June 2010
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Well, What's Stopping You?
The economic upheaval we’ve experienced over the past year or two has caused a lot of people, myself included, to think more deeply about our lives and what is really important to us. Last year I ran across a series of questions that I believe can be a powerful tool to help people gain clarity about what they truly value in life. From a “wealth management” standpoint, this...
May 2010
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Ladies, it’s 10 p.m. - Do you know where your...
By Sarah Byrd
In every marriage each spouse takes on different responsibilities. Cooking, yard work, shopping, paying bills - one person doesn’t do it all, and efficient living often necessitates division of labor. You don’t each need to know what brand of fertilizer is making your yard green, or where you buy your tomatoes. However when it comes to planning and understanding your family...
March 2010
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Hymns for Haiti - A Benefit Concert
Alpha Advisors is proud be a sponsor of Hymns for Haiti - a benefit concert to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti. Please come out for a great event and support an important cause!
Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010 Time: Doors open @ 6 PM, show starts @ 7 PM Featuring: Alex Mejias & High Street Hymns with Special Guests Location: West End Presbyterian Church 9008 Quioccasin Road,...
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Is a Roth IRA Conversion Right for You?
The “Roth Conversion” opportunity has generated a lot of media coverage and advertising dollars from financial institutions. You might be concerned about being left out of this seemingly once in a lifetime opportunity. But the decision to convert is far from a “no-brainer”. This is because the amount that you convert will be subject to income taxes. Though the taxes can be spread over two years,...
February 2010
3 posts
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How to Increase the Impact of Your Giving
Most people want to help make the world a better place, in some way, and are willing to share what they have with others to accomplish that. Here are some thoughts about how to maximize your contribution:
Give within the context of a plan. All too often in life we tend to take the path of least resistance or are driven by “the tyranny of the urgent”. Charitable giving often suffers the same...
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Interview with a Nigerian email scammer
If you have ever wondered about those email scams that always seem to originate in Nigeria, here is an interview with someone who claims to be a former scammer. The author was not able to corroborate the story due to the subject’s desire to remain anonymous, but the story sure is intriguing!
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Toyota: Another Lesson in Concentration Risk
Toyota Motor Corporation has been one of the most respected automakers in the world. It is widely admired for making high-quality cars, and for being a profitable operation, while its American counterparts for the most part have run themselves into the ground. If you were going to own stock in an automaker, this likely would have been high on the list of candidates.
But the recent recall of...
January 2010
2 posts
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Tips for Preventing Identity Theft
I have recently been helping a client go through the process of recovering from identity theft and subsequent fraud. Our clients have been fortunate for the most part to avoid becoming victims, but I can now say from firsthand experience with the hassles of the aftermath that a few ounces of prevention are worth a ton of cure.
Here is my “Top 10 List” of some relatively simple tips for...
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Money Saving Tip: Energy Efficiency Tax Credit
As a provision of the American Recovery and reinvestment Act, the federal government is providing an economic incentive for you to make improvements to your home’s energy efficiency.
The incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to 30% of the purchase price of certain items, such as water heaters, furnaces, insulation, etc. The credit is limited to $1,500 and is for improvements made in...
December 2009
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Career Next Step
There are a lot of people out there who are either unemployed, “under-employed”, or employed but wishing they could do something different to earn a living. It can be easy to short-circuit the job search due to a sense of desperation to find a new job, or fear of trying something new. How many people who have lost a job they never really liked are now out there looking for a job...
November 2009
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Retirement Bubble?
Several months ago I read a very thought-provoking article titled “Next, The Retirement Bubble”. The author shared an interesting point of view that reinforced the value of finding something to do for a living that you love, and that you would like to do for the rest of your life. Not only is this a healthy view of work, but from a financial standpoint, it is a wise strategy for...