image.

By blurring your house on Google Maps, you take a proactive step toward safeguarding your personal privacy and security.

The post Why You Should Blur Your House on Google Maps appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

In our digital world, those of us with considerable means often find our phones deluged with campaign texts sporting eye-catching openers like, “NOT ASKING FOR $” or “The 600% MATCH won’t last forever.” These messages have become a hallmark of modern campaigning.

Campaigns asking for money now favor texting over traditional mailers or phone calls, as texts are more likely to be read promptly, even if calls from unknown numbers are ignored. Analysts who study these automated texts have observed this strategic shift.

Efforts by wireless companies and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to curb these messages have yielded some success. The FCC implemented rules last year requiring carriers to block texts that violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Consequently, consumer complaints about texts to the FCC and Federal Trade Commission fell by 40% from 2021 to 2023.

However, analysts predict a surge in text messages as both legitimate organizations and scammers compete for attention. As we prepare for this increase, it is crucial to know how to manage and stop these messages effectively.

Understanding Phishing and Political Texting

Before sending mass texts, political campaigns must register with a text-messaging registry like the telecom-backed Campaign Registry, according to the CTIA, a wireless-communication trade association. This registry verifies the campaign’s legitimacy and ensures compliance with industry opt-in and opt-out guidelines.

Once registered, a mass-texting company assigns dedicated phone numbers to the campaign, which then sends SMS messages to mobile carriers for delivery.

Campaigns require your consent to send automated messages and must honor opt-out requests when you reply with “Stop” as per FCC regulations. This should stop any future messages from that campaign, not just the specific number used. Non-compliance could lead to future messages being blocked by carriers.

Tips for handling unwanted texts

Here are some practical tips for managing the influx of texts:

Consider Messages as Notifications: Treat these texts as notifications rather than urgent calls to action. If you remember giving consent, it is safe to reply “Stop” Otherwise, ignore them.
Avoid Clicking Links: Refrain from tapping on any links in these messages. If you wish to donate to a campaign, visit its official website directly to ensure the source is legitimate and to contribute securely.

Additional Steps to Take:

Report Spam: Forward suspicious texts to 7726, as recommended by the FCC. Multiple complaints about the same number will prompt the wireless carrier to investigate and potentially block the sender.
Report and Block on Devices: iOS users can swipe left on a message to delete it. If the number is not in Contacts, an option to “Delete and Report Junk” will appear, sending the message to Apple and deleting the thread. To prevent future messages, you need to block the sender.
Blocking a Sender: On iOS, open the message, tap the number, choose “Info,” and then “Block Caller.” On Android, steps vary by phone maker but generally involve selecting the conversation, tapping the number or menu, and choosing “Block.”

By following these steps, you can better manage the flood of unwanted texts and maintain control over your communication channels.

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Nostalgia, which tempts us to revisit our past with a sense of “the good old days,” often leaves us feeling that the best moments of our lives are behind us. This type of reminiscing can be detrimental, as it keeps us anchored in the past and prevents us from fully appreciating the present.

In contrast, positive nostalgia is not about yearning to return to the past. Rather, it involves fondly recalling past events and focusing on the positive emotions they bring. The key is to harness positive nostalgia as a source of inspiration and motivation, using it to remind ourselves of life’s bright moments while fully embracing the opportunities and experiences of the present.

This kind of interaction is becoming increasingly rare today. The virtual nature of our lives and work keeps us physically separated and communicating through short messages rather than long talks. This is a mistake; in-depth connection is a biological necessity, and its absence likely contributes to the record number of people identifying as lonely today.

Human interactions, especially in-person ones, involve a complex interplay of biological, chemical, and psychological processes that are not typically present, or are less pronounced, in online interactions. Studies have shown that certain vital neurotransmitters, such as oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, are activated by meaningful interactions, resulting in feelings of happiness, pleasure, reward, mood elevation, and even pain relief. In contrast, stress hormones like cortisol are released during tense or negative interactions.

While virtual communications have their benefits, they can lead to misinterpretations of body language and tone, increasing stress responses.

A crucial reminder: we need two things to be happier and healthier. First, we need positive nostalgia that fills us with appreciation for the past rather than a longing to return to it. Second, we need to invest in more in-person moments with those we care about, which may become our cherished memories.

In our current time, we’re too quick to make excuses to avoid going out and seeing people in person. Next time you have an opportunity for quality in-person time with new and old friends and colleagues, find a way to make it happen!

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There are many reasons why inheritors of significant wealth may find themselves feeling lonely, even those who have frequent interactions with a large network of individuals. Loneliness is subjective and not easily measured, and the size of a person’s social network is not a predictor of loneliness.

Loneliness can manifest in various forms, but all run the risk of becoming chronic and pervasive if not addressed.

Emotional: Loneliness of this sort is described as a feeling of being emotionally disconnected from others, despite being surrounded by people. It is a sense of lacking meaningful connection, feeling misunderstood, or being perceived as different from others.

Social: With social isolation, inheritors may have limited time because of the responsibilities of managing wealth to engage in activities that promote social connections. They may also find it challenging to relate to others because of a lack of shared experiences, particularly if those experiences were shaped by financial constraints or different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Existential: This type of loneliness goes much deeper and arises from feeling disconnected from life’s meaning, purpose, or a sense of belonging to a larger community. It is a profound feeling of being adrift.

Thankfully, there are opportunities for inheritors to find a sense of community, either through connection with peers with shared experiences and similar circumstances or through philanthropic and social impact initiatives. The latter may be particularly important in helping the inheritor form social connections not only with other individuals who share their subjective experiences, but by fostering a more diverse set of connections with individuals of varying backgrounds who share their values and interests in a particular social cause. This can help them overcome a sense of perceived difference their wealth creates, helping to remove a barrier in forming genuine connections.

Here are just a few avenues through which inheritors can find connection with others:

Online Forums & Communities: These can range from specialized websites and portals (many are membership based) to social-media groups. Platforms like Facebook and Reddit have groups and communities focused on inheritance, wealth management, and related topics. When exploring, it is important to consider things like privacy, security, and the reputation of the platform or organization hosting the community. But these platforms can provide inheritors with access to support networks and opportunities for personal growth.
Philanthropic & Social Impact Initiatives: Platforms dedicated to philanthropy and social impact initiatives offer a way for the inheritor to connect with other like-minded individuals. Choose from any number of organizations ranging from social investing to simply connecting with a social cause or non-profit that speaks to your passions, faith, or humanism.
Wealth Coaching Services: Some inheritors may find it helpful to work with a wealth coach who can help them feel empowered about their wealth and provide a roadmap for charting how wealth can be an opportunity for connecting with the world around them. Coaching is not behavioral therapy or counseling but can provide inheritors with a safe space to talk about their wealth and define personal goals aimed at increasing connectedness.

At The Wealth Conservancy, we understand the challenges of inherited wealth and offer ways in which to engage with us to help you navigate the complexities of wealth and empower you to make informed decisions that enhance your financial independence and personal fulfillment. Contact us to learn more, or visit our coaching program website at WayIntoWealth.com. We recently posted a blog post specific to wealth and wellbeing that may be of interest.

References on this website to any specific commercial products, process, information, service, manufacturer, or company do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by The Wealth Conservancy, Inc. It is your responsibility to verify and investigate providers and services.

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Inheritance isn’t just about receiving assets; it’s about understanding the broader economic landscape and how it shapes our financial future. As inheritors, it’s essential to be aware of the current inheritance statistics to make informed decisions and maximize the potential of the wealth passed down to us.

Wealth Transfer Dynamics: One of the most significant trends in today’s inheritance landscape is the substantial wealth transfer from older generations to younger ones. With aging populations in many developed countries, baby boomers are passing down significant assets to their heirs. This transfer of wealth presents both opportunities and challenges for inheritors.
Inherited Wealth Impact: Inherited wealth plays a significant role in wealth distribution, contributing to the growing wealth gap in many societies. Understanding how inherited wealth influences our financial position empowers us to make strategic decisions about how to manage and grow our assets responsibly, in a variety of ways: through awareness and planning, tax efficiency, investment strategies, debt management, estate planning, spending choices, and professional advisory sources.
Addressing Wealth Disparities: Inheritance can either perpetuate or mitigate wealth disparities within families and society at large. As inheritors, we have a responsibility to use our wealth wisely, whether it’s through investments, philanthropy, or other means, to contribute positively to our communities and address systemic inequalities.
Strategies for Generational Wealth: By leveraging inherited assets effectively, we can create a legacy that extends beyond our lifetime, providing financial security and opportunities for future generations.
Navigating Estate Taxation: Estate tax policies can significantly impact inheritance planning. Understanding the tax implications of inherited assets and implementing strategies to minimize tax liabilities can help preserve more of the wealth passed down to us.
Cultural and Social Context: Cultural attitudes toward inheritance vary widely, influencing how families approach wealth transfer and financial planning. By acknowledging and understanding these cultural nuances, we can navigate inheritance dynamics more effectively within our own families and communities.

