Douglas G. Schmitz

Life Expectancy

Knowing your likely life expectancy is an important factor in making long-term financial plans.

IRA Eligibility

Use this calculator to determine whether you qualify for the different types of IRAs.

Cost of Retirement

Use this calculator to estimate how much income and savings you may need in retirement.

Long-Term Care Self Insurance

Will you be able to afford nursing home care?

More Calculators →

Why You Want to Know How Much Your Business is Worth

An up-to-date valuation may seem like an unnecessary expense for a small business, but it could prove to be invaluable to achieving long-term goals. Knowing the current value of a business can affect how an owner might approach everything from retirement to estate conservation to a succession strategy.

Giving the Gift of Knowledge

A college education is still a good investment. Consider this statistic: The overall unemployment rate reached as high as 9.9% in 2010, but for workers with a bachelor's degree or higher, it did not exceed 5.1%. But a college education can be expensive. There is a tax-advantaged way to accumulate money for a child's or grandchild's education: a Section 529 plan.

On the Committees

The closely watched "yield curve" has been fairly adept at signaling the onset of U.S. economic recessions. A yield curve inversion would seem to be a fairly straightforward method for ascertaining the direction of the economy, but more often than not it's not so simple.

Rising Popularity of Roth IRA as Retirement Vehicle

Investment in the Roth IRA has been growing dramatically. Fueling the growth of this popular investment vehicle are tax-free distributions in retirement and no mandatory withdrawals due to age. Compare the trade-offs of Roth IRAs with traditional IRAs, including eligibility limitations, annual contribution limits, and withdrawal considerations.

More Newsletters →