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Articles by Joy Lanceta Coronel
What Is the Alternative Minimum Tax?
For years, the Alternative Minimum Tax was something many taxpayers could safely ignore – but that’s changing. AMT is set to make a comeback in 2026, especially for higher earners, people with complex income or those who rely heavily on certain deductions. Understanding how AMT works now could help you avoid an unpleasant surprise when you file your 2026 tax return.
When Can You Take a 401k Hardship Withdrawal?
Everyone knows that 401ks are meant for retirement – but 2025 saw a record rate of “hardship” withdrawals, which are 401k withdrawals taken before retirement. It’s a concerning trend, both because it indicates that some Americans are out of financial options – their emergency funds have been exhausted or simply don’t exist – and because it will eventually have a much larger long-term impact on their readiness for retirement.
How to Reduce Financial Stress and Build Confidence
Money stress is incredibly common, especially during periods of uncertainty. Rising costs, fluctuating markets and persistent debt can make it feel like your financial life is happening to you, not something you’re actively steering. But if you want to know how to manage money better, here’s some great news: Reducing financial stress isn’t about controlling everything. It’s about gaining clarity on what you can control and then taking small, consistent steps as you go.
What Is a Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET)?
Pass-through entity tax is a relatively new tax planning option that grew out of a major shift in federal tax law. When new limits on state and local tax (sometimes called SALT) deductions went into effect in 2018, the after-tax cost of owning a pass-through business suddenly increased, especially for owners in higher-tax states. In response, many states moved quickly to create PTET as a way to soften that blow.
How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Child?
If you’ve ever seen a headline about the “eye-popping” cost of raising a child, you’ve probably wondered how anyone makes the math work. The truth is, raising kids is expensive – but it’s not the same amount of expensive for everyone, and you don’t pay the tab all at once. The long-term cost of parenting shifts over time, differs by region and lifestyle, and often looks very different in practice than on paper. That’s why averages are most useful as a starting point.
Building Credit for Young Adults: A Parent’s Guide
Every parent wants to give their kids a strong start. But while we spend years talking about safety, study habits and social media use, one critical life skill often slips through the cracks: establishing credit early and using it wisely. The transition from “my parents handle this” to “I’m responsible for this” happens fast, and young adults with no credit history can find themselves shut out of opportunities they’re otherwise ready for.
Financial Planning After Major Life Changes
The Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms list, an annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative criteria. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its advisory business in its entirety with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in November 2018. For the same survey, FEA received a precombination ranking of 12th.
Helping Your Child Buy a House: Smart Planning Steps
Over the past few years, record-high housing prices along with generationally high interest rates have combined to make buying a home seemingly impossible for a lot of young adults. For a lot of people, the challenge isn’t necessarily being able to afford the monthly payments – it’s saving up tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment while the cost of living is so high and wages haven’t always kept pace.
Tender Offer Explained: What Investors Should Know
If you own stocks, you’re no doubt familiar with a well-known way to buy or sell them: on a stock exchange, via a middleman known as a broker, who helps match up buyers and sellers. But there are other ways to buy and sell shares, one of which is a tender offer. In a tender offer, the investor or company looking to buy shares makes an offer to a group of people (all shareholders or those in a certain class) to buy their shares at a specific price.
A Step-by-Step Guide
When someone you love passes away, taxes are probably the last thing you want to think about – yet they still need to be handled. The good news? Filing a final return is often simpler than it seems. In a nutshell, the IRS requirements for a deceased person say that if they would've been required to file a federal tax return if they had lived, then a return needs to be filed on their behalf.
Standard Deduction vs Itemized: Key Tax Differences Explained
Life these days comes with a lot of decisions. Unlike choosing which fast-casual restaurant to grab dinner from or which TV show to binge next, this one’s easy. When you’re deciding between the standard deduction and itemizing, the right option is usually just the one that keeps more money in your pocket. So, which is it for you? The standard deduction lets you subtract a specific amount of income that you’re not federally taxed on – you just cut that amount right out on your tax return.
Do you pay tax on a life insurance payout?
When a loved one passes, the last thing you want to worry about is a surprise tax bill. So, it’s no wonder one of the most common questions beneficiaries ask is: “Do I owe taxes on a life insurance payout?” There’s some good news: In most cases, the answer is no. Life insurance benefits paid due to death are generally received tax‑free, just as they’re intended. But (and there’s often a “but” when the IRS is involved), a few exceptions can change the answer.
Elder Financial Fraud and Scams: How to Recognize, Prevent and Plan Ahead
Elder fraud is an increasing issue that affects tens of thousands of older adults every year. Seniors are often targeted because they’ve potentially accumulated significant savings, tend to be trusting and sometimes experience cognitive or health-related changes that make them more vulnerable.