As inheritors, we can steward the wealth entrusted to us responsibly. By staying informed about today’s inheritance statistics and trends, we can make informed decisions that align with our values, goals, and aspirations. Let’s embrace the power of inheritance to create a brighter financial future for ourselves and future generations.

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Journalists Dalvin Brown and Katherine Hamilton authored an excellent piece for The Wall Street Journal earlier this summer on how AI (artificial intelligence) is upping the game for scammers. In it, Matt O’Neill is quoted as saying, “Your Spidey senses are no longer going to prevent you from being victimized.” Matt is a former Secret Service agent turned cybersecurity firm co-founder. He’s well poised to know just how AI is changing the fraud landscape.

Brown and Hamilton’s article, “AI Is Helping Scammers Outsmart You—and Your Bank,” shares the prevention measures some financial institutions are taking to fight identity fraud. The Federal Trade Commission’s data on fraud losses by payment method for bank transfers/payments and cryptocurrency are staggering, with the former jumping from $1.73 billion in 2019 to an incredible $18.61 billion in 2023. In 2019, Cryptocurrency losses were barely on the map at $0.34 billion. Fast forward to 2023 and they jumped to $14.10 billion. Of all the variety of scams out there, investment related leads the pack, followed by imposter scams. While scammers may call, email, or text you, social media is king. That platform alone was responsible for more than $14 billion in losses. The article has examples of sophisticated scams and a valuable summary of how AI-based software, tools, and bots have taken fraud to a new level of tailored targeting. The read is worth your time.

Banks and other financial institutions are fighting back by using AI themselves to shield their customers from fraud. A bit of fighting fire with fire. That will help, and these institutions and every company you deal with should be doing their utmost to protect their customers from the devastation of fraud. It’s an emerging battle between good and evil.

But let’s not become overwhelmed and hopeless when it comes to preventing fraud.

One line in the article rings true: “…the last line of defense will always be you.”

Despite the sophistication of the scams, many of the same defenses still apply. Unless you have lived completely off the grid up to the point of reading this blog piece, it is safe to assume that your personal information is out there for use and aggregation by AI tools. Despite our best efforts, countless data breaches have exposed our personal information. We are a culture of digital lives. We like to overshare on social media and value convenience and efficiency over complexity. But hope is not lost.

Below is a partial list of basic human-powered defenses to consider implementing. Small steps can have a significant impact in building a solid foundation, no matter how sophisticated the fraud landscape becomes. It’s helpful to think of fraud in terms of that which is perpetrated against you (behind the scenes), and that which is perpetrated with your willing engagement. The first three tips below relate to strategies to help avoid fraud that is perpetrated against you. The latter are steps you can take to not become a willing participant.

Passwords
It cannot be emphasized enough that your passwords should be long, strong, and unique. With AI, cross-referencing stolen credentials across multiple platforms is incredibly fast. Despite the availability of password management systems and advice from security experts, people still tend to select passwords that have a special meaning to them. Large language models (a type of generative AI) have made it possible to speed up the previously laborious and manual process of trying to guess at these by using AI to quickly generate a list of possibilities based on publicly available data (like your social media accounts). Use a password management system to generate unique passwords for every site you use.

Multi-Factor (MF) Authentication
MF authentication uses something you know with something you have to add an extra layer of account security. What you know is your password, and what you have could be your cell phone or a security fob. If your account offers multi-factor authentication (and we would hope they do), turn it on.

Security Freeze
AI has ushered in new ways for criminals to try and perpetuate identity theft through faking identity verification processes, using voice cloning, and altering identification documents. These efforts can still be thwarted by an old-fashioned security freeze with all the credit bureaus. This prevents creditors from accessing your credit report and when opening accounts. The process has been simplified in recent years and is free to use. Keep the security freeze in place until you need to lift it temporarily for your own needs and then refreeze for protection. Clients of The Wealth Conservancy can contact their advisor for assistance with this process.

Education
It is critically important for consumers to be aware of current scam trends. Pay yourself, pig butchering, and catfishing are several types of criminal schemes; kitschy names, but they all have similar tactics. They use emotion and a sense of urgency to perpetuate their fraud. You don’t have to be a cyber expert. Just an awareness of the criminal landscape of fraud can reduce your susceptibility to it. Scam Spotter, a collaboration between Google and Cybercrime Support Network, is one resource you can use to get information on emerging scams, practical advice, and trusted resources.

Trust No One
Ok, that’s just a favorite line from The X Files, but Fox Mulder was on to something.

Do not engage. The best way to avoid being scammed is not to engage.
Do not open attachments or click links in unsolicited or unanticipated emails.
When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Free vacations, lotteries, sweepstakes, cash grants, and the like are almost certain to be scams.
Do not offer to receive goods, money, or gift cards for someone else’s benefit.
Do not confirm or update personal information solicitated by emails, phone calls, social media, or text messages.
Being asked for payment by wire, gift cards, and cryptocurrency is a huge red flag.
Slow down! Scammers and imposters create a sense of urgency and will pressure you to act immediately. Acting fast reduces your ability to think clearly and carefully and to evaluate what is going on.

There are no guarantees when it comes to fraud prevention. However, by being educated, staying vigilant, practicing good security hygiene, and having a healthy dose of suspicion, you will be better situated to spot scams and protect yourself. You are always the first and last line of defense. Clients of The Wealth Conservancy are encouraged to contact their advisor for additional advice and resources.

Disclaimer:

References on this website to any specific commercial products, process, information, service, manufacturer, or company do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by The Wealth Conservancy, Inc. It is your responsibility to verify and investigate providers and services.

Readers without a subscription to The Wall Street Journal may not be able to view the articles in their entirety.

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In the intricate world of wealth management, where inheritors safeguard and grow legacies, the recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement emerges as a pivotal storyline. This blog post delves into the nuances of this significant legal development, examining its implications for inheritors and offering guidance on navigating the shifting landscape of real estate investments.

Understanding the NAR Settlement

At its core, the NAR settlement represents the response to allegations of anticompetitive practices within the real estate industry spearheaded by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The lawsuit spotlighted NAR regulations accused of stifling competition and potentially inflating costs for consumers. In essence, it challenged the status quo of how real estate transactions have traditionally been conducted.

Key Insights for Inheritors

Embracing Competition: With the settlement aiming to foster greater competition within the real estate market, heirs stand to benefit from an expanded pool of options when it comes to property transactions. This enhanced competition may translate into more favorable deals and a broader range of services available.

Transparency as a Cornerstone: A significant facet of the NAR settlement revolves around promoting transparency in real estate transactions. This newfound transparency empowers wealth inheritors to make more informed decisions by providing clearer insights into commissions, fees, and other critical aspects of the process.

Monitoring Property Values: As the real estate landscape adjusts to the effects of the settlement, it’s prudent for inheritors to monitor how these changes may impact the overall value of their property portfolios. Fluctuations in competition and pricing dynamics could influence property values, necessitating a keen eye on market trends.

Adaptation and Innovation: Considering the evolving regulatory environment, adaptability and innovation emerge as crucial traits for inheritors. Exploring new technologies, engaging with innovative brokers, and staying abreast of emerging trends can position inheritors to thrive amidst the shifting currents of the real estate market.

Seeking Professional Guidance: Given the complexity of real estate transactions and the implications of the NAR settlement, heirs are encouraged to seek counsel from legal and financial experts. Seasoned advisors can offer tailored guidance, helping inheritors navigate the intricacies of the settlement and make strategic decisions aligned with their long-term objectives.

As inheritors, the NAR settlement represents both a challenge and an opportunity—a catalyst for evolution within the realm of real estate investments. By understanding the nuances of this legal development and proactively adapting to its implications, inheritors can chart a course that not only preserves but enhances their wealth. In the ever-shifting landscape of wealth management, knowledge, adaptability, and strategic foresight remain the guiding stars illuminating the path forward.

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Fraudsters and scammers are getting more creative with how they can take advantage of people. Whether they be young or old, inheritors, or wage earners, many unsuspecting victims are left to pick up the pieces from the fallout of having to deal with bad actors. Two of the many types of fraud to be aware of, especially if you are a homeowner or own multiple homes outright, are title fraud and mortgage fraud.

Real estate fraudsters go about their practice as other identity thieves. They will gather sensitive information on their target, pull credit bureau reports, and forge state or federal documents. Once they feel they have enough critical information, they will proceed to impersonate the victim and either sell the house to unsuspecting buyers using a counterfeit deed or gain access to the house’s equity.

“Why would a fraudster do this?” you may ask.

