No one is immune from financial scams and identity theft slams. Whether you are young or old, wealthy or poor, or transacting business in person or online, you have be aware that bad guys are out there, devising new tricks for every fraud we fix.

Who are they? Financial fraudsters are after your assets, while identity thieves are out to steal your personal information – which they may then use to commit financial fraud.

As we move toward the final quarter of 2018, it’s a good time to consider how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will impact your current and future tax plans. One of the frequently asked questions we’ve been fielding is on charitable giving: How can you keep giving, and get a little back on your taxes? Following are four practical possibilities to consider for charitable giving under the TCJA rules.

Here at Align Wealth Management, we try to keep financial jargon to a minimum. But some references are worth translating, because there is valuable information behind the mumbo-jumbo.

Consider us your interpreter. Today, we’ll explore correlation, and why it is a key element of evidence-based investing.

It’s been approximately a decade since the Great Recession began. By the end of 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve had lowered the fed funds rate to near zero and embarked on a campaign of “quantitative easing,” delivering a booster shot of lending, borrowing, and spending to revive the economy. Now the Fed is reversing course, restoring monetary policy and targeting historical norms by gradually raising interest rates and tightening policy.

The death of a great First Lady transcends politics. Our nation just laid Barbara Bush to rest, and Americans have been deeply moved by her devotion to family and nation – and to her spouse, former President George H.W. Bush, now a widower after 73 years of marriage. Most of us would feel incredibly blessed to have such an enduring marriage. And it’s almost impossible to imagine what it must be like to move forward alone.