What is the SALT Deduction and How Does it Work?
The SALT deduction lets you deduct some kinds of state and local taxes (SALT, get it?) on your federal tax return if you itemize. But there’s a cap on how much you can deduct. Recent legislation increased the SALT deduction cap to $40,000 – but only for now, and not for the highest-income taxpayers. This may provoke some questions as to how this could apply to you, so let’s take a look at how it all works. First, let’s start with the basic question of what’s included within that capped amount.
How to Plan for Retirement Community Costs and Assisted Living Expenses
The good news: We’re living longer. The not-so-good news: The financial cost of living – and living longer – is consistently trending higher. If a retirement community is part of your plan – whether it’s independent living, assisted living, memory care, a nursing home or a continuing care retirement community – the mix of location, amenities, contract structure and level of care will shape what you spend over time.
How to Talk to Your Parents About Finances
You’ve probably had conversations with your parents about money. The thing is, they were mostly likely about your money ... how to save and invest your early paychecks ... the right amount to spend on your first house ... options for covering child care expenses when you’re just scraping by as a young family. Talking to your parents about their money flips the script, and that’s why it can be so hard.
Planning for Aging Parents: A Guide to Long-Term Care Decisions
The Barron’s 2024 Top 100 RIA Firms list, a nine-year annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative factors. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2024 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Engines as the top mega RIA. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its entire advisory business with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in Nov.
Living Trust vs Will
The Barron’s 2024 Top 100 RIA Firms list, a nine-year annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative factors. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2024 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Engines as the top mega RIA. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its entire advisory business with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in Nov.
What Donors Need to Know
The Barron’s 2024 Top 100 RIA Firms list, a nine-year annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative factors. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2024 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Engines as the top mega RIA. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its entire advisory business with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in Nov.
From Tariff Turbulence to a Strong Finish
By: Bill Tracy, Portfolio Manager Innovation isn’t just for AI; it’s found in every corner of tech, including ones you might not think of, like, say … roller coasters. For coaster enthusiasts, no amount of adrenaline is enough, and the tech needs to keep finding new ways to thrill them; Six Flags Over Texas is about to launch a six-world-record-holding behemoth in 2026 that includes something called a “giga dive.” But when it comes to investing? Most of us would prefer a smoother ride.
Why the 60/40 Portfolio Still Works in 2025
Remember back in 2022 when headlines declared the 60/40 portfolio dead? (Not our headlines, to be clear.) The media loves declaring things “over,” and they’re often wrong – happily in the case of diversification, not so much when it comes to trends we’d all rather leave behind. Admittedly, 2022 was rough. Stocks fell. Bonds fell. U.S., international – red across the board. Diversification seemed like it had just ghosted investors.
What High Earners Need to Know
The Barron’s 2024 Top 100 RIA Firms list, a nine-year annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative factors. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2024 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Engines as the top mega RIA. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its entire advisory business with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in Nov.
What’s Up With Work? AI, Immigration and the Job Market’s Shifting Balance
“This time is different.” “Welcome to the new normal.” Unless you’re new here, you’ve heard that before. In 2025, it really did feel like it might be true when it comes to work, at a fundamental level. AI stole most of the headlines, but it was also helping mask changes driven by immigration patterns. It’s worth asking: Are we really seeing a fundamental shift in the nature of work or just another economic cycle? Let’s look at the facts.
Inflation, Jobs and Interest Rate Uncertainty
Going into 2026, the Federal Reserve is in a tough spot. After several years, inflation’s still hanging around, and now employment opportunities are shrinking. Unfortunately, “you had one job” doesn’t apply to the Fed: They’re supposed to keep prices stable and keep people working.
Understanding the American Opportunity Tax Credit
Paying for college can feel ... overwhelming. After all, average tuition and fees for a 4-year private university hit a staggering $43k in 2024, and the average student loan debt for 2023 grads with loans was almost $30k. Have your sights set on college in New England? Prepare to dish out even more – institutions there are seeing an all-time high for total annual attendance costs of $90,000 or more.
Is the Market in an AI Bubble? What Investors Should Know.
You’d have to be living under a rock – or shall we say, in a bubble – not to have heard the rumors: Are we in an AI bubble? If you remember the dot-com bubble of the late ’90s-early 2000s or the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, you might be feeling a little déjà vu. So, should you be worried? And more importantly, what should you do about it? To be clear, we’ve never known for sure that we were in a bubble at the time it was happening.
Should Investors Worry About a Crisis?
Increasingly, the national debt is making headlines – especially given 2025’s heated debates about taxes, spending and the money it takes to keep the government running. The numbers are almost unfathomable: As of Nov. 12, 2025, the U.S. government owed $38,121,217,149,187.64. (Yes, it’s tracked to the penny!) That’s up from $4.3 trillion in April 1993, a nearly ninefold increase. But before we panic, let’s ask: Is this a problem for investors? Of course, a dollar today isn’t what it was in 1993.
