What is a Bear Market?
If you're reconsidering your current investment strategy, a volatile market is probably the worst time to turn your portfolio inside out. Dramatic price swings can magnify the impact of a wholesale restructuring if the timing of that move is a little off....
Read More
IRA Distributions, What Is It?
Distributions from Traditional IRAs: Between Ages 59 1/2 and 70 1/2 What is an IRA distribution? A withdrawal from an IRA is referred to as a distribution. Distributions can come in the form of several payment patterns, from a one-time (lump-sum) payment to a series of distributions over several...
Read More
IRA’s What you DON’T know
What are my options if I inherit an IRA or an employer retirement savings plan account? If you don’t want the money, you can always disclaim (refuse to accept) the inherited IRA or plan funds. But if you’re like most people, you will want the money. Your first thought...
Read More
Many people enter retirement without a plan. The coble together many types of investments, CD's and annuities, without trusting one advisor group to handle ALL of their plans. This causes errors, loss, excess taxation, and many run out of money. You need one specialist. One quarter-back. One dream team....
Read More
BRI Presentation Videos
What is BRI?...
Read More
Beneficiaries Who gets your money
Annuity Beneficiary Considerations A beneficiary is a person or entity that receives the value of the annuity or annuitization payments that remain (if any) after the death of the annuitant or owner. The annuitant or owner receives annuitization payments during his or her life (the annuitant provides the measuring...
Read More
Annuity Moving Parts Explained
FINRA® Letter What is an equity-indexed annuity? While technically classified as a fixed annuity, an equity-indexed annuity (EIA), also referred to as a fixed-indexed annuity, can be described as a hybrid of a fixed annuity and a variable annuity, having some characteristics of both, and falling in between regarding...
Read More
The Everything Annuity White Paper
Annuities FINRA® Letter What is an annuity? The contract between purchaser and insurance company An annuity is a contract between you (the purchaser or...
Read More
COVID 19
Since the turn of the millennium, the market's negative response to health crises has been relatively short-lived. As this table shows, approximately six months after early reports of a major outbreak, the S&P 500 bounced back by an average of 10.47%. After 12 months, it rebounded by an average...
Read More
How to Tap Retirement Savings during a Financial Crisis
If your work-based retirement plan allows loans, you typically can borrow up to the lesser of 50% of your vested balance or $50,000. Most loans must be repaid within five years, but if the money is used to purchase a primary residence, the repayment period may be longer. The...
Read More
You are going to retire when?
Just how wealthy are you? You'll want to figure that out before you make any major life decisions. Your first impulse may be to go out and buy things, but that may not be in your best interest. Even if you're used to handling your own finances, now's the...
Read More
Money after Marriage
Merging Your Money When You Marry Getting married is exciting, but it brings many challenges. One such challenge that you and your spouse will have to face is how to merge your finances. Planning carefully and communicating are important because the financial decisions that you make now can have...
Read More
Unemployment
What is coping with unemployment? Coping with unemployment means breaking away from the past and facing your future. It means dealing with the emotional, financial, and professional challenges unemployment can bring. Although this process can be painful, facing unemployment with a plan will help make coping with it...
Read More
Go Fund Me
https://www.galadefinancial.com/services/#life...
Read More
Funeral Planning
Planning a Family? Get to Know Your Health Insurance Policy Congratulations! You’ve decided to start a family. Up until now, your health insurance has probably been adequate, paying for routine doctor visits and prescription drugs. But now that you’re facing a lifestyle change, you must make sure that your...
Read More
Borrowing Options
Establishing credit You must first establish a credit record if you want to have ready access to loans when you need them. You establish a credit record by borrowing money from a lender who reports to a credit bureau. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that few...
Read More
Credit Issues
Establishing credit You must first establish a credit record if you want to have ready access to loans when you need them. You establish a credit record by borrowing money from a lender who reports to a credit bureau. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that few...
Read More
Managing Debt
Debt Management What is debt management? As a modern consumer, you need credit. When you were growing up, you may have heard your parents or grandparents say, “If you can’t pay for it with cash, then you can’t afford to buy it.” That may have been sound advice...
