Tag: Rick Brooks and Blankinship & Foster

Ukraine and the Volatility in the Stock Market

| March 5, 2022 | 0 Comments

As I write this article, Russia has finally made its move into Ukraine. After building up troops along the Ukrainian border, Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale assault on Ukraine with the stated objective of replacing its government. I don’t want to minimize the impact this would have on Ukraine, which will be devastating, but the […]

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To Roll or Not to Roll; What to do With Your 401(k)

| February 6, 2022 | 0 Comments

Every year, millions of Americans change jobs or retire and leave the workforce entirely. Most are faced with a seemingly inconsequential choice: what to do with your company 401k plan. Almost every financial advisor (including yours truly) will recommend rolling funds out of your company retirement plan and into a rollover IRA (that they can […]

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Planning is the Key to Goal Achievement

| January 2, 2022 | 0 Comments

I recently had the pleasure of joining my clients for the christening of their new boat. It was one of those rare experiences when you can share the moment as a lifelong dream comes true. This dream was a long time coming and was the result of a lot of hard work and planning. One […]

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Giving Thanks Two Years Into a Pandemic

| December 4, 2021 | 0 Comments

The past couple of years have been challenging on many levels. There were ups and downs, to be sure. Having my adult daughter living at home for almost a full year was wonderful, though we all agreed it was best when she moved back to school to finish her graduate degree. Not spending 90 minutes […]

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Insuring Your New eBike

| October 31, 2021 | 0 Comments
Insuring Your New eBike

During the Pandemic, I’ve seen more and more people out riding electric bicycles (“eBikes”) than ever before. In downtown San Diego, they’ve become pretty common, as they do make the hills a lot easier to navigate. So, I was intrigued recently when we were discussing property and casualty insurance market with our resident specialist and […]

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Privacy in Today’s Social Media World

| October 4, 2021 | 0 Comments

At Blankinship & Foster, we spend a LOT of time thinking about security and privacy to protect our clients’ hard-earned assets. So, when I set up a Venmo account recently to pay a buddy of mine for some football tickets, I was horrified by the amount of information available publicly. As I was setting up […]

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What is Sustainable Investing?

| August 12, 2021 | 0 Comments

One of the more interesting trends in the investment industry is a shift by investors towards a greater use of sustainable investment strategies. This isn’t a new thing, but it is a trend that has been accelerating in recent years as global warming has become more of a concern. So it begs the question, just […]

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Don’t Let Taxes Alone Drive Your Investment Decisions

| July 3, 2021 | 0 Comments

Taxes are a factor that has to be considered when making investment decisions, but they are not the only factor. As we’ve often said: don’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog. Planning investment decisions around existing tax rates is relatively straight forward. You can estimate your income and your capital gains for the […]

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The Three Secrets to a Satisfying Retirement

| June 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

As we work towards retirement, the financial services and marketing industries bombard us with images of happy people traveling, playing golf and walking on the beach; a permanent vacation. The reality is a bit more mundane: the average retiree spends most of their time (after sleeping) watching television. For those preparing for retirement (and even […]

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Medicare Advantage has a (VERY) dark side

| May 2, 2021 | 0 Comments

If you’ve been stuck at home watching TV for the past 12 months, you’ve almost certainly seen at least one ad in which Joe Namath, the former NFL star, is promising all kinds of perks if you sign up for Medicare Advantage instead of ‘regular’ Medicare. It sounds like a great deal, and in some […]

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