By Kate Welker, CFP®

It is again the back to school season. Preschool through college school will look different for students this year, but one thing is the same. The changing of the year, feeling of a fresh start, and thinking about the future year ahead. For older students we are discussing college plans and for those of you with young children you may be thinking about planning for your children's eventual college. With a growing student loan debt load in this country how to pay for college is a concern we like to address. I wanted to share some thoughts on a few unique ways to think about saving for education.

Estate planning can sometimes come across as a section of planning that is completed later in life after retirement has begun and “it’s time” to start thinking of life’s next stage. Au contraire, estate planning is a part of one’s portfolio that deserves equal attention pre and post the date of retirement. The time is now! As net worth, investments, personal property, real estate, relationships, and other intrinsic items change in status, value, and possession over the years, it is important to consistently update (or begin creating) your estate planning documents.

Below are some introductory terms for those stepping into the estate planning process

Those who are unemployed or cannot work for coronavirus related reasons will be eligible for benefits under the new Cares Act passed on March 27, 2020.

March is women’s history month and we want to take some of our space this month to recognize that. I love working with small business owners so I wanted to share some thoughts on women as business owners. Rooted Planning Group is owned by women so this is certainly special to us.

What are the traits that help women succeed in business? I thought back on some conferences I’ve attended, drew on personal experience, and looked at our team to see how the ways we think or act differently can be beneficial.

In this weeks blog, Financial Planner Kerrie Beene, CFP® digs into the parts and pieces of Medicare Part D - Prescription Coverage.

As the end of 2019 quickly approaches, it’s time to start thinking about taxes. As we all know, tax season catches up with us very quickly with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and the recovery period in the weeks after the holidays.

In this week’s blog, Financial Planner Kate Welker, CFP® defines top benefit terms to help demystify some of the confusing benefit terms.

In the next few weeks, you may open your mail or email to see notices regarding open enrollment season through your employer. Open enrollment is a period of time you can make changes to your employee benefits options that are normally restricted. This is also a great time to review your entire benefits package and make any other adjustments as well. Let’s walk through a few options you may be looking at.

In this week’s blog, Financial Planner and Financial Wellness Coach, Amy Irvine, CFP®, EA, MPAS®, CCFC digs into selection criteria often overlooked when selecting a college.

As a starting point to growing your wealth, take a deep breath, sit back for a few minutes and explore these three questions in a journey to discovering your money mindset.

In this week's edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner and CFP® Will Morrison discusses the journey to find happiness, the science of “happier spending,” and how he’s implementing it in his life. Perhaps he will give you ideas on how to implement it into your life?

In this weeks edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner Kerrie Beene, CFP® discussed building wealth by keeping your spending “in control.” We all have busy lives and often do the “next thing” that is needed without realizing how much that is actually costing us.

I've decided to step outside my comfort zone this week and share the top six financial planning lessons I've learned in the past six months.

1. Comparing is Dangerous

2. A Spoonful of Medicine

3. Too Much On Your Plate

4. The Benefits of Confidence

5. Coaching a Coach

6. Asking for Help

Time to talk about getting vegetables on a budget!

One of the big steps in the college process is filling out the FAFSA form and working that to your advantage.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the “Secure Act” legislation and it’s widely expected to move forward in the Senate.  In part, the legislation’s purpose is to make it easier for employers to offer 401ks to their employees and to let workers guarantee how much income their retirement savings will produce by using their assets to purchase annuities.  It removes the IRA age limitation and increases the RMD age to 72.