Why Timing Is Impossible and What Really Matters
If you’ve been feeling uneasy about the economy lately, you’re in good company. Whether it’s tariffs, inflation or the national debt, there’s a lot going on that will be felt in the economy somehow. So as we go into 2026, many people are wondering: “Is a recession coming?” And the answer is: Almost certainly. Oh, you wanted to know when there will be a recession? That’s impossible to answer. Recession talk usually has an ominous note of winter-is-coming impending darkness.
Is the US Dollar Losing Its Crown? Why It Still Reigns Supreme.
Lately, the chatter around “de-dollarization” has gotten louder. From TikTok finance influencers to global think tanks, everyone seems to be asking: Is the U.S. dollar’s reign as “the world’s currency” coming to an end? With America’s rising debt, inflation worries and the rise of alternatives like gold and digital currencies, it’s easy to see why the question is trending. But while the headlines scream uncertainty, the numbers whisper stability.
Key Market Lessons from a Volatile 2025
If 2025 felt like a roller coaster you never asked to ride on, you weren’t imagining it. Markets swung harder than most forecasts predicted, and plenty of bold calls – on rate cuts, earnings and inflation – missed the mark. That’s not unusual, but this year was a master class in humility for anyone trying to outwit the market. The good news? Even with all the twists, diversified investors ended up in a solid spot.
How Tariffs Are Driving Up Grocery Prices - What You Need to Know
Chances are, you’ve gotten used to sticker shock at the grocery checkout. Maybe you’ve even progressed through shock to anger and reached acceptance. But lately, are you feeling that things are getting even more expensive again, even as inflation has supposedly come down? It’s not your imagination. Tariffs are likely adding on to existing inflation pressures on many goods, including some groceries. Tariffs are basically taxes on imported goods.
Why Forecasts Often Miss the Mark
Life can feel a little like a sitcom every January – a bit formulaic. You can rest assured that gyms and meal planning services will see record enrollments. People will swear off credit cards, for good this time. It’ll snow in Buffalo. Maybe most predictable will be the annual predictions. Stocks will soar in 2026. Or they’ll tumble into a bear market. The market prognostication happens every year.
Social Security Facts and Strategy: Making Smart Decisions
Lately, social media influencers have embraced what politicians have long known: To get attention, talk about Social Security. Whether you’re seeing headlines and posts claiming Social Security will run out of money (it won’t), will stop being taxed (nothing but a campaign idea at this point) or will just plain end as a program (highly unlikely), you can be pretty sure they’re trying to draw you in, not help you.
How to Put a House in a Trust: A Step-by-Step Guide
Scrolling into the wee hours of the night, you may have come across social media influencers encouraging you to place your house into a trust to protect it and your heirs. It sounds complicated and could keep you awake ... Is your house at risk without one? Here’s the reality: Putting your house into a revocable trust (along with all your other assets) could have some benefits for your heirs, and there’s a good chance it’s a smart move for you. It’s not as complicated or scary as it might seem.
Retirement Advice from Retirees: Lessons Worth Knowing
Picture your retirement. It’s fantastic, right? After a life of hard work, you’re rewarded with complete freedom to do whatever you want. But what is that, exactly? How are you paying for it? And are you still physically able to do whatever “it” is? Retirement planning isn’t just about numbers (although there are plenty of those too). Missing important pieces of your planning can lead to regret.
Year-End Money Sprint: 6 Smart Financial Moves to Consider Before 2026
The New Year’s Eve countdown to midnight isn’t just for champagne and confetti. It’s also your last chance to make some smart financial moves before the calendar flips. We know it’s a busy time and you can’t do everything at once. So take a look at our top recommendations for you, depending on your personal situation. Is there a more stressful time than the holidays?
Building a Multigenerational Portfolio: Strategies to Help Withstand Economic Shifts
No doubt you’ve noticed the headlines the last few years – houses and cars are near all-time high prices and inflation continues to rear its ugly head for the first time in a generation. Not to mention crushing student loan debt for a lot of people and wages that don’t always keep up. In fact, a large majority of people now think today’s kids will be worse off financially than their parents. If you have (or plan to have) kids, that’s painful to hear.
Curious about whether you can “Recession-Proof” Your Family's Financial Legacy?
You care about your family. And that means you’re never just thinking about today’s needs, but also about how you can set them up for success in the future. A booming economy with lots of jobs, rising salaries and strong financial markets can be really helpful in getting you closer to that goal. But economic shifts are beyond our control. And the truth is, recessions aren’t a matter of if – they’re a matter of when.
