Asset Planning, Inc Blog

The latest from the team.

Call 714-827-5794  to make a free consulation with Erin 

Erin Nelsen, CFP® is a fee-only fiducary Financial Advisor that manages portfolios & conducts hourly financial planning for Asset Planning.  Erin holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ & Registered Investment Advisor Representative professional designations.  Erin has expertise in...

Call 714-827-5794  to make a free consulation with Erin 

Erin Nelsen, CFP® is a fee-only fiducary Financial Advisor that manages portfolios & conducts hourly financial planning for Asset Planning.  Erin holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ & Registered Investment Advisor Representative professional designations.  Erin has expertise in various financial planning areas such as investments, taxes, estate divisions, public and private pension options, Social Security, real estate, insurance analysis, recent widow planning, and many other complex financial issues that arise.  Erin has been with Asset Planning since April 2007. Erin is thankful to have found her perfect forever firm. Asset Planning holds a high standard of care for both its clients and staff, and everyone is truly valued as family. 

An Orange County native, Erin earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Cal State Fullerton. Erin completed the Personal Financial Program at CSUF. Erin is an active member of the Orange County Financial Planning Association and has been a volunteer teacher of personal finance to elementary kids through the community outreach program Junior Achievement. 

Erin Nelsen is a Fee-Only Financial Advisor and a member of NAPFA, the largest Fee-Only Network Financial Planners. Fee-Only means Erin is only compensated directly by her clients & does not sell products nor accept commissions for the investments she recommends. Erin is proud to have built her career solely on the independent Fee-Only side of the Wealth Management industry. Erin is among an elite group of Financial Advisors held to the Fiduciary Standard. As a Fiduciary, she is required to put a client's interest above her own. Ethical, appropriate, & skilled professional care is our solid promise to all clients. 

When Erin is not at the job she loves, she is busy tending to her garden, caring for her family, attending concerts, traveling, floating in her pool, or scouting out new restaurants to try with her husband/college sweetheart of 18 years. Erin's  household is blessed with a son, daughter (both in college), two  nephews (orphaned), a Sheltie dog, & two royal cats that rule her household. 

More

Social Security Disability Payments Expanded

Social Security disability payments have been expanded to include individuals with early onset Alzheimer's. Prior to the Social Security Administration's ruling, young individuals with Alzheimer's were faced with lengthy legal battles to qualify as disabled and receive benefits. To learn move about the changes you can visit the Alzheimer's Association and the Social Security websites.

Erin

Continue reading
  1823 Hits

New Credit Card Rules

New credit card rules went into effect today. The legislation hopes to mitigate confusing credit card practices and help consumers manage their debt. Below you will find a summary of the new credit card rules moving forward:

  • Bills will be due at the same time each month
  • Notification of your payment due date must be mailed 21 days prior
  • Information regarding your account must be in "plain language & in plain sight"
  • Bills must include how much interest is charged for paying the minimum due
  • Calculations must be sent showing the pay off date if you only make the minimum payment & how much cardholders must pay to clear the balance in 3 years
  • Nearly all interest rate hikes are prohibited on outstanding balances
  • Consumers will be notified 45 days before any interest rate increases
  • No interest rate increases are allowed in the year following the account's origination
  • Automatic enrollment in over limit/draft programs are prohibited
  • Most under age 21 must prove assets and or income equal or greater than the credit limit to be approved for credit or have a co-signer.

Erin

Continue reading
  1836 Hits

Roth Conversion Raises Medicare Costs

With all the talk of Roth conversions in 2010, I’d like to bring attention to a little known consequence of doing a Roth conversion- it increases your income and therefore could trigger a higher Medicare premium.  Currently, most retirees pay $96.40 for part B coverage. However, if you claim the conversion income over one and/or two years you will likely be push into a very high income bracket and therefore have higher Medicare premiums for those corresponding years. To help with your planning, see Medicare’s income thresholds and subsequent premiums below:

Income

Monthly Medicare Premium

Individuals

Married Couples

$85,001   to $107,000

$170,001 to $214,000

$154.70

$107,001 to $160,000

$214,001 to $320,000

$221.00

$160,001 to $214,000

$320,001 to $428,000

$287.30

$214,001 or more

$428,001 or more

$353.60



Erin 

Continue reading
  1952 Hits

TD Ameritrade Doubles FDIC Insurance

We are very pleased to announce that TD Ameritrade has arranged so our clients will receive double the amount of FDIC insurance for their cash. TD Ameritrade joint accounts will now have up to 1 million dollars in FDIC coverage and up to $500,000 in protection for individual accounts. TD Ameritrade is able to do this by adding a second bank under their umbrella. No action is needed on your part to get the extra insurance.