Reason 1: If they can create a counterfeit deed to a home, they can pretend to sell it to potential buyers. Once the buyers put a down payment on the home “for sale,” the scammers will then disappear into thin air.

Reason 2: The culprits will submit a mortgage application in your name. If they are savvy enough to defraud the lender, then they can leave you sitting there trying to clear your name.

According to The Wall Street Journal, inheritors are particularly vulnerable to real estate fraud. When you inherit property, you may not be immediately familiar with all the aspects of the estate, making it easy for fraudsters to exploit the gaps in your knowledge or target properties that are in transit. For example, the Elvis Presley estate, better known as Graceland, was in the news recently regarding foreclosure and forced sale of the mansion. This was due in part to fraudsters fabricating various documents and pretending to be people they were not. Thankfully, Lisa Presley’s surviving daughter and her legal team prevented the scammers from succeeding in their scheme; however, this left her with many legal fees and hours of unwanted stress.

Thankfully, there are steps that you can take to prevent being a victim in a real estate fraud scheme. According to the state of Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies, the three best ways to protect you and your family include:

Protect and monitor your identity and credit.
Obtain title insurance, which protects buyers against defects in the title, such as liens, fraud, and forgery.
Be suspicious if you receive communications, emails, or texts requesting information about your property.

In order for you to maintain protection and peace of mind, vigilance and taking the proper steps are key. If you are not sure that you have taken all the steps needed, or if you need further help with staying diligent, clients of The Wealth Conservancy are always welcome to reach out and seek guidance from their advisor. If you are not a client, but you are interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with the complex aspects of an inheritance, please give us a call, or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances.

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In late 2019, Congress passed the SECURE Act, which changed the rules regarding retirement savings accounts and more specially, when to take out Required Minimal Distributions (RMDs) from inherited traditional retirement accounts. Following the bill, if you were to inherit a traditional retirement account in or after the year 2020, non-spousal heirs would be required to completely empty the account within a 10-year period using RMDs.

While this may seem straightforward, during the law’s initial implementation, many inheritors and beneficiaries were confused about the vague wording of the newly published code. Many inheritors, beneficiaries, and financial-industry professionals were mistaken in thinking that they could defer taking any distributions, all the way up until the final (10th) year after the death of the owner or the inheritor came to the age of majority.

However, the IRS was mandating that RMDs were supposed to have been taken out on a yearly basis, and failure to do so would cost the inheritor an extra 25% excise tax penalty of the amount that should have been taken. The RMD amount was to be determined by the initial owner’s age at the time of death, and then use the life expectancy chart to determine the minimum distribution amount for the year.

Due to the backlash surrounding the unclear wording of the code, the IRS issued a notice in 2022 that:

If the taxpayer did not take the specified RMD post 2020, they will not be subject to the excise tax penalty.
The new anticipated final regulations regarding RMDs will begin January 1, 2025, which means that taxpayers are still on reprieve from having to take out any mandatory RMDs for 2024.

The IRS is still trying to iron out the minute details that come along with brand new tax codes and laws. So far it has taken them over four years to finalize the code, which gives inheritors and their planners time to decide the best possible plan of action to follow. While there are many variables to consider when to take out RMDs, if you are a client of The Wealth Conservancy, you are always welcome to reach out to your advisor if you have any questions about inherited retirement accounts. If you are interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with the complex aspects of an inheritance, please give us a call at 303.444.1919 or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances.

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Having conversations about money, inheritance, and monetary responsibility with your children is crucial, regardless of your socioeconomic status. It’s understandable that these discussions can feel uncomfortable, but they’re essential for preparing your children for the future and ensuring they can manage any inheritance responsibly.

It’s important to help your children understand the lifestyle they’ve been raised in, and how to maintain it after you are gone. This involves teaching them about monetary management, introducing them to trusted advisors, and demonstrating responsible financial behaviors.

Remember, discussing money with your heirs does not mean giving them immediate access to it. You can create structures for gifting and inheritance that support their ambitions and work ethic while also promoting responsibility. Your team of financial professionals can assist you in setting up these structures.

Normalize financial discussions within your family. Money should not be a taboo topic. Instead, view it as a tool for achieving family goals and discuss it openly. Model saving and investing behaviors, and work towards a shared vision of philanthropy with your children.

Encourage your children’s early involvement in financial matters so they can gain experience and confidence in managing money. While not every child may be ready at the same age, you might be surprised at how resourceful and capable they can be.

Separate discussions about inheritance from discussions about death. Focusing solely on the inevitability of your passing can overshadow the practical aspects of managing inherited wealth. Instead, frame the conversation around the responsibility and opportunities that come with managing a significant amount of money.

Educating children who will inherit wealth about fiscal management is crucial. One effective approach to instill good financial habits is the “50/30/20” rule, tailored to guide them in responsibly managing and allocating their future income. This can be particularly important for those who might not have to work out of necessity, but who need to maintain and grow their inherited wealth wisely.

Here’s how you can explain the 50/30/20 rule to children of inheritors:

1. 50% for Needs
This portion of your budget should cover your essentials or needs. Even if a substantial inheritance might cover these costs, understanding how to allocate funds responsibly is vital. Needs can include:

• Housing: Whether it’s property taxes, maintenance, or insurance, knowing these costs helps maintain the property value.

• Food and Household Supplies: Understanding how to budget for groceries and essential supplies.

• Transportation: Costs related to vehicles, including insurance, maintenance, or even public transportation fares.

• Healthcare: Regular health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket expenses, and planning for unforeseen medical costs.

• Basic Utilities: Keeping up with payments for necessary services like phone and internet.

2. 30% for Wants:
This part of your income is for discretionary spending. It’s important to recognize the value of money and the importance of spending it in a way that enhances your life without compromising financial stability. Wants might include:

• Entertainment and Hobbies: Whether it is sports, arts, or other leisure activities, budgeting for these shows the value of money and enjoyment balance.

• Travel: Understanding how to set aside funds for personal enjoyment like vacations, which can also be educational.

• Personal Care: Items such as gym memberships, wellness treatments, and other self-care expenses.

• Shopping for Non-Essentials: Learning to allocate funds for non-essential items responsibly, ensuring they do not overshadow financial priorities.

3. 20% for Savings and Investments:
Inheritors must learn the importance of saving and investing money, to ensure the growth and longevity of their wealth. This includes:

• Emergency Fund: Creating a safety net for unexpected costs helps ensure stability.

• Wealth Building: Investing in stocks, bonds, real estate, or other assets can help grow the inheritance responsibly.

• Charitable Giving: Encouraging a sense of responsibility to give back to the community by setting aside a portion of wealth for philanthropy.

• Estate Planning: Understanding the importance of saving for future generations and continuing the cycle of responsible wealth management.

By teaching these principles, children who are future inheritors can be better prepared to handle their financial responsibilities wisely, ensuring the preservation and enhancement of their wealth for generations to come. Feel free to reach out to us here at The Wealth Conservancy, as our planners and coaches can help you navigate these processes.

The post Empower Your Child’s Future: Discussing Potential Inheritance Today appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

You may be familiar with the term “AGI” or Adjusted Gross Income. It is what’s used to calculate what taxes you owe. You derive your AGI from your gross income minus your “above-the-line” deductions, such as student loan interest and IRA contributions. While straightforward, this number should be taken with a grain of salt. The reason being, there are hidden add-ins to your AGI that increase your Modified AGI (MAGI). Let’s focus on that, as these add-ins can impact your eligibility for specific tax benefits or programs.

Throughout your return you will be adding in any applicable items like municipal bond interest, student loan interest, passive income, foreign earned income, losses on rental properties, and traditional IRA contributions, among other things. These add-ins are scattered throughout your returns, and the ultimate total is what is referred to as Modified AGI. So, those municipal bonds you’ve inherited from last year, for example, could be limiting the total tax break you were expecting.

Another way that MAGI could have an effect on you is if you wanted to contribute to a Roth IRA. There is a tiered bracket built into the internal revenue code that will let you contribute your after-tax dollars into your Roth IRA. These values change every year, but for inheritors, the values will most likely result in reduced or eliminated contribution options.

Inheritors can minimize their MAGI in several ways:

Harvesting Capital Losses:

This involves using any capital losses to offset a portion of capital gains in taxable income
Losses can be carried forward indefinitely until they are offset by future profits

Utilizing Education Savings and Payments:

Setting up a 529 plan: Allows contributions up to the annual gift tax exclusion limit for future educational expenses
Making direct contributions to educational institutions: Also allows contributions up to the gift tax exclusion limit
Both options help lower total taxable income without increasing MAGI

Clients of The Wealth Conservancy are always welcome to reach out to their advisor to consult on any potential areas of interest, especially if they’re concerned that they’re not being as tax efficient with their passive income, wanting to utilize their money to maximize their and their loved one’s lives.