Is real estate still king? Exploring asset classes for generational wealth
For anyone who’s lived through the past decade, it would be hard to see ownership of real estate as anything but a big win for your money. Housing values have risen for nearly 15 years, just about doubling nationwide since 2015 (punctuated by a 40% spike during the first couple years of the pandemic alone). It’s true that owning a home can help you build wealth.
Celebrating 20 Years of Institutionally Managed Portfolios
Twenty years isn’t that long, but in some ways it’s a lifetime ago. In 2005, you might have spent Friday nights renting a DVD from Blockbuster, hanging out on MySpace or downloading new music onto your iPod. The idea of accessing the world’s media in your pocket, going somewhere in a self-driving car or having a deep philosophical conversation with AI was still science fiction. But as we know through hindsight, the world was changing fast, and not only in ways that seem so obvious.
Retirement Planning for High-Risk Jobs: What to Know
If your job involves climbing rooftops, hauling heavy loads or navigating stormy seas, you already know the physical demands and risks are real. But have you thought about how those risks could affect your retirement plan? For workers in hazardous professions, planning for the future isn’t just about saving; it’s about building flexibility and protection into your financial strategy.
Charitable Contribution Deduction: Rules, Limits and How to Calculate
Your heart says, “give.” Your wallet says, “hey, watch it!” But what if giving could actually help your finances? With the IRS charitable contribution deduction, your generosity can lower your taxable income – and maybe even your tax bill. Here’s how to make it work for you. Simply put, it’s a tax break for doing good. When you donate to IRS-qualified organizations, you can reduce your taxable income, and that often means a smaller tax bill.
Simplify Your Finances: Why One Plan Can Help You Stress Less
We’ll try to make this quick, because you’re probably skimming it between emails. Oh, wait – was that your phone buzzing? Your work chat pinging? Or just your kids calling you for help with the new WiFi-enabled smart refrigerator? Welcome to the age of hyper-thinking, where your brain is basically running a mental relay race from sunrise to sleep.
What Is a Fiduciary? And Why It Matters When Choosing a Financial Advisor
In April 2024, the Department of Labor expanded regulations requiring investment advice on retirement assets to be in your best interests. While it’s not certain whether these regulations will ultimately be implemented, it doesn’t change anything about how we serve our clients. Edelman Financial Engines has always been a fiduciary and that's not changing, ever.
Optimize Your Medicare Coverage
If you’re seeing pumpkin-spiced everything these days, it must mean 2025 is rapidly coming to a close. Before the holiday season begins (leaving aside whether Halloween counts), there’s one more important calendar event you might need to observe if you’re 65 or older: the Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare. Like an open enrollment benefits period, the Medicare AEP gives you a chance to make sure your coverage best fits your current needs.
Gray Divorce Checklist: Key Financial Moves to Make Before You Sign
Divorce is almost always challenging, emotionally, practically and financially. But getting divorced when you’re over the age of 50 – popularly known as “gray divorce” – adds another layer of complexity. You may be ending a decades-long marriage and not even remember a time when you were on your own. Or perhaps this is a second or third marriage, and there are multiple sets of heirs that will be impacted.
Types of Retirement Income: 7 Reliable Sources to Fund Your Retirement
Retirement is exciting. But it can be a little scary, too. Your work life was probably pretty predictable in a way that retirement won’t necessarily be. One aspect that can be less predictable is your income in retirement. But you do have some control over it. First, you need to understand different ways to generate income in retirement – and the ways you can make them work together to help give you the retirement you want. You surely know what a paycheck is.
Texas Estate Planning Guide: Protect Your Assets and Legacy
Did you know estate planning laws aren’t the same everywhere? You probably think mainly about the federal government’s role when it comes to estate planning – specifically, the estate tax. But most of the rules that dictate what happens to your money and property when you’re gone are at the state level. Texas, like other states, has its own nuances when it comes to estate planning. For example, there’s no estate tax, but Texas’ community property laws can complicate estate planning.
Are You Saving Enough for Retirement by Age?
A lot of people wonder if they really know what they’re doing when it comes to money. After all, very few people get special training on how to handle it. One of the biggest questions you might have is, “Am I saving enough for retirement?” An imperfect way to try to answer that question is to compare yourself to peers and see how you stack up. To be clear, saving more than average doesn’t mean you’re doing everything right, and saving less than average doesn’t mean you’re doomed.
Florida Estate Planning Guide: Help Protect Your Assets and Legacy
Did you know estate planning laws aren’t the same everywhere? You probably think mainly about the federal government’s role when it comes to estate planning – specifically, the estate tax. But most of the rules that dictate what happens to your money and property when you’re gone are at the state level. Florida, like other states, has its own nuances when it comes to estate planning.
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