Author Archives: David John Marotta

Employers and employees alike are feeling the squeeze of swelling health care costs.

Both mindless eating and mindless spending rely on our subconscious need to follow scripts to pace our consumption. Community plays a huge role in regulating our financial destiny–either a path of savings that builds real wealth or a path of spending that leads to impoverishment.

David Marotta discusses what makes certain investments look attractive.

We all think we can’t be fooled by something as obvious as the the difference between height and width. But our brains are wired that way, without exception.

Retirement planning is even more crucial for women than for men.

Timing the markets this past year was nearly impossible.

Just remove the decimal place. The $8.50 lunch you charge will cost you $850 in your retirement.

Your time is worth more than sifting through the ashes of advertising looking for valuables.

Small business owners enjoy more flexibility when it comes to tax maneuvering. That’s why tax planning is especially important for small businesses. Whether your business employs one employee or one hundred employees, last-minute tax moves can save you money, if you act before the end of the year.

Themed rewards tend to be toward the low end and cash rewards are apt to be higher. Get the cash.

Even if you didn’t make a penny more next year, how can you have more dollars for next year’s holiday
season? Reduce your taxes. Between now and the end of the year there are several last-minute tax moves that may save you significant amounts of money. After January 1st, there’s little to do but pay-up.

Volatility, therefore, is a matter of perspective. Like the crack of a whip.

Because the markets changed course at least once over the past year, rebalancing tended to improve returns.

Four-years of college currently cost $60,000 at a public university. In eighteen years, it may cost more than $145,000. To stay ahead of rising tuition costs, you should plan ahead and save early. Tax-favored 529 accounts can help you provide an excellent college education for your children and grandchildren.

Public policy to increase choices for healthcare coverage.

You may have to jail a few rebels for health insurance evasion.

There are few better investment returns than an employer’s matching contribution made to your 401(k). But after you retire or leave that company’s employment, you should almost always roll your 401(k) into an IRA for better investment choices. Being smart by rolling over your 401(k) can pay dividends for decades.

After you retire or leave that company’s employment, you should almost always roll your 401(k) into an IRA for better investment choices.

We need a safety net, not a hammock.

Some doctors start the year $250,000 in debt.

Market timing is the attempt to switch a significant portion of your assets between different types of investments in an effort to maximize profits. If this is your investment strategy, good luck, because you’ll need it.

Half of the country are political Vikings who pay their taxes by raiding and pillaging the productive.

A country can’t prosper destroying perfectly good used cars.

Communicating honestly about your finances with your family and putting your estate in order passes on a legacy of foresight and financial wisdom that will help generations to come.

Communicating honestly about your finances with your family and putting your estate in order passes on a legacy of foresight and financial wisdom that will help generations to come.

David Marotta discusses the politics of “Cash for Clunkers.”

Diversifying your asset allocation among investments with a low correlation can and should reduce your portfolio’s volatility and boost your returns. But critics are claiming this strategy is no longer valid. That’s because they don’t understand the nature of what happened in 2008.

Entrepreneurship is for those who feel empowered by hard work, not those trying to escape it.

We call the difference between the market return and typical investor returns the “termite gap.”

There are significant advantages to using different investment vehicles in different types of accounts.

Mortgage rates are at historical lows, so the next few years are the time to take advantage of them.

Here are seven steps you should take to weather any financial storm.

David Marotta discusses how to increase your after-tax net worth.

Identity theft is becoming distressingly common as personal information becomes easier to swipe.

Investing in some mutual funds is like buying a $3 candy bar and paying $5 shipping and handling. All mutual funds are not created equal, and you can boost your returns by doing a little homework before writing a check.

Virginia 529 plans allow for an unlimited carry-forward deduction.

Managing your family’s cash is key to meeting your financial goals.

There will always be swindlers masquerading as investment advisors. You can learn to recognize such people by their over-the-top lifestyle.

Countries with the most economic freedom generally do better than the international index.

Excellent advisors communicate clearly exactly how bad the markets have been and can be.

Rebalancing between asset classes boosts returns and decreases volatility. But setting your asset classes based on sectors of the economy is not an effective strategy.

David Marotta discusses behavioral finance.

In this formula is deep wisdom, both for portfolio construction and for determining which categories are worth regular rebalancing.

Couples getting married in June usually don’t take the time for pre-marital financial counseling. Yet much of the friction in marriage stems from different financial perspectives, and how money is handled is often a factor in divorce

Generally, a correlation that can drop below 0.6 with other asset classes is a good candidate to become its own asset class.

Diversifying your portfolio means finding assets that have value on their own merits but do not move exactly alike. A critical investment metric called “correlation” is used to construct a portfolio most likely to meet your personal financial goals.

Estate planning must begin with family harmony as the goal. Thus personal dynamics are more important than avoiding probate and estate taxes.

David Marotta discusses learning to live on your own after college.

The government is not intervening out of a sense of altruism.

The most important product of estate planning is achieving family harmony. Think carefully when you choose your executor or trustee.