If you’re interested in learning more about how The Wealth Conservancy can help with the complex aspects of an inheritance, please give us a call at 303.444.1919 or submit a consultation request to speak confidentially about your specific circumstances.

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Wealth, especially inherited wealth, brings with it not just financial stability but a complex set of psychological pressures that are often hidden beneath the surface. For those who inherit significant wealth, the psychological impact can be profound, leading to a specific form of depression known as high-functioning depression.

Pressure to Perform & Fear of Failure

One of the most significant challenges for inheritors is the heavy weight of expectations. Being born into a legacy of wealth often comes with the implicit demand to uphold or enhance the family’s status or business achievements. This pressure can manifest as high-functioning depression, where the individual may appear perfectly competent and successful on the outside, while internally, they may be struggling with intense feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and sadness. The constant fear of failure can exacerbate these feelings, leading to chronic stress and emotional exhaustion.

Social Isolation & Authentic Relationships

The challenge of forming genuine relationships is another significant issue that can contribute to high-functioning depression. For wealth inheritors, there’s always an underlying question about whether friendships and romances are rooted in genuine affection or financial interest. This skepticism can lead to social withdrawal and isolation, conditions that are ripe for depressive disorders. The loneliness and mistrust experienced can deepen the depressive symptoms, making the individual feel disconnected and unsupported even in large social settings.

Identity & Self-Worth

Identity and self-worth are crucial psychological aspects that can be particularly challenging for those with inherited wealth. Many inheritors struggle with defining their worth outside of their economic status. Without a clear sense of personal achievement that is detached from their wealth, inheritors can feel a lack of purpose and fulfillment, which are significant factors in high-functioning depression. The quest to establish a separate identity is therefore not just about personal growth but also about mental health preservation.

To navigate these complex issues, wealth inheritors can benefit significantly from the guidance of a trained wealth coach. Wealth coaches specialize in addressing both the psychological and practical aspects of managing significant wealth. Here’s how they help:

Personalized Support & StrategiesWealth coaches provide tailored support that addresses the unique challenges faced by wealth inheritors. This includes developing personal goals that are independent of their financial status, which helps in building a sense of self-worth and achievement.
Emotional & Financial IntelligenceWealth coaches work to enhance the emotional intelligence of their clients, helping them manage relationships and social expectations more effectively. They also improve financial intelligence by educating clients on the responsibilities and opportunities of their wealth, thereby reducing anxiety associated with wealth management.
Creating a Safe Space for DiscussionWealth coaches offer a confidential and non-judgmental space for inheritors to discuss their fears, expectations, and aspirations. This therapeutic aspect of wealth coaching is crucial in preventing and managing high-functioning depression.

While significant inherited wealth has its financial advantages, the psychological implications are profound and complex. High-functioning depression is a real risk for inheritors, marked by internal conflict masked by outward success. Understanding these challenges and implementing supportive strategies, including the engagement of a wealth coach, is essential for helping individuals manage their mental health effectively. This holistic approach ensures that inheritors can lead more fulfilled and psychologically healthy lives.

At The Wealth Conservancy, we understand the challenges of inherited wealth and offer two ways in which to engage with us to help you navigate the complexities of wealth and empower you to make informed decisions that enhance your financial independence and personal fulfillment:

Retainer-Based ApproachThe Wealth Conservancy employs a focused and ongoing approach to wealth management, emphasizing retainer services to ensure continuous and comprehensive support for inheritors. This retainer-based approach allows The Wealth Conservancy to provide inheritors with ongoing, adaptable, and dedicated wealth management services, ensuring that their financial planning evolves with their needs and remains aligned with their evolving life goals.
Limited EngagementThe Wealth Conservancy’s Way Into Wealth is an eight-week coaching program crafted to transform your relationship with wealth. Recognizing the challenges and isolation that can come with inheriting a substantial sum, this program is designed to help you understand how to effectively utilize your wealth, enabling you to lead a more engaged and purposeful financial life.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you master your wealth and achieve all that you aspire to.

Disclaimer: The Wealth Conservancy is a wealth management firm specializing in asset management, financial planning, and wealth coaching services. The information provided in this article is not intended as professional advice on matters of mental health or therapy. If you are seeking treatment options or need mental health support, we recommend contacting a licensed mental health professional.

The post Wealth and Well-Being: Expert Coaching for High-Functioning Depression appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Wealth is often viewed as a symbol of success and achievement, bringing with it a multitude of opportunities and privileges. However, it also presents its fair share of challenges that can impact individuals, families, and society as a whole. While the abundance of resources can lead to improved living standards and financial security, it can [...]

The post Navigating the Challenges of Wealth: A Closer Look at Prosperity’s Perils appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Financial issues, be they from disagreements over money, financial stress, differing priorities, or other financial problems, have been recognized as a common factor contributing to divorce. In our statistically invalid observations among clients of The Wealth Conservancy, it does seem as though clients who have co-mingled funds have fewer conflicts when they have financial agreements [...]

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The Wall Street Journal had an article in its July 26, 2023, edition titled, ‘Splitting a Home with Family or Friends? Get a Lawyer.” It doesn’t take much of an imagination to guess what the article was about. Of course, if you buy a vacation home with friends or inherit one with your siblings, you’re [...]

The post Management Made Easy: A Tool for Shared Assets appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Post by Myra Salzer I recently bought a second electric car (we’ve owned a Tesla Model Y named “Hendrix” for a few years). My reason for buying a car was because my old Audi of 20 years made me nervous. In the last six months, it had to be towed twice and parts were getting [...]

The post Badass Sally appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Businesses in every industry are constantly seeking innovative ways to streamline their operations and enhance the customer experience. Since the pandemic, one area in particular that has undergone significant transformation is point-of-sale (POS) software (previously known as the cash register and tip jar). Technology has revolutionized traditional cash registers, enabling retailers to leverage sophisticated systems [...]

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Review By Myra Salzer

This book was recommended to me by a valued client. As you know, most of TWC’s clients are inheritors of substantial wealth. Funny enough, this client is not an inheritor, but a wealth creator. This client spent many years working and growing businesses, taking 100% responsibility for the results (the good, the bad, and the ugly), and came out on top! Nonetheless, the messaging in The Psychology of Money applies to anyone who has a desire to be financially free.

This is not a technical, how-to-analyze-investments book, but rather a how-to-live book. It puts financial resources into perspective by illustrating how one’s generational experience of wealth heavily anchors one’s relationship with their wealth. It also puts wealth into perspective by demonstrating how nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems.

The following are some highlights, which I am copying directly from the book:

There are a million ways to get wealthy and plenty of books on how to do so. But there’s only one way to stay wealthy: some combination of frugality and paranoia.
The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. It is the highest dividend money pays.
It’s not hard to spot rich people. They often go out of their way to make themselves known. But wealth is hidden.
Things that have never happened before, happen all the time.
The most common plot of economic history is the role of surprises.
“Risk is what’s left when you think you thought of everything.” – Carl Richards
Use money to gain control over your time.
At some point, you must choose between being happy or being right.

I have nothing left to add to these wise teachings.

The post Book Review: “The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness” by Morgan House appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Previously, we published a Blog post on the secret benefits of an AARP membership (to be noted, this membership isn’t just for those aged 50+!). Today, we’re going to review a few unique virtual offerings an AARP membership provides for those who may not be quite so “tech savvy.”

AARP offers a range of digital skills classes taught through their Digital Skills Ready@50+ program. Two of these classes, Google Workspace and Protecting Your Personal Information Online, are available to watch at any time. To access these on-demand classes, simply fill out this short form on the AARP website (no membership required)!

The Google Workspace course covers the use of Google’s suite of productivity tools, including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Docs. The Protecting Your Personal Information Online class covers the basics of online security and privacy, including how to create strong passwords, how to recognize phishing scams, and how to protect your personal information online. This class is designed to help users stay safe and secure while using the internet. By taking advantage of these classes, users can become more confident and competent in their use of technology.

For those who are 50+, AARP has organized Senior Planet, an online community offering a range of resources and classes for older adults. These classes cover a variety of topics, including digital skills, health and wellness, and social engagement. While some classes are held in-person in cities across the nation, after COVID-19 many of these classes are now offered for free online and can be accessed remotely, making them accessible no matter where in the country you’re located.

In addition to classes, Senior Planet also offers a blog to help older adults stay informed and connected. The blog covers a range of topics, from technology news to health and wellness tips. The blog contains a community forum section as well, where older adults can connect with one another virtually, share stories and experiences, or ask for advice.

No matter how old you are, the AARP website contains a variety of online tools and resources to help freshen up your digital skills.

*TWC is in no way affiliated with AARP.

