Blog
How is your financial plan serving you? Read along for some help tips and tricks. Cash flow strategies are incredibly important during periods of uncertainty and as we prepare for the unexpected. Follow my blog for educational tidbits to help you along your financial journey. And, if you ever want to visit one-on-one, I am just a phone call or email away. Stephanie L. Surhbier 605-306-3248 or stephanie@agilewealthsolutions.com
This Might Be Uncomfortable
Life insurance needs to be a priority. It is a protection plan that allows your partner to grieve without the added stress of financial strain. Your family will experience stability. You would leave them the means to live a lifestyle you...
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The Best Decision You Can Make For Your Family. 👪
Here’s a little-known fact that may help you save money on life insurance: when it comes to underwriting, insurance carriers typically rate clients to their closest birthday.What does that mean? It means that if you are 39 years...
Read MoreMilitary Appreciation Month
For many of us, the month of May marks the beginning of summer. The warmer weather and glaring sunshine bring with it a promise of fun, adventure, and memories to be made. The three-day-weekend that Memorial Day brings can be an excuse...
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The Great Resignation
Last year, the labor market saw nearly 48 million people leave their jobs. This number marks an annual record and hasn’t slowed much during the first months of 2022. For eight straight months, we have seen these numbers exceeding...
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Myths about Financial Planners
MythBusters does a great job of disproving some common myths. In fact, when I discovered that bubble gum doesn’t actually stay in your system for 7 years, I was shocked! Besides gum, I also thought that I needed to wait an hour...
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Take A Chance
Last week on April 15th we celebrated National Rubber Eraser Day and looked at some common financial mistakes. This week, on April 23rd it is National Take a Chance Day. Taking a chance means you do something without knowing for sure...
Read MoreNational Rubber Eraser Day
For some reason, we always enjoy hearing what weird/random day it is and how and why we celebrate it. Today, April 15, is National Rubber Eraser Day. That’s right, there is an entire day dedicated to celebrating, recognizing,...
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National Siblings Day
Sibling rivalry is a tale as old as time. Even the closest siblings have spats. And as parents, we are taught that we are supposed to love all of our children the same. We’re not supposed to pick favorites. So, why would a parent...
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2021 Limits for IRAs, 401(k)s and More
On October 26, the Treasury Department released the 2021 adjusted figures for retirement account savings. Although these adjustments won’t bring any major changes, there are some minor elements to note.401(k)sThe salary deferral...
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Teaching Your Kids About Money
Teaching Your Kids About Money It can be tricky to teach your kids about money no matter what their age. Starting when they’re little can help them learn the value of money right away. Learning About Dollar and Cents I'll never...
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Coping With Divorce When You Have Children
Coping With Divorce When You Have Children Navigating a difficult change in your life situation and home environment is never easy. When there are children involved, it can be particularly tricky. In this post I'll do my best to stay...
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What or Who is Your Why?
What or Who is Your Why? As a 20 something fresh out of college, I wanted to work hard, set myself apart from my peers, get promoted and some day make a lot of money. How's that for a dose of truth? As a young CPA, I remember getting...
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Divorce and Cash Flow
Divorce and Your Cash Flow Dealing with a divorce can lead to unforeseen money problems, and the effect of divorce on your cash flow can be an unpleasant surprise. This can be especially true for people who find themselves moving from...
Read MorePlan Ahead, Rather than Failing to Plan!
Future Focused Planning In such a fast paced world, it is SO easy to get caught up in the day to day...raising our children, keeping a clean home, giving 110% at work, attending sports/extracurricular events, and so many other things....
Read MoreSocial Security, Let's Start with the Basics
Social Security started in 1935 to help limit the financial burdens on the elderly, poor, temporarily unemployed, and the disadvantaged. Payroll taxes fund Social Security Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) or under Self...
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Every Child is Unique, YOUR Financial Plan Should Be Too!
Growing, Growing, Gone This is my crew, the three small humans that I am so incredibly blessed to have call me "Mom." Imagine a world where each parent followed the exact same specified set of rules to raise each and every child....
Read MoreFamily First
Happy Fall Everyone! Here's to making memories with those we love, taking the time to plan ahead for their futures, and giving each day our best. From my family to yours, wishing you a safe and happy fall!
Read MoreDivorce and Retirement
Divorce and Retirement As you work your way through a divorce, it is extremely important to rebuild your financial plan, including looking at how divorce effects your retirement. During a marriage we often get used to having two...
