Financial

There's an old saying that reminds us "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Whoever coined that phrase was talking about the world of small business accounting whether they realized it or not.

At its March 15–16 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its federal target funds rate by a quarter point. It was the first increase since December 2018, but it wasn’t a huge surprise. Fed Chair Jerome Powell had already said we should expect as much, with the potential for additional hikes before year-end.

When we are talking about building a sustainable business, we are talking about one that is built to last.

Often, entrepreneurs get caught up in the headlines about businesses with hyper-growth rates. We start thinking of how we can replicate these results.

According to one study conducted by U.S. Bank, a massive 82% of all businesses that ended up failing said that cash flow issues were a major contributor to that event. Often, this doesn't just come down to the amount of money coming into an organization — it relates to the timing as well.

In our last two pieces, we covered some tools of the tax-planning trade, as well as how to deploy them for tax-efficient investing.

However, tax planning isn’t just for your investments. Life happens. Often, we cannot predict its next moves, but we can weave each event into the tax-planning fabric of your financial life.

Has the specter of inflation got you spooked? Recent headlines are filled with sightings. In this two-part series, let’s take a closer look at what to make of all the commentary and what you can do about it as an investor. First and foremost, we caution against succumbing to fear or panic in the face of inflation. As usual, careful planning remains your best guide.

Whether your Social Security benefits are taxable (and, if so, the amount that is taxed) depends on a number of issues. The following facts will help you understand the taxability of your Social Security benefits. 

US consumer prices were up by 5.4% for the year ending June 2021, the largest annual increase since August 2008.¹ Naturally, inflation is at the center of attention for many US investors.

INFLATION OUTPACED

Creating a successful business requires a good idea combined with skill, talent and ambition. However, even if you have all of those elements, you may end up falling short if you can’t raise the capital that you need to move forward.

If you can’t wait for 2020 to be over, you’re certainly not alone. However, don’t let the challenges of this year distract you from taking care of important end-of-year financial moves.