The post Get to Know: AARP Digital Skills Classes and Online Community appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

As an inheritor, you may not have a profession or earned income by which to define yourself, but you do have the financial resources you’ve inherited. However, as discussed in our Blog series on the troubles that accompany inherited wealth, your inheritance, and the lifestyle it affords can lead to envy, resentment, and negative perceptions from others. For those who have never defined their life by a career, it’s easy to feel left behind or inferior to those who have achieved higher education or career success. However, it’s important to remember that these external markers of success don’t define your worth or value as a person.

The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “Stop Telling Everyone What You Do for a Living,” which discusses how individuals often define themselves by their professions and their incomes. This can lead to a constant need to prove oneself and maintain a certain image in the eyes of others.

Success can come in many forms. For some, success looks like earning a Ph.D. or starting a business. For others, success looks like growing a beautiful garden of flowers or vegetables, or raising children or animals.

Instead of defining yourself by what you do or how much money you make, focus on the passions, interests, and hobbies that excite you. Money and a degree are just pieces of paper at the end of the day. Nothing truly captures the essence of who you are more than the activities and interests you are innately drawn to in your free time.

Learning new skills and pursuing personal growth can help you build confidence and self-worth. If you can’t think of an interest or activity you love to do right now, consider taking up a new hobby, learning a new language, or volunteering in your community. These activities not only help you develop new skills and interests, but they can also help you connect with others and build meaningful relationships.

So, the next time you find yourself at a party or event where you might have to introduce yourself or what you “do” to others, remember to take the focus off work or education. If you need additional guidance, consider answering some of the following “icebreaker” questions:

What is the kindest act you’ve ever done?
What is your proudest achievement?
What is something new you learned this week?
What is a weird fact you know for no reason?
Where do you find motivation?
How do you enjoy spending your free time?

The post When Introducing Yourself, Take the Focus Off Work. appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Catalytic converter thefts were up 540% in 2022 from rates reported in 2020, according to an analysis by Been Verified. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) tracked a dramatic increase between 2018 and 2021. While there are some states in which theft rates have plateaued or even decreased, thefts continue to pose a costly and inconvenient problem nationwide. In this blog post, we will discuss what catalytic converters are, why they’re being targeted, and what vehicle owners can do to protect their cars from theft.

What is a Catalytic Converter?

A catalytic converter is an emissions control device that is installed in the exhaust system of most gasoline-powered vehicles. Its purpose is to convert the engine’s environmentally hazardous exhaust fumes into less harmful gasses, accomplishing this by converting toxic gases and pollutants – such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides – into less harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen gas.

Why are Catalytic Converters a Hot Commodity for Thieves?

Catalytic converters contain precious metals (shhh… don’t tell Steve!) such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which act as catalysts to help reduce harmful emissions. As of March 31st, rhodium is valued at $8,450 per ounce, palladium at $1,428 per ounce, and platinum is going for $984 per ounce. Typically, recyclers will pay $50 to $250 per catalytic converter. Additionally, catalytic converters are easy to remove from many vehicles – especially ones with high clearance or whose converter(s) are easily accessible from the undercarriage, and hybrids, whose converters contain more precious metals. CARFAX released a list of the Top 10 Most Targeted Vehicles nationwide, broken out by region.

How to Protect Your Car from Catalytic Converter Theft

Park in Well-Lit Areas: Thieves are less likely to target a car that is parked in a well-lit area where they can be easily seen.
Install a Security System: Consider installing a car alarm or a catalytic converter protection device that will sound an alarm if the converter is tampered with.
Have a shield or cage installed around the catalytic converter.
Have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) engraved on the Converter. This will make it harder for thieves to sell the converter to scrap metal dealers. Spray painting the converter a bright orange is an additional, low-cost deterrent.
Be Vigilant: If you notice any suspicious activity in your neighborhood, such as someone crawling under cars or using power tools late at night, report it to the police immediately.

Recently, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office released a statement introducing a new partnership with the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) to combat catalytic converter theft. By registering here, community members can receive free CatETCH labels, each with a unique identifying number that can be applied to a catalytic converter by the vehicle owner or a mechanic. Catalytic converter labeling will allow identification of your catalytic converter if it’s stolen and later recovered by law enforcement. The unique identification code is entered into a federal database.

It may be that your own local law enforcement, public safety agency, or AAA may have similar programs. You can also reach out to your insurance carrier to see what they offer. Catalytic converter label kits are available for retail purchase, as well. Kits can cost as little as $10, and, if you’re mechanically inclined, can be installed with the help of YouTube. If you prefer, your local mechanic or vehicle repair place can do the work for you (sometimes for free, depending on if your state or city has a participating program).

Catalytic converter theft is a severe problem in many locations, and there is no guarantee that theft prevention strategies will prevent a determined thief from absconding with your catalytic converter. By taking these precautions, you can reduce the risk of becoming a victim, though.

The post America’s Catalytic Converter Crisis appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Speaking with attorneys, CPAs, or other professional partners from home has become the new normal for many people, and with it comes the challenge of dealing with background noise during calls. Whether it’s barking dogs, crying babies, or loud hammering right outside your window, background noise can be distracting and make it difficult to communicate effectively with clients or colleagues. Fortunately, there are several ways to block out background noise and improve the quality of your calls.

Use a noise-cancelling headset.

One of the most effective ways to block out background noise is to use a noise-cancelling headset. These headsets use advanced technology to cancel out background noise, making it easier to hear and be heard during calls. There are many different noise-cancelling headsets available, ranging from budget-friendly options to high-end models. This New York Times article details the top four brands of noise-cancelling headphones.

Soundproof your office space.

Another straightforward way to reduce background noise is to close windows and doors. This can help to block out external noise from traffic, construction, or other sources. If you live in a noisy area, consider investing in soundproof curtains, door jams, or window inserts to further reduce noise levels.

Use a noise gate.

A noise gate is a software tool that can help to reduce background noise during calls. It works by automatically muting your microphone when you’re not speaking, which can help to eliminate background noise. Many video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, have built-in noise gate features that you can enable. For iPhone and Android users, noise-cancellation features are often turned on by default, but this Wall Street Journal article includes a step-by-step guide to adjust these features.

Position yourself away from noise sources.

If you’re unable to eliminate background noise completely, try to position yourself away from noise sources. For example, if you live at a busy intersection, try to take your calls from a room far away from any window overlooking the street. This can help reduce the amount of honking or other background noise picked up by your microphone.

Use a virtual background.

Many video conferencing platforms allow you to use a virtual background, which can help to hide non-auditory “background noise.” For example, if you have a messy room or other distracting background, you can use a virtual background to create a more professional appearance. This can also help to draw attention away from the din of visual chaos.

The post Put The Focus on You, Not Your Background Noise appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

When it comes to managing your finances, choosing the right type of financial institution to safekeep your money is crucial. Two options you might already be familiar with are banks and credit unions. While these institutions offer similar financial services, there are notable differences between them.

Banks are for-profit institutions owned by shareholders. They offer a variety of financial services, including checking and savings accounts; mortgages, personal and/or car loans; and credit cards. On the other hand, credit unions are not-for-profit institutions owned solely by their members. They offer similar financial services as banks, but many also focus on serving their community by offering competitive small business loans and grants to local organizations.

Another key difference between corporate banks and credit unions is the fees and interest rates they charge. Banks tend to charge higher fees and offer lower interest rates on savings accounts and loans. Credit unions, however, typically have lower fees and higher interest rates on savings accounts and loans. Because credit unions operate as not-for-profit institutions, they can reinvest their earnings into their organization and offer better rates and fees to their members.

Federal deposit insurance is mandatory for all federally chartered banks and savings institutions. Banks are typically insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which provides up to $250,000 in coverage per depositor, per institution, for each account ownership category. The FDIC covers many common deposit accounts but does not insure investment accounts. Here are the following types of covered accounts:

Checking accounts
Savings accounts (including high-yield savings accounts)
Money market deposit accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal accounts
Time deposits such as CDs
Cashier’s checks and money orders

Here are other common accounts that are not covered by FDIC Insurance:

Stock or bond investments
Mutual funds
Cryptocurrency assets
Life insurance policies
Annuities
Safe deposit boxes or their contents
US Treasury bills, bonds, or notes (these are backed by the “full faith and credit of the US government”)

Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), which also provides up to $250,000 in coverage per depositor, per institution, for each account ownership category. Basic NCUSIF coverage includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and share certificates. In some instances, it’s possible to insure more than the $250,000 limit. We’ll cover how to do this in a future blog post!

It’s important to note that not all credit unions are federally insured. Some credit unions are insured by private insurance companies, which may have different coverage limits and requirements. Also important to note: this article did not review or compare banks and credit unions with savings and loan institutions.

