Financial video library

A Roth 401k Tax Surprise? What we mean when we say "Roth 401k tax surprise," is that contributing to a Roth 401(k) at work COULD create unexpected taxable income, through the employer match. While employee making Roth 401k contributions knows their contributions are...

What Is A Sinking Fund? The sinking fund: the simple way to plan for expenses you know are coming. In this video, we cover what is a sinking fund.  And how is it different from an emergency fund? We give examples of sinking funds such as budgeting for office items,...

It's Not Luck. It's Planning. "It's not luck, it's planning" has been the line this firm has run on for 24 years. Tom came up with it back in 2002 — and he's spent every year since watching it prove true. From the outside, a lot of financial outcomes look like luck. -...

Should You Be Managing Your Own Money in Retirement? DIY: managing your own money in retirement works until it doesn't. Here's why that's usually worth a second look. Takeaways: -   As retirement nears, the money decisions pile up fast — and many are ones you've never...

Does New Jersey Tax a Qualified Charitable Distribution? A qualified charitable distribution can provide valuable federal tax benefits. But the state tax treatment of a qualified charitable distribution is not always the same. In this (Part II), we explain why a...

5 Facts About QCD Qualified Charitable Distributions Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD): A Tax-Smart Way to Give From Your IRA After 70½ If you're age 70½ or older and regularly support charitable organizations, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) may be...

Your Beneficiary Form Decides Who Gets Your NJ Pension In many cases, beneficiary designation forms determine where assets like your New Jersey pension benefits, your retirement accounts or life insurance go.  This is regardless of what is written in your will. Here...

Stay NJ part III Stay NJ part III Changes in 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ksWV3ppP4Q Stay NJ part III: This is our third video on this property tax program.  Hence the title, Stay NJ part III.  In this we cover Roth Conversions, Income Cliff, and Retirement...

Retirement Planning For Couples: The 74% You Can't Ignore When we're retirement planning for couples, there's something worth thinking about. When statisticians say there's a 74% probability of something happening, they don't call that a risk to manage. They call that...

3 Ways Retirement Could Affect Your Ability to Borrow Money Retirement can change more than just your income stream. Your ability to borrow money could be impacted.  Certain financial tools and lending options may become less accessible once employment income stops,...

Roth Vs. Pre-Tax 401(k) If you’ve ever wondered whether to choose Roth vs. pre-tax 401(k), you’ve probably seen a lots of different opinions!  And not a lot of clarity. The right answer depends on how your taxes actually work, not what someone else is doing....

3 Questions For Your Stress Tested Retirement Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC7nFqoHhZ4 A stress tested retirement plan should do more than project average returns.  It ought to evaluate how your financial plan during retirement may perform.  We don't suggest...

New Jersey Estate and NJ Inheritance Taxes New Jersey Estate Tax vs. NJ Inheritance Taxes: New Jersey Rules (and How DE, PA & NY Compare) Estate planning often gets derailed by a simple misunderstanding: the difference between New Jersey estate taxes and NJ...

5 New Jersey Retirement Tax Facts To Know 5 New Jersey Retirement Tax Facts To Know (and how NJ compares to PA, NY & DE) Understanding state income taxes is a critical part of retirement planning—especially in a high-tax environment like New Jersey. In this video,...

Could You Owe Taxes When Selling Your Primary Residence? The Primary Residence Home Sale Capital Gains Exclusion Hasn’t Changed Since 1997. Here’s Why That Matters...... We explain how the Section 121 home-sale capital gains exclusion, set in 1997 at $250,000 for...

Morningstar Update: The 4% Rule May Need Tweaking? Referencing annual research from Morningstar, Casey discusses how much retirees can sustainably withdraw from their investments each year. Morningstar cites a "safe starting withdrawal rate" as 3.9% for 2026. This...

The Stay NJ Program - part II - video 3 Changes to the Stay NJ Program The just proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget presented by Governor Sherrill, contains several significant adjustments to the state’s property tax relief landscape, including changes to the ANCHOR...

Surprising Trends Beneath the S&P 500 So Far in 2026 While the S&P 500 index appeared relatively flat through the end of February 2026, we've seen some noticeable stock market volatility. In this video, Casey looks beneath the surface of the market to examine...

Social Security Earnings Test: 3 Sources Affecting Benefits If you’re considering claiming Social Security early, understanding the Social Security earnings test is critical. In this video, we discuss the social security earnings test, who it applies to, and what...

How Pension and Social Security Decisions Shape Retirement Guaranteed income sources can provide the foundation of any sound retirement income plan. Pension and Social Security decisions can create an income floor. But both (pension and social security decisions) are...