Read MoreDivorce and Life Insurance
Divorce and Life Insurance It may often be overlooked during the overwhelming period after the dissolution of a marriage, but the effects of divorce on life insurance and necessary changes to your policy should not be missed. Life...
Read MoreBenefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
HSA stands for health savings account and is a tax-advantaged account that allows individuals to save money for out-of-pocket medical expenses. To be eligible to contribute to a HSA, you must have a high deductible health plan (HDHP),...
Read MoreUnderstanding Income Tax Brackets
When it comes to paying income taxes, there is a common misconception that you pay a single percentage rate for the entire amount. In other words, they incorrectly assume that if you are bumped up to a higher tax bracket that you pay...
Read MoreThought Process Series: To Refinance or Not to Refinance
Thought Process Series: To Refinance or Not to Refinance For the last year or so, the question about to whether or not to refinance your current mortgage has probably come up in recent coversations. But, you may have found yourself...
Read MoreThought Process Series: Managing Financial Stress
Thought Process Series: Managing Financial Stress Sometimes when we are feeling financial pressure, it seems easier ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. If perhaps not watching spending as closely as maybe we should, has lead...
Read MoreThought Process Series: Where to Keep Your Savings
Thought Process Series: Where to Keep Your Savings This series is intended to give you a little "Food for Thought" regarding every day topics. The topic today, where to keep your savings. I tend to put funds into buckets and give...
Read MoreThought Process Series: Teaching Your Children/Teenagers About Money
Thought Process Series: Teaching Your Children/Teenagers About Money "Adulting" is challenging enough sometimes with trying to juggle your career, volunteering, social groups/activities, family obligations and the like. Why not give...
Read MoreThought Process Series: Changing Jobs
Thought Process Series: Changing Jobs This series is intended to give you a little "Food for Thought" regarding every day topics. The topic today, evaluating job changes. Apples to Apples Salary Current Job Job Offer Hourly Rate...
Read MoreFinancial Considerations for Your Divorce
Financial Considerations for Your Divorce Marital addition and disposition can both be expensive transactions, that sounded entirely too much like a business transaction, huh? When we choose to enter into a marriage, a legally binding...
Read MoreLove, Marriage and Combining Finances
I'll show you mine, if you show me yours. While a first date might not be the ideal opportunity to discuss your financial situation, before you get too deep into a relationship, I would recommend having discussions around things like.....
Read MoreRetirement, What's Next?
Whether you spent your working life actively, intentionally pushing toward retirement or slid into it with unexpected life circumstances, one challenge can be finding your new routine and life purpose. Before retirement, you were...
Read MoreUnderstanding Term Life Insurance
Life Insurance: Understanding Term Insurance What exactly is "Term" life insurance? I like to think about Term Life Insurance like car insurance. You agree to pay the insurance company a premium (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or...
Read MoreDo you have a Financial Planning "Team"?
Depending on your stage of life...you might have a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) preparing your taxes, you might have an Attorney who put together a Will for both you and your spouse and you might have a Financial Advisor. It feels...
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Divorce and Financial Planning
Let's be real, very real for a moment. Divorce is hard. Whether you initiated your divorce or your partner asked you for the dissolution of your marriage, life before and life after divorce often look very different. Two income...
Read MoreHow to Build a Budget
Many of us have attempted to build a budget at one point or another. The problem with budgets is that we set them up with the best of intentions, then stick that handy budget in a drawer and never look at it again. What makes a budget...
Read MoreWhat should you know about Roth IRAs?
A Roth IRA is a retirement account that you contribute to with dollars that are after-tax dollars. Because you have already paid tax before making the contribution, you do not receive a current year tax benefit for having made the...
Read MoreRisk Tolerance, Asset Allocation & Rebalancing
Risk Tolerance, Asset Allocation & Rebalancing...what are they and why do we care? Let's start by getting out of the terminology and into understanding how we are impacted. First of all, Risk Tolerance, to very simply dissect, think...
Read MoreWhat is a traditional IRA?
A traditional IRA is a type of retirement account that you contribute to with pre-tax dollars. This means that when you put money into a traditional IRA account, you do not pay taxes on the money as you make the contribution (*see...
Read MoreAges and Stages – The Opportunities and Challenges of Financial Planning
Whether you are just starting out in life or in well into retirement, each stage of life presents different financial planning opportunities and challenges. No matter what your age or stage, here are a thoughts for your consideration....
Read MoreExpecting the Unexpected
Have you ever noticed that when you are saving for something fun, an expected expense for precisely that amount seems to crop up out of nowhere? You've probably heard someone say, "Two things in life are certain, death and taxes." Well...
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