Read More
Little Known IRA Facts You Can Use
Little Known IRA Facts You Can Use When it comes to IRAs, the tax rules get pretty complicated, to say the least. Here are five unusual IRA facts: Military death benefits can be contributed to a Roth IRA: Help families of veterans with this one because it can...
Read More
Challenges for Social Security and Medicare
New Reports Highlight Continuing Challenges for Social Security and Medicare Most Americans will receive Social Security and Medicare benefits at some point in their lives. For this reason, workers and retirees are concerned about potential program shortfalls that could affect future benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social...
Read More
Understanding Trusts
Understanding Trusts In recent years the public has been bombarded with a barrage of advertisements, brochures, and articles about trusts of all kinds, especially so-called living trusts. Some of the information offered for public consumption is misleading and some of it is simply false. This brochure is offered...
Read More
Charitable Giving
What are the tax benefits of donating to charity?
Through tax legislation, Congress has attempted to encourage charitable giving because it is good social policy. Most every charity depends on individual contributions to remain financially solvent, especially in this era of fewer direct government dollars...
Read More
Lifetime Gifting
What is lifetime (noncharitable) gifting? Gifting can be a powerful estate planning tool, allowing you to transfer your wealth to others during your lifetime. Lifetime gifts have many advantages over gifts you might leave in your will (these are called bequests, legacies, or devises). You might find making lifetime...
Read More
Working In Retirement
Working During Retirement Planning on working during retirement? If so, you’re not alone. An increasing number of employees nearing retirement plan to work at least some period of time during their retirement years. Why work during retirement? Obviously, if you work during retirement, you’ll be earning money and relying...
Read More
Portfolio Performance
Assessing Portfolio Performance: Choose Your Benchmarks Wisely You can’t help but hear about the frequent ups and downs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500 index. The performance of both major indexes is widely reported and analyzed in detail by financial news outlets around the nation....
Read More
Financial Stress
Five Steps to Tame Financial Stress Do you sometimes lie awake at night thinking about bills that need to be paid? Does it feel as though you’re drowning in debt? If this describes you, you might take solace in the fact that you’re not alone. A recent report released...
Read More
Diversification
When investing, particularly for long-term goals, there is one concept you will likely hear about over and over again — diversification. Why is diversification so important? The simple reason is that it helps ensure that your risk of loss is spread among a number of different investments. The theory...
Read More
Indexed Annuities
If you want to limit potential losses while participating in the potentially attractive returns of a market-driven investment but would also like a guaranteed return, an indexed annuity might be worth checking out. The performance of indexed annuities, also referred to as equity-indexed or fixed-indexed annuities, is tied to...
Read More
Why do people buy annuities?
Annuities are insurance-based financial vehicles that can provide many benefits sought by retirement-minded investors. There are a number of reasons why people buy annuities. Deferral of taxes is a big benefit, and so is the ability to put large sums of money into an annuity — more than is...
Read More
Indexed Annuities 2
An indexed annuity (IA) is a contract between you and an insurance company. You pay premiums in a lump sum or periodically, and the issuer promises* to pay you some amount in the future. The IA issuer also provides a minimum guaranteed* interest rate on your premiums paid. With...
Read More
Balancing Work and Family
At one time, the typical American family looked like this: a breadwinner father who commuted a short distance to work and earned a very good living, and a stay-at-home mother who took care of the kids and family home with aplomb. Life seemed easy and manageable, with plenty of...
Read More
A Retirement Income Roadmap for Women
More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business? Simply enjoying more time with your grandchildren? Whatever your goal,...
Read More
A Woman’s Guide to Health Care in Retirement
At any age, health care is a priority. But when you retire, you should probably focus more on health care than ever before. That’s why it’s particularly important for women to factor in the cost of health care, including long-term care, as part of their retirement plan. How much...
Read More
Getting Help from a Financial Professional
Are you suddenly on your own or forced to assume greater responsibility for your financial future? Unsure about whether you’re on the right track with your savings and investments? Finding yourself with new responsibilities, such as the care of a child or an aging parent? Facing other life events,...
Read More
Social Security Retirement Income Beneficiaries, by Gender
Source: Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary, Benefits in Current Payment Status, June 2016 ...