Erin

Continue reading
  2288 Hits

Free Seminar on Alzheimer's Detection & Treatment

Mariners Church, Irvine
January 16, 2010
1p.m. - 3 p.m.

Patty Barnett Mouton, Director of Education & Public Policy, Alzheimer's Association, Orange County Chapter will discuss how to detect and treat the early signs of Alzheimer's and related disorders.

The event is offered online to those that can not attend in-person.

For event registration and details click here

Continue reading
  1788 Hits

Reverse Mortgage Guidelines

You have to be careful with what you're getting yourself into when it comes to reverse mortgages. Many retirees take out reverse mortgages to generate cash to live on without having to sell their home. While this type of product makes sense for some individuals, many find themselves paying excessive fees for an unnecessary product. To help consumers navigate the world of reverse mortgages the U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued the following guidelines:

1. Explore other loan products such as home equity lines of credit & cash out refinances first

2. Reverse mortgages are generally too costly if you plan to stay in your home for less than 10 years

3. Be cautious of agents that try to sell you other products, such as annuities, in addition to the reverse mortgage

4. Consult with a counselor from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development before you commit to anything

5. If you do get a reverse mortgage, make sure the loan is insured under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) so that if the lender can't or won't continue payments, the government will.

The complete guidelines on reverse mortgages can be viewed here

Erin

Continue reading
  1871 Hits

Protecting yourself against U.S. Census worker imposters

The Better Business Bureau, in its consumer alert dated May 5, 2009, offers guidelines to protect yourself from imposters posing as U.S. Census workers in order to steal your identity.

The 2010 U.S. Census will require hundreds of thousands of government employees to gather sensitive information from each household occupant. You are required by law to answer their questions. Unfortunately, this is the opportune time for criminals to impersonate U.S. Census workers in order to steal your personal and financial information. The Better Business Bureau offers the following tips to protect your self against identify theft:

1. U.S. Census workers can be identified by their badge, handheld device, Census Bureau canvas bag, and will carry a confidentiality notice. Be sure to verify their badge and identification before answering any questions.

2. Census Workers will only gather address information on door to door visits. U.S. Census workers do not need to enter your home.

3. The Census Bureau will not ask for your social security number, bank account numbers, or credit card numbers. They will ask for vague financial information such as household salaries.

4. The Census Bureau will NOT email you. Official workers will only contact you by phone, door to door, or mail.

Erin

Continue reading
  2050 Hits

California Budget Deal

Today lawmakers announced that a deal had been reached to close California's 26 billion dollar deficit. We are anxiously awaiting the details as voting is scheduled to begin tonight. The final details of the budget will be released in the next couple of days. News reports of the deal show the largest cuts to higher education, prisons, and Medi-Cal. Primary grades will also face large cuts however federal stimulus money will help make up the difference. The cuts will be painful but necessary. The state,like our own households, can't spend beyond their means forever.

We will provide more analysis as the details of the budget are released.

Continue reading
  1767 Hits

Orange County home prices will still decline as median price rises

Today the Orange County Register's May Housing Report reported a $30,000 rise in the OC median home price from April to May 2009. The reported gain in the median price misleads many into believing the housing market has bottomed. On the contrary, a rise in the median could signal we are headed for more price declines. An understanding of how the median is calculated and the stages of foreclosures in Orange County will help to see what the future holds.

The median home price reflects the exact mid point in a line up of all the homes sold from lowest to highest. For example, consider the 7 home transactions below. The $450,000 house that falls in the middle is the median.

$250,000- $300,000- $300,000- $450,000- $450,000- $550,000- $2,000,000

The flaw with the median is if a few pricier homes outnumber the lower priced homes one month or vice versa the median can rise or fall due to the make up of homes sold. Consider the following make up home sales:

Month 1- Seven homes sell for the following prices:

$200,000- $200,000- $250,000- $250,000 - $300,000- $500,000- $500,000 Median=$250,000

Month 2 - Seven Homes sell for the following prices:

$200,000- $250,000- $250,000- $300,000- $500,000- $500,000- $500,000 Median=$300,000

In this example the median price increased 20% in one month. This can be deceptive, though, because prices could be stagnant with the cause of the increase being due to the fact that one less home sold for $200,000 and one more home sold for $500,000. Another possibility for an increase in the median, and which is the case in Orange County, is when higher priced homes decline it attracts more buyers. So in actuality prices are falling but the median is rising. This makes perfect sense if you consider the cycle of foreclosures the market is going through.