The information contained in this blog should not be a substitute for obtaining advice on accounts and deposit insurance directly from your financial institution. It is important to check with your bank or credit union to ensure your deposits are adequately insured.

The post Banks vs. Credit Unions, FDIC vs. NCUSIF: The Ins and Outs of Banking and Account Coverage Limits appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

While AARP has a reputation for being the “over 50s” card, record numbers of financially savvy people under the age of 50 are beginning to recognize the benefits this membership card affords. According to its website, AARP is a nonprofit organization that helps people lead active, independent lives. AARP offers member benefits including auto and home insurance, travel discounts, health advice, and more.

In addition to savings on restaurants, hotels, and car or truck rental services, AARP also provides information about Medicare prescription drug coverage plans so you can make an informed decision about which plan is right for your needs (though your TWC financial planner can also provide recommendations).

AARP membership benefits include:

Travel Discounts: AARP members can save on airfare, hotels, and car rentals.
Retail Discounts: Members receive 10% off at select stores like JC Penney and Macy’s.
Insurance Discounts: The AARP Auto & Home Insurance Program provides discounts on auto insurance policies for members who live in certain states (check your eligibility here).
Savings Accounts: AARP offers several savings accounts through Marcus by Goldman Sachs that allow members to earn interest on their deposits, such as Money Market and High Yield accounts.
Prescription Drug Savings: AARP members can save up to 50% on brand-name prescription drugs with the AARP Pharmacy Discount Card. The card is free and available by calling 1.888.227.7669 or online here.
Health Insurance Options: AARP offers plans through their very own Health Insurance Marketplace from leading companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, that offer quality coverage at competitive rates.

The best deal AARP has to offer, however, is the ability to join no matter your age. For just $12/year with automatic renewal, anyone 13 and older can enroll and receive all the same benefits as someone 50 or older.

The post AARP Perks Aren’t Just for 50+ appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Tax season is prime time for identity thieves to steal your personal information or claim a refund check on your behalf. Here are a few steps you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft before you submit your taxes.

Secure Your DataWhether you’re filing through a tax professional this year, or submitting your tax return yourself through platforms such as H&R Block or TurboTax, make sure any online portals or accounts containing records with your personal information are password protected with multi-factor authentication measures required to log in. Programs such as LastPass and NordPass are secure and convenient password management tools that can not only store your passwords, but also generate random, unique, strong passwords for any browser you choose.
Protect your Social Security number.Never share your social security number in an email or text message, and always be sure that any document containing your SSN is protected with a strong password or shared through a secure portal upload. If you use a CPA or other tax preparation professional, you should call them over the phone to share the password for your document. When you’re done, be sure to shred documents containing personal information before throwing them away.
Monitor your credit report regularly for any suspicious activity, such as accounts opened in your name or changes to existing accounts that you didn’t authorize. Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis (often overlooked) are the main credit reporting agencies in the United States. You are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of these three agencies.
Be aware of phishing frauds.Phishing is the act of sending emails that appear to be from reputable companies or organizations but are fraudulent attempts to get you to reveal personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers. These emails may also include links to websites that look legitimate but are set up by criminals trying to steal your identity. One way to catch a phishing email is to check the email address it’s sent from. If it contains any strange numbers or misspellings, or it’s from a Gmail or other personal email address, chances are it’s fraudulent. Don’t click on suspicious links within any email unless you’re sure of what site they lead to before doing so; this includes clicking links found within attachments, as these attachments may contain malware that can infect your phone or computer. The safest way to access any of your accounts is to log in directly from the official website.

These basic measures can provide a solid foundation for enhancing the security of your data and accounts. If you’re a client of The Wealth Conservancy and would like more information, please speak with your advisor about other advanced identity-theft deterrents such as locking or freezing your credit through the credit bureaus, or evaluating subscriptions for credit monitoring.

The post Security Tip: Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

When it comes to helping your loved ones plan their estates, or if you are in the process of planning your own estate, consider family history preservation another “asset” to be carefully tended to and distributed down the road. An experienced advisor will help you begin to unlock your family’s history by diagramming your family tree. At The Wealth Conservancy, we believe in digging deep into your family’s story to get a more holistic idea of how to approach planning your estate. Our planners will work with you to identify important events to document the stories to treasure.

Thankfully, if you have living relatives who are difficult to reach or speak to, you no longer have to dig through old documents and records to get a better understanding of their history. Instead, consider using digital tools such as StoryWorth to compile your family’s legacy into an archive-worthy volume. With StoryWorth, you can preserve your family’s history without having to do any of the work yourself. This digital archiving tool may also make a great gift for younger people in your family. For a $99 subscription fee, StoryWorth will send a weekly email out to your person of choice with a question about their life. The recipient can then respond to their email and attach photos or other supporting documents to answer the questions, and at the end of the year you will receive a beautiful, hardcover autobiography of the recipient’s life. While storytellers can respond in any language, translations into English for the final printed product are only supported for Spanish and French.

Question examples include:

What are your favorite recipes, either to cook or to eat?
How and why have your political opinions changed over time?

and

Tell the story of your childhood.

There are many new and innovative tools for curating and preserving your family’s legacy in a physical form – StoryWorth is just one of the latest. As always, if there have been any recent changes to your family tree, be sure to let your TWC planner know as soon as possible. We are here to offer advice and guidance through all of life’s transitions.

The post Curating & Preserving Your Family’s History appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Book review by Myra Salzer

Rotating back and forth between fiction and nonfiction seems to be a fun balance for me, as does reading materials that bring a new perspective to my commonly held beliefs. This book, Gilded Mountain, by Kate Manning, is a historic novel set in Colorado in the early 1900s. I was drawn to it because I know so little about my state’s history. This book filled in many gaps, which I will get into later.

Politically, it was the antithesis of Atlas Shrugged, the Ayn Rand pro-capitalist book of the ‘50s. Gilded Mountain takes place in a marble-mining town, high in the Rockies, in southern Colorado. The story’s protagonist, Sylvie, is the daughter of a miner who falls in love with the influential mine owner’s son. It turns out that her lover’s half-brother is the product of the rape of a Black cook who worked for the owner. As a result, Sylvie has a toe in each camp – the money camp, the pro-union camp, and the anti-racist camp.

The reader can viscerally understand why unions were needed. It’s hard not to sympathize with the miners and town folk who were at the mercy of the story’s abusive company owner. The abuses were graphic and realistic. And when there were strikes, the town owners brought in scabs, some of whom were Black, to manufacture tension between the miners and the Black people and detract from the real issue at stake – poor working conditions and abuse. The book takes place during the Jim Crow era after slavery was abolished. There was quite an uproar after the December 27th Boxing Day when fighter Jack Johnson became the first Black heavyweight champion of the world (this true event was also weaved into the story). There were even a few references to how the land was stolen from the Ute Indians.

I learned of Dearfield, Colorado, the city established for and exclusively inhabited by Black people. It must have been less than an hour from where I live and yet I have never heard of this town. Mary Harris Jones was a real-life union organizer who also played a role in the book (she lived to be 100). The founding of the NAACP and the historic 1909 avalanche that wiped out the mining town were also deftly woven into the storyline. I did not know that former Denver mayor Stapleton and Colorado Governor Morley were members of the Ku Klux Klan, nor how profoundly the dust bowl drought affected Colorado.

This book is entertaining and informative, and I highly recommend it!

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Book Review by Myra Salzer

Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to explore multiple perspectives on commonly held beliefs. As such, I was attracted to the book: The Myth of American Inequality – how government biases policy debate by Phil Gramm, Robert Ekelund, and John Early. I’ve been hearing for years and years how the middle class is disappearing, how the poverty rate is going up, and how the majority of financial resources of the American population are held only in the hands of the few ultrarich. This book utilizes statistics to convincingly challenge many of those beliefs.

One of the biggest statistical biases used by the government is its very definition of poverty and wealth. If you include government transfers such as food stamps, childcare credits, and income taxes paid, true income inequality results indicate the disparity between the top quintile and the lowest quintile is really a fraction of that reported by the Census. The “official” measure of poverty does not include two-thirds of all payments to recipients. If all transfer payments were to be included in the calculation, the 2017 poverty rate plummets from a reported 12.3% to a minimal 2.5%. In fact, in 2017 the bottom earning 20% of households received more than $45,000 in government transfer payments. A point made much later in the book is that this is a disincentive to getting educated or employed. It’s hard to argue with that!

Households in the top 20% of income earners lose 35.2% of their pretax income to taxes of all kinds compared to the bottom 20% of income earners who are only taxed at a rate of 7.5%. While I’m 100% in support of a graduated income-tax bracket structure, ignoring its existence to perpetuate a myth of inequality is not helpful when creating policies to overcome a problem that may not be such a problem after all.

