Getting out of a timeshare is nearly impossible, and there is a new scammer hitting the airwaves with various “solutions” to get out of your timeshare—guaranteed (well maybe not­­). I just returned from my annual golf vacation with my wife, sister-in-law, and brother in-law. For the past several years we have taken advantage of their timeshare ownership and it has been wonderful. Upon my return, I came across several articles warning about timeshare ownership and the relatively new wave […]

  As we continue delving deeper and deeper into the financial picture of retirees and pre-retirees, the psychology behind how people think about retirement is really interesting.  A mentor of mine once told me that we should “retire” the word retirement as it doesn’t mean much anymore with the changing landscape of work, family, and the economy. In fact, there have been several studies that suggest the majority of individuals working today will probably continue working into retirement. “What’s My […]

  I was looking through my e-mails and blog posts this week, and came across an article that piqued my interest. I have to confess that, every month my cable bill shows up, I have a mini meltdown. I was looking over the bill one night when my wife looked at me and said, “What are you looking at? You look like someone you know just died!” In a manner of speaking, she was right, another part of my paycheck […]

  The population in Illinois is growing, but in the wrong direction. It is growing smaller! Late last year, the Census confirmed that the number of people living here declined for the fifth consecutive year, enough to drop the state from fifth-largest — a position it had held for decades — to sixth, behind Pennsylvania. Over the past few decades, about 65,000 more people voluntarily left the state each year than arrived. This was neither shocking, nor worrisome. Then came 2014. That year, with […]

  The biggest and most significant component of a strong retirement plan is that its a guide to help you make informed decisions on the things that are most important to you in your Golden Years. Needless to say, there are a number of important decisions that most people must make when reaching their 60’s. One, of course, is when to begin receiving Social Security benefits. There are a number of tools that help us determine the possible scenarios here. […]

  OK, so you’ve been working for the last oh… 30-40 years or so and the following thought has begun popping into your head at least a number of times recently… I think I’d like to retire early! Retiring early is an exciting idea! No more work stress, all the free-time in the world and the ability to get out there and have some fun and enjoy all those hobbies you’ve been waiting to have time for. What will you […]

  At SGL, we encourage every client to have a trusted attorney and CPA whenever they deal with tax and estate matters, but we also try to educate our retirement and pre-retirement clients and provide them basic information to arrive prepared for meetings with these professionals. Many of our clients have done a fair amount of planning for their own retirement needs but many clients are lost, or at a minimum confused, when the discussion of legacy and estate planning […]

  Brexit keeps turning up in the news but how important is it really and what impact could it have on us in the U.S.? These 9 Brexit lessons will have everyone listening to you the next time Brexit comes up in a conversation. We’ll take a look at how Brexit started, where it stands today and what the future might mean for all of us here at home. Let’s start by breaking down what “Brexit” means. Brexit is a […]

  Just the other day I received a phone call from one of our long-time clients. This client had just completed their tax return and had a pretty eye-opening question. She asked me, “Trent, I’m tired of all of these taxes in Illinois and, as you know, I have a place down in Florida where I spend a lot of my time in my retirement years. Can I claim Florida as my resident state to save on some of these […]