This first wave of foreclosures from 2007 to 2008 was due to sub-prime loans which correspond to the lower tiers of the market. The large price declines at the low end spurred buying among first time buyers and investors. Inventory is declining for the inexpensive homes as the foreclosures in this category begin to tamper off. The higher end homes have yet to correct as much as the entry level homes. The delay is due to the Alt-A and Option Arm loans associated with pricier homes that are just starting to go bad. 2009 is showing record foreclosures in the upper tiers of the market. From April to May Foreclosure Radar reports California foreclosure auctions are up 75% from March to May with distressed sales increasing in the upper tiers of the market. The result is increasing price declines for larger homes. The Register reports that Orange County's pricey coastal region experienced the second to highest price drop from a year ago.

The bottom line is home prices will continue to decline with the largest drops in the higher end and a flattening out of prices in the lower end. The good news is we need home prices to return to an affordable level to diversify our local economy and sustain growth. Homes need to be affordable so enough money is left to spend on other goods and services. The positive effects of affordability returning to the market can already be seen in the rebounds in consumer discretionary spending in the last few months.

Continue reading
  1888 Hits

Search Blogs Module

Wait a minute, while we are rendering the calendar
Orange County Superior Court home break-ins phishing sites app Federal Trade Commission website pets student loans ice cream parking spots TD Ameritrade Economic Security cell phone carriers October 1 2020. home security 20 year anniversary tax deadline DNA test kits prescription eyeglasses CA FTB January 10 borrowing money policy people medications September 9 pet industry Puerto Rico February 14 2017 Equifax breach tax filing deadlines years Coronavirus Aid Retirement Contribution Limits spam phone Medicare pet home emergency kit CFP ® credit score July weekend home emergency preparedness kits water … 2018 IRA contributions estate account numbers information Facebook emergency kits Asset Planning phone companies asset Planning Expired medications April 15 car loans trustee D premiums paper records Flexible Spending Account life saver Amazon media accounts https :// https ://seekingalpha trust Mobile Banking Security Tips Open House April 18 2017. Social Security Administration operations manager chip-enabled EMV cards Medicare Advantage phishing scams COVID -19 virus items payments team members estate planning direction Charles Schwab interest Kiplinger Letter emergency kit donation counts retirement tax deadlines self-help topics pet donation drive web address records notary services phone September 30 2020. identity theft consumer spending emergency folder home Notary Public offering insurance July 6 card reader Fox News story jury duty contribution limit banking September 8 toilet paper flash drive president Trump earthquake app credit freeze Wells Fargo employees Medicare Part B premiums retirement accounts earnings fallout news coverage National Ice Cream month vacation CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER exam June 29 rescue organizations Roth IRA health care costs text messages 900 number debt fun atmosphere official certification opt-out Joey Gonzales portal credit card company 2017 TD Ameritrade National LINC Conference cell phone service provider identity thieves cell phone SIM swap scam company cell phones business hours integral member Two-Step Verification house sitter partner /owner clients Victor Dergunov FSA 4 pm -8pm cell phone carriers offer breach VOIP landline phones EEChecklist-Kits.pdf stockpilingchecklist.pdf vision screening Open Enrollment illiegal robocallers Kraig Mathias coronavirus interest rates check lists credit card fraud Treasury Department “ skimmer ”. 401K 70 1/2. Brexit vote IRS deadline retirement plans CARES Act Legal robocalls Orange County checklists Social Security privacy settings clone counterfeits drive /usb market turmoil IRS ice cream event Medicare plan assets Labor Day tax returns Independence Day email notifications April 11 credit cards Shred paperwork fees relief efforts markets gap insurance 2017 IRA contributions paperwork clutter tax season Ice Cream Social Auto insurance tax records holidays approach client portal July 3 rd stimulus package estate planning July 4 blog post ID card information settlement options health care services California Lions Friends Part B pet supplies privacy notices Healthcare retirement planning bottom line Part D premiums . non-prescripstion sunglasses Financial Planning Magazine donation items 23 andme scams wells Fargo stock pile family members Affordable Care Act Erin Nelsen padlock birth certificates Wells Fargo customers credit monitoring service insurance policy money insurance policies spread FEMA website Facebook profile fun facts summer clients show support home mortgages disaster areas increase documents executive order Medicare question Medicare Part B Supplemental Security Income driver license IRA accounts memorial Day weekend spring cleaning investment statements hurricane Dorian cell phone provider