Another big misleading statistic is that the Census Bureau measures its statistics by counting households, with no adjustments made for household size. On a per capita basis, the top quantile is only 2.2 times as much income per person living in the household as the bottom quintile – a considerably smaller difference than the 4.0 times as much without any adjustment for household size. So, a household with a single full-time college student living on student loans gets the same weighting as a household consisting of two middle age professionals in their peak earning years, and the same as a family of six with a single wage earner.

Several years ago, the highway between Boulder and Denver was under construction and getting enlarged. The two-lane highway was enlarged AND a third HOV/toll lane was added. The system was an improvement for everybody, yet there was grousing about how the HOV/toll lane discriminated because poor people couldn’t afford to pay the toll. The new system improved the experience of traveling from Boulder to Denver for everyone. The two free lanes were improved, and poor people also had the option of carpooling in the HOV lane at no charge. The tide rose for everyone. You wouldn’t have thought that was the case, listening only to the vociferous, consistent “victims of unfairness.”

The Myth of American Inequality points out how much better all of our lives are than we are made to believe. From the number of color TVs and flush toilets to the improvements in technology and the effects of Moore’s law (that the speed and capabilities of tech doubles every two years), all of our lives are better and easier. In fact, an average lower-income person in 2017 will live eight years longer than the top-quintile person did in 1967. Good points!

One critique on length… the 264-page book could have been significantly shortened and still communicated effectively with the reader. I read the same, repetitive statistics presented in multiple, slightly different ways. Fifty percent of the statistics could have been deleted without any diminishment of the message.

Overall, a very interesting and enlightening read.

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To conclude our brief Inheritors’ Blog Series, today we will reflect on Imposter Syndrome (and staying true to oneself)!

A few years ago, my ever-formal aunt insisted I come to her black-tie 90th birthday party. How could I say no? So, I rented a dress (thank you to Rent the Runway), flew to Washington D.C., and dutifully played the part of a good niece. And that is what it was, a role I chose to play. It wasn’t me, I felt like an impostor. Fortunately, it was only for a weekend.

It’s sad to see heirs play a role they didn’t audition for: one they are trapped in for a lifetime. One that makes them feel as if they are an impostor, too.

Sometimes it’s necessary to rebel to escape from an impostor role. One of my former clients moved to a remote location with a small community where no one knew his family or family office. He has been there for several years now, living off-grid, bypassing the quarterly family-office meetings, and staying anonymous but true to himself. The opposite of imposter is authentic.

The post The Realities of an Inheritance: Imposter Syndrome appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

To begin wrapping up our blog series, today we will acknowledge the difficulties inheritors face with gaining respect.

Wealth creators have a strong work ethic. They have repeatedly heard how it takes 10,000 hours to master a marketable skill. They respect that, and they have shown up from dawn to dusk in order to achieve their version of success.

But how do we feel about the wealthy person who didn’t lift a finger to arrive at their position? Admittedly, it’s hard to give them the respect they might deserve. It’s likely that inheritors have paid a heavy personal price that is more difficult for non-inheritors to empathize with… being raised by nannies, shipped off to boarding school, and accepted into schools they might not have gotten into on their own merit. Under these circumstances, inheritors are not likely to respect themselves either. How can others be expected to do so?

The post The Realities of an Inheritance: Not Getting Respect appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Loss and isolation aren’t the only burdens borne by inheritors. Today we will briefly touch on guilt.

It can be hard for an inheritor to stomach the guilt that accompanies never having to worry about having food on their plate or a roof over their head. How do heirs feel as they walk to the Michelin Star restaurant, stepping over the homeless person in their sleeping bag on their way? GUILTY!

Heirs don’t want pity, of course, but they do struggle to come to terms with the material comforts wealth can bring. In our experience, the title “spoiled rich kid” is an anomaly. More often, we encounter the over-apologetic, embarrassed, guilt-ridden inheritor.

The post The Realities of an Inheritance: Guilt appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

After discussing loss yesterday, today we will cover another heavy anxiety some inheritors come to face: isolation.

Disconnected financial resources (in other words, there is no connection between the source of money and an action by the inheritor) often results in a disconnection of community. More and more studies show the importance of positive relationships within your community and their impact on mental health, sleep quality, hormone production, and longevity. Inheritors, however, seem to naturally disengage from community because they lack a reason to connect. They miss out on water-cooler conversations (they don’t have traditional 9-5 jobs) and other social connections. Their houses are gated. Their guard is up. They learn to be suspicious of others’ motives. They are alone. Hence the term, “golden handcuffs.”

One of our clients just accepted a part-time position in the food service industry. It pays $19/hour, a meaningless amount to them. Of course, for our client it’s not about the money. She is overjoyed about being relied on, having to show up, having co-workers, about belonging to a team with a clearly defined purpose.

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Yesterday we covered the topic who and how to trust. Today we will dive into many inheritors’ biggest fear: loss.

Wealth creators know how to be poor. They know they can survive. They’ve done it before and look at them now! As a result, wealth creators tend to objectively assess risk and act logically. Their emotions don’t interfere with their decision-making process. In their mind, they can move forward if they determine the odds of success are greater than the odds of loss.

Inheritors don’t have the same freedom, the same confidence, the same equanimity. They don’t know how to be poor. Grit is not in their vocabulary. Fear (of loss) is a powerful emotion that undermines clarity and objectivity. We see some of our clients hold off on pursuing their dreams, starting their own businesses, or learning to give financial resources away throughout their lifetimes for fear they might one day “need” it.

We guide heirs to make their decisions with knowledge and confidence. That guidance maximizes the freedom they experience with their financial and emotional wealth.

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Yesterday we covered the topic of hostile envy. Today we will navigate learning how to trust as a new inheritor.

Wealth creators and those who run successful businesses often get asked for loans, donations, sponsorships, etc. They, however, have honed their discernment skills through experience. As wealth creators, they have learned who they can and cannot trust, befriend, and love, through trial and error, failing and building from nothing. Had they not, they would have never achieved their hard-earned success. It’s a wealth creator’s keen ability to judge others that has enabled them to rise to their position.

Inheritors are not so lucky. They don’t have the luxury of learning those skills when the stakes are lower. They transition from “no stakes” relationships to “high stakes” relationships the instant they inherit. Fortunately, TWC has many years of experience guiding clients to develop discernment skills.

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Yesterday we covered the personally felt mourning stage of becoming an inheritor. Today we will explore the topic of hostile envy, or how becoming an inheritor might affect your interpersonal relationships.

Every minority individual has stories of how they’ve encountered hostility in their day-to-day life. Such an interaction is often called prejudice. Every gifted individual, be it someone with great beauty, intelligence, athletic abilities, creativity, or talent, also has experienced a similar form of prejudice in the shape of envy. Inheritors tend to find themselves face-to-face with hostility and envy at the same time. The irony is, like those born into marginalized identities, an inheritor’s circumstances are not their choosing. Heirs don’t do anything to be born into their position, and like the gifted, they are in a no-win situation where they have a responsibility to hone their gifts or else be accused of squandering their potential. Inheritors are not so unlike the famous musicians who overdose or the Nobel prize winners who cannot deal with the pressure of fame, and diminish into obscurity, never to get another good idea.

Navigating both hostility and envy while maintaining sanity requires a special combination of self-confidence, self-compassion, and education. Luckily, we at TWC understand how to achieve that balance and are experts at guiding our clients to overcome the negative effects of hostile envy.

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The first challenge we will address in our Inheritor’s Blog Series is referred to as “The Mourning Stage.” Similar to the stages of grief, this phase is felt by many new inheritors.

I know, I know! How is it that a new inheritor might experience a mourning stage, rather than a jubilation period? Many heirs (especially younger heirs who inherited enough to significantly alter their financial standard of living) experience a period of mourning. They are suddenly burdened with new responsibilities without having the tools to even know where to begin. All this while coping with the likely loss of a family member and the realization that their life can never go back to the way it was. Their relationships with friends, co-workers, and family will inevitably be altered. They must give themselves permission to mourn the loss of their former lives before they can healthily integrate with and embrace their new financial circumstances.

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A Blog Series by Myra Salzer

People often imagine how their lives would change if only they inherited $(fill in the blank). While having financial resources may solve many of life’s problems, having too much money results in negative consequences that most don’t even begin to imagine. Over the next several days, this blog will confront some of these challenges:

The Mourning Stage
Hostile Envy
Whom to Trust
Fear of Loss
Isolation
Guilt
Not Getting Respect
Imposter Syndrome

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It’s a question that’s raised time and time again – can money buy happiness? Well, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has finally decided: Yes… to an extent!

The study was launched after two anonymous donors contributed a gift of $2 million to TED, who facilitated the study using Twitter. Those in the study came from three low-income countries: Brazil, Indonesia, and Kenya – and four higher-income countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Two hundred of the participants were randomly chosen to receive $10,000 via PayPal, while 100 in the control group received no monetary “gift.”

