FSA vs HSA – What are the differences and how do I use them?
Employee Benefits, Investing, Basics Ben Hockema Employee Benefits, Investing, Basics Ben Hockema

FSA vs HSA – What are the differences and how do I use them?

Put company benefits and IRS regulations together, and you’re just asking for complexity masked as an acronym. Many employers provide access to Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Accounts (HSA) to employees to allow pre-tax payments of various expenses. Let’s dive into the different types and strategies around each.

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Bonds Make Sense Again!
Bonds, Investing Ben Hockema Bonds, Investing Ben Hockema

Bonds Make Sense Again!

Back in the Spring, I wrote a blog post about how bonds were riskier than stocks, taking into account the role that they each play in most investment portfolios. I discussed the concern that rising interest rates from such as low starting position would create havoc in portfolios. While I believed everything that I wrote, I did not anticipate just how quickly everything discussed would come to pass.

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Bonds May Be Riskier than Stocks
Investing, Bonds Ben Hockema Investing, Bonds Ben Hockema

Bonds May Be Riskier than Stocks

One of the staple investment beliefs has historically been that “bonds are for protection and stocks are for growth”. While the evidence has generally backed this up, it is important that we balance what worked before with the current and future investment environment. As every investment compliance attorney has said, “past performance is no guarantee of future results”.

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From Impatient to Patient Investing
Investing Ben Hockema Investing Ben Hockema

From Impatient to Patient Investing

On our video last week, Eddie mentioned this quote from Warren Buffett. Although I have heard it before, I think that this is extremely relevant to repeat as we seem to be back to a “normal” market, after the last few years of relative calm.

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Are you worried about Evergrande?
Investing Ben Hockema Investing Ben Hockema

Are you worried about Evergrande?

As many clients have noticed, the stock market, measured by the S&P 500 Index, has dropped for 9 of the last 12 trading days. This has caused a few worried clients to reach out, particularly after the stock market fell another 1.7% on Monday, Sept. 20th.

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Don’t Buy a Home for Financial Reasons: Your Home is Not an Investment 
Investing, Basics Ben Hockema Investing, Basics Ben Hockema

Don’t Buy a Home for Financial Reasons: Your Home is Not an Investment 

The “American Dream” is different for each of us, but there is one common thread. It has been drilled into our heads for decades that a part of the “American Dream” is to own your own home. Add in HGTV home remodel shows, Youtube videos about making money in Real Estate and historically low interest rates (driving up home prices while keeping mortgage payments down), and you have a recipe for irrational excitement around home ownership.

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