Read More
Women and Money: Taking Control of Your Finances
As a woman, you have financial needs that are unique to your situation in life. Perhaps you would like to buy your first home. Maybe you need to start saving for your child’s college education. Or you might be concerned about planning for retirement. Whatever your circumstances may be,...
Read More
Counting on Your Husband’s Retirement Income? Three Things Women Should Know
Women face special challenges when planning for retirement. Women are more likely than men to work in part-time jobs that don’t qualify for a retirement plan. And women are more likely to interrupt their careers (or stay out of the workforce altogether) to raise children or take care...
Read More
How Women Are Different from Men, Financially Speaking
We all know men and women are different in some fundamental ways. But is this true when it comes to financial planning? In a word, yes. In the financial world, women often find themselves in very different circumstances than their male counterparts. Everyone wants financial security. Yet women often...
Read More
My husband and I are getting divorced. How do we decide whose health insurance policy will cover the children?
Answer: As parents, both of you will want to keep the best interests of your children in mind. That means you should compare your health plan with your spouse’s health plan and determine which one offers the most comprehensive health coverage and flexibility in choosing health-care providers. Your ultimate...
Read More
I’m about to get married. Should I adjust the asset allocation in my 401(k) to take my husband’s investments into account?
Answer: That depends on several factors. Perhaps the first step is to make sure your existing asset allocation is appropriate for your circumstances; if you haven’t reviewed it in several years, you should probably take a fresh look at it, whether or not you intend to consider his assets...
Read More
I’m marrying someone with bad credit. How will this affect me?
Answer: You are not responsible for your future spouse’s bad credit or debt, unless you choose to take it on by getting a loan together to pay off the debt. However, your future spouse’s credit problems can prevent you from getting credit as a couple after you’re married. Even...
Read More
Medicaid Planning Basics
The best time to plan for the possibility of nursing home care is when you’re still healthy. By doing so, you may be able to pay for your long-term care and preserve assets for your loved ones. How? Through Medicaid planning. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides...
Read More
My child is heading off to college this fall. What insurance issues does this raise?
Answer: As you send your child off to college, you probably have a lot of things on your mind, such as whether your child will eat right and get enough sleep, how to pay tuition, and what to do with that empty bedroom. And although insurance may seem like...
Read More
Health Insurance for College Students
As your child prepares to head off to college, probably the last thing on his or her mind (and yours) is health insurance. But getting sick or injured away from home can be an unpleasant experience–more so if your child doesn’t know his or her health-care options. You’ll want...
Read More
Research Tips When Choosing a College
It seems like only yesterday you were bandaging scraped knees and waving at the school bus, and now it’s time for your child to choose a college. You may think a hands-off approach is best to avoid interfering, but it’s important to help your child research schools. Not only...
Read More
What expenses are included in the annual cost of college?
Most students start investigating colleges in their junior year of high school, though you can certainly start earlier if you want to. Beginning the search a full year before your child needs to apply to college should allow plenty of time to compare schools and help you feel in...
Read More
Saving for Retirement and a Child’s Education at the Same Time
You want to retire comfortably when the time comes. You also want to help your child go to college. So how do you juggle the two? The truth is, saving for your retirement and your child’s education at the same time can be a challenge. But take heart–you may...
Read More
Refinancing Your Mortgage
When you refinance your mortgage, you take out a new home loan and use some or all of the proceeds to pay off the existing one. There are a variety of reasons why you may want to consider refinancing your mortgage, such as: Lowering your monthly mortgage payment by...
Read More
How Does Cash Value in a Life Insurance Policy Really Work?
When you own cash value life insurance, your premium payments are allocated three ways. First, a portion of each premium pays for the actual insurance costs. Like term insurance, a specific cost is associated with the policy’s death benefit, based on your age, health, and other underwriting criteria. Second,...
Read More
Choosing a Credit Card
Like dandelions in a spring lawn, credit card offers pop up everywhere–stuffing your mailbox, flashing on the Internet, even falling from the magazines in your doctor’s waiting room. And they all sound so attractive. “0% APR until next year!” “No fee if you transfer a balance now!” “Low fixed...
Read More