Ultimately, researchers found that windfall wealth made people happier, though not to the same extent. The gains were greatest for recipients who had the least, such as those from lower-income countries or those earning around $10,000 per year. Participants whose annual income was greater than $123,000 did not report noticeable improvements in their happiness.

The findings align with a famous study published in 2010 , suggesting that emotional well-being improves as annual income rises, but only up to $75,000 (that’s about $102,000 in today’s dollars). Increases in income above this cap show no correlation to life satisfaction. In fact, the study concludes that higher income may buy life satisfaction, but not happiness, while low income is associated with both low life satisfaction and low happiness.

What does this mean for inheritors? A common goal of economic systems is to improve human well-being and advance achievements by making the best possible use of scarce resources. In the U.S., the official poverty rate in 2021 was 11.6 percent – meaning 37.9 million people earned less than $14,000 per year. According to the Wall Street Journal, this recently published study suggests that those who can gift with “no strings attached” should, as doing so is a surefire way to create happiness, especially for those who live below the poverty line. When giving charitably, consider tapping in to your potential to make a profound impact on someone’s well-being, and ultimately their life.

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Book Review by Myra Salzer

This relatively thick book caught my attention because, in my experience, nobody ever looked at the Rothschild dynasty from the women’s perspective. Mayer Amschel Rothchild (1744-1812), commonly referred to as the founder of the dynasty, could not have accomplished what he did without his wife, Gutle Schnapper (1753-1849). Together they had 10 children, four boys and six girls. Mayer Amschel set the tone of the dynasty in his will, where he stated that only male offspring could inherit assets and/or run the bank. Also, he was very clear that those who married into the family would not be allowed to own family assets.

The book focuses on the lives of 17 Rothchild women, some of whom were genetically related to Mayer Amschel and Gutle, and some of whom had married into the family. All were interesting people, blazing new paths for themselves and for society. The timespan covered in the book starts with Gutle and ends with Rosie (Rozsika Mary) Lane (1945-2010). And while this short book review will not get into each of the interesting women and their lives, I will mention that they were trailblazers in many different realms, including Zionism and establishment of Israel, science, arts, women’s suffrage, and the white abolitionist movement.

I learned much about European Jewry over the centuries. In fact, the only reason Mayer Amschel was able to start in banking was because in the early 1800s, Christians were still not allowed to charge interest, so it was left to the Jews to become bankers. I had no idea that Frankfurt, Germany was where it all began before branching out throughout mostly Europe. A branch of the family became nobles and politicians in England. There were also entertainers, philanthropists, scientists, entrepreneurs, writers, and let’s not forget – bankers – among them.

Embarrassingly, I was unfamiliar with the breadth of anti-Semitism that existed for hundreds of years. I didn’t know about the pogroms in Russia or the magnitude of theft and destruction of Jews way before the Holocaust. Advances in medical care, now taken for granted, would have profoundly impacted the family, many of whom married their cousins, uncles, and other relatives. Mental health issues were rampant and several of the women died in childbirth, or the baby didn’t survive childbirth. All of those things might have been non-issues in 2022.

People often asked me to pigeonhole inheritors, and I haven’t been able to do so because there is no “typical” inheritor of wealth. They aren’t all philanthropists, they aren’t all happy or dramatic or ne’er-do-wells or egotistical, self-absorbed, socially awkward, selfish individuals. The same holds true for the Rothschild heirs.

The post Book Review: “The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World’s Most Famous Dynasty,” by Natalie Livingstone appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

According to experts, the best time to book your catering is four to six weeks in advance of your event date. With the holidays just around the corner, you might be strapped for time if you haven’t already picked a caterer. Thankfully, for those of us who are less than savvy in the kitchen, the [...]

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Book Review by Myra Salzer Adrift is my kind of book, and it will probably resonate with inheritors, wealth coaches, philanthropists, and family office personnel as well. Why? Because this book includes graphs that slice and dice American culture, politics, economics, healthcare, etc., etc. Each graph is a chapter in and of itself, clearly and [...]

The post Book Review: “Adrift – America in 100 Charts” by Scott Galloway appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

By: Myra Salzer Heirs of windfall wealth have a lot on their plates – from endless meetings with lawyers and attorneys to dealing with familial turmoil and estate settlement. The burden of inheritance can weigh heavily on those who don’t yet have a wealth coach on their team. At The Wealth Conservancy, our goal is [...]

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Lisa never had a great relationship with her mother. Her earliest childhood memories were made with nannies and butlers, and while she didn’t know exactly what it was her mother did for work, she did notice that, unlike her friends’ parents, her mother was never around for family dinners or game nights. This went on [...]

The post A Legacy to be Proud Of – Who Knew? appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Book Review by Myra Salzer This book was recommended to me by a friend and colleague who is older, wiser, and more at peace with his life than I am. The book was intended for people who want to feel better about themselves and their lives after their years of maximum earning and physical vitality are [...]

The post Book Review: “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Purpose in the Second Half of Life.” By Arthur C. Brooks appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

In August 2022, the year-over-year inflation rate came in at 8.3% – a small move away from the reported 9.1% rate in June, the highest it’s been in more than four decades. Given the current inflationary market cycle, you may be wondering if there are any places left for middle-income investors (or maybe a secure [...]

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As an inheritor, you may not have complete control and freedom to determine the investment strategy for all of your money, but you do have a say in the type of advisor who manages your money and educates you on your specific financial picture – no matter what your current advisors, trustees, or executors may [...]

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Last Wednesday, TWC set out on our annual volunteer day. In the past we’ve typically spent our volunteer day mornings picking crops and preparing plant beds for Earth’s Table. This year, the team got down and dirty with horned and hooved friends at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary. Luvin Arms is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in [...]

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Click here to listen to the “Market Musing” for September 2, 2022. The views expressed in this podcast are those of TWC’s investment strategist, Steve Henningsen, and should not be construed as investment advice or as a recommendation for a particular strategy or investment. Individuals should consult with their advisor regarding specific advice and the applicability of [...]

The post “Market Musing” For September 2, 2022 appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

If you’ve owned a cell phone in the last decade, chances are you’ve received more than a few voicemails or phone calls from an “Unknown” Caller ID asking you if you’re interested in extending your car’s warranty. Although federal law requires carriers to combat robocalls with anti-spam technology, call scammers have become equally adept at [...]

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A recent study presented at the National Bureau of Economic Research summer institute revealed that fake reviews posted for online products cost shoppers approximately 12 cents for every dollar spent. Over time, this cost can add up to be hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars spent per year on products that don’t live up to [...]

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For our clients with children or minor dependents, the prospect of transitioning them on to college or other post-secondary endeavors is sure to come faster than they imagine. While legal protection for minors is fairly cut and dry, once your child turns 18 – the age of majority in the U.S. – parents no longer [...]

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Review by Myra Salzer My reviews tend towards books that are in some way related to finance, inheritance, and/or investing. Judging from the title of this book, you can assume I‘ve made an exception to the rule. In the name of full disclosure, I am unabashedly biased about this non-traditional review. You see, the author is my older [...]

The post Book Review: “Planning to Stay: Burnout, Demoralization, Exploitation and How to Reclaim Your Classroom and Your Life… Anyway,” by Jess Cleeves appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Resilience may be one of the most important skills to develop. It allows us to persevere through personal, social, and work-related challenges in life. We’re all born with some level of resilience, but it’s no secret that elements out of our grasp such as our family and/or socioeconomic standing also have a great influence how [...]

The post Anyone Can Build Resilience. appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

One of the things we’ve all come to know and love about living in the 21st century is the ability to buy virtually anything we desire and have it delivered to our doorstep the very next morning. Such instant gratification can be accomplished with the help of Amazon Prime, the global conglomerate many of us [...]

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It’s easy to fall into the trap of over-subscribing or forgetting to cancel the latest membership before it auto-bills to your credit card. Today, there are subscription services that exist for nearly every need, from ordering takeout and groceries to streaming movies and TV shows, to editing and sharing photos with friends and family in [...]

The post Manage Your Subscriptions Wisely appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

Contemplating the many ways your causes have grown and changed, and how you can best help those in need, does not need to wait until year-end. While you may feel inclined to set aside mid or end-of-year gifts for your favorite non-profits and charitable causes, it’s important to make sure your donations have maximum impact. [...]

The post Getting While Giving: Consider a Donor-Advised Fund appeared first on The Wealth Conservancy, Inc..

When was the last time you checked your email? This morning? An hour ago? Every 15 minutes? For many of us, email rules our lives. We spend countless minutes (or hours) each day checking or refreshing our inbox, trashing ads and spam messages, and deciding which emails to keep and which to delete forever. The [...]

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