Optimal Wealth Strategies
1223 George C. Wilson Dr.
Augusta, Georgia 30909
What’s in the News
Find out what is going on in the world of financial planning. We direct you to resources that will help you with your goals.
Hotels’ and Restaurants’ Rebound Summer Held Back by Shortages of Everything
Shut for long stretches because of the pandemic, Mississippi River Distilling Co. in LeClaire, Iowa, has been counting on a summer rebound. Crowds have come rushing back. But the distillery and events space can’t find enough workers to serve its customers. And prices...
Child Tax Credit 2021 Expansion: Who Is Eligible for Payments and How Much Are They?
By Richard Ruben Payments will go to about 39 million households The child tax credit is a federal benefit that reduces income tax liability for people with children. It was created in 1997 and since then has expanded several times. It is a credit that reduces taxes...
The Pandemic’s Financial Toll on Women
In April alone, the U.S. lost more than 20 million jobs — increasing the unemployment rate to 14.7%. Researchers say one of the demographics hit hardest during the pandemic is women workers. Women tend to hold a disproportionate number of jobs in industries such as...
What Might Be Next — Inflation or Deflation?
Consumer prices fell by 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, the biggest drop in more than a dozen years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Conversely, prices for grocery items jumped 2.6%, the highest one-month increase in 46 years, with eggs rising...
The Future of Retail Raises More Questions Than Answers
Will we learn to live with less? Some lessons were learned when the U.S. initially closed up shop and told everyone to stay home. For example, we can live without extra-soft, double-ply toilet paper and go a whole weekend without shopping at a store or eating at a...
COVID-19 Analyst Phone Call
Attached is an audio recording we had with one of our analysts March 24th on the current state of the Markets. Its a little long but we figured with everyone quarantined, you'd have some time to listen! Below is Phil's Bio. His firm is what you would call truly...
June Market Update
This not the Fall of 20181. The Fed tightening into a slowing global economy was the cause of the December collapse last year not China/US trade concerns.2. Both the US and China are currently stimulating their economies with monetary and fiscal initiatives; the near...
New Taxes – Part 1
Tax season is nearing, and concern related to the shutdown is in many people’s mind. Currently the IRS has issued a statement they are brining back part of their work force to accept filed tax returns. The IRS has been directed by Congress to pay out refunds from a...
Updates from the IRS
This past tax season the main question I received from my clients was “What will the new tax law change to my tax return next year?” My software was able to give an estimate based on 2017 data however it did not consider companies updating their withholdings half way...
Black Friday and Market Trends
Black Friday came as has Cyber Monday. Black Friday gained its name due to retail stores bringing their budgets into the black due to the massive sales. This amount of spending does wonders for the books of retail stores, but what about the market overall? Since 2000...
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