The Cost of Doing Your Own Taxes

Doing your own taxes is frustrating: finding the forms, deciphering the instructions, finding your paperwork, doing the math, figuring out what needs to be attached, worrying about a tax audit.    What you may not realize is that doing your own taxes also costs you money. It costs you money because you don’t know all the […]

Why Financial Industry Regulations Impacts You

Currently, the financial advisory industry is in the midst of numerous regulatory changes with the most important issue involving the definition of “financial planner” and “financial advisor” and whether these titles require professionals to have a legal responsibility to put their clients’ interests first.  As the law stands now, only advisors registered with the SEC […]

Basis of Investment Decisions

We at Lighthouse Financial Advisors believe in investing strategically in Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) mutual funds because of their unique approach of translating financial science into practical investment solutions for clients.  We invest in Dimensional to build portfolios along the dimensions of expected returns that can be pursued in a cost-effective manner.  Their dynamic, market-driven […]

I Got a Guy & Second Opinions

Many prospective clients we talk to already have someone they consider a financial advisor or close too.    Your guy could be an accountant that only prepares your taxes, but does little tax planning.  Or an insurance/annuity salesman where seemingly every problem can be fixed with complicated annuities or costly whole-life insurance.   All too […]

Why it is Important to Have a Will

According to a recent study, more than half of Americans age 55 to 64 do not have wills (the numbers are worse for those 45 and 54).  I want to focus on the ramifications of why a will is necessary and why it is important to act now to discuss the matter with your financial […]

7 Steps to Success

7 Steps to Success   1: Gratitude and appreciation. Believe it or not, gratitude is the closest thing to a ‘magic pill’ you can take. (Use a daily gratitude Journal.  During your next meeting, ask us about our 21 days of Gratitude we recently complete here at LFA.) 2: Add value to the world and […]

Benefits of a CFP® and CPA Relationship

Partnering with a Certified Financial Planner® who is also a Tax Professional (CPA or Enrolled Agent) can offer significant value and time savings.  There’s a close relationship between financial planning and taxes, but non tax professional advisors are not permitted to offer tax advice and are encouraged to partner with CPA’s to ensure proper tax planning […]

Charitable Giving Account – An easier & tax efficient way to be Charitable

We are discussing & recommending to all of our clients to consider opening a Charitable Giving Account/Donor-advised fund. Charitable Giving Accounts have many advantages over the traditional ways of charitable giving. One of the biggest is record keeping. You make one or more contributions to your giving account during the year. So at tax time […]

The January Effect – What Is It?

As the end of 2013 approached you probably heard a lot of commentators talking about the “January Effect”.  No, this is not the feeling everyone in the Northeast has about relocating to somewhere warmer.  The “January Effect” is the market phenomenon that the stock market rallies in the month of January with a particular rise […]

The Cost of Doing Your Own Taxes

Doing your own taxes is frustrating: finding the forms, deciphering the instructions, finding your paperwork, doing the math, figuring out what needs to be attached, worrying about a tax audit.    What you may not realize is that doing your own taxes also costs you money. It costs you money because you don’t know all the […]

Why Financial Industry Regulations Impacts You

Currently, the financial advisory industry is in the midst of numerous regulatory changes with the most important issue involving the definition of “financial planner” and “financial advisor” and whether these titles require professionals to have a legal responsibility to put their clients’ interests first.  As the law stands now, only advisors registered with the SEC […]

Basis of Investment Decisions

We at Lighthouse Financial Advisors believe in investing strategically in Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) mutual funds because of their unique approach of translating financial science into practical investment solutions for clients.  We invest in Dimensional to build portfolios along the dimensions of expected returns that can be pursued in a cost-effective manner.  Their dynamic, market-driven […]

I Got a Guy & Second Opinions

Many prospective clients we talk to already have someone they consider a financial advisor or close too.    Your guy could be an accountant that only prepares your taxes, but does little tax planning.  Or an insurance/annuity salesman where seemingly every problem can be fixed with complicated annuities or costly whole-life insurance.   All too […]

Why it is Important to Have a Will

According to a recent study, more than half of Americans age 55 to 64 do not have wills (the numbers are worse for those 45 and 54).  I want to focus on the ramifications of why a will is necessary and why it is important to act now to discuss the matter with your financial […]

7 Steps to Success

7 Steps to Success   1: Gratitude and appreciation. Believe it or not, gratitude is the closest thing to a ‘magic pill’ you can take. (Use a daily gratitude Journal.  During your next meeting, ask us about our 21 days of Gratitude we recently complete here at LFA.) 2: Add value to the world and […]

Benefits of a CFP® and CPA Relationship

Partnering with a Certified Financial Planner® who is also a Tax Professional (CPA or Enrolled Agent) can offer significant value and time savings.  There’s a close relationship between financial planning and taxes, but non tax professional advisors are not permitted to offer tax advice and are encouraged to partner with CPA’s to ensure proper tax planning […]

Charitable Giving Account – An easier & tax efficient way to be Charitable

We are discussing & recommending to all of our clients to consider opening a Charitable Giving Account/Donor-advised fund. Charitable Giving Accounts have many advantages over the traditional ways of charitable giving. One of the biggest is record keeping. You make one or more contributions to your giving account during the year. So at tax time […]

The January Effect – What Is It?

As the end of 2013 approached you probably heard a lot of commentators talking about the “January Effect”.  No, this is not the feeling everyone in the Northeast has about relocating to somewhere warmer.  The “January Effect” is the market phenomenon that the stock market rallies in the month of January with a particular rise […]

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