Congratulations to our NAIFA Quality Award Winners!

Congratulations to Christopher S. Musuneggi and Christine Pikutis-Musuneggi, recipients of the 2015 National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Quality Award.

This award is considered a mark of distinction for financial advisors, and it recognizes Christopher and Christine’s professionalism, quality service provided to clients, adherence to the NAIFA code of ethics, and service to the industry association.

This is Christopher’s third consecutive NAIFA Quality Award. Christine is currently President of NAIFA-PA.

New Year’s Resolutions: Stop Smoking, Lose Weight, Do Estate Planning?

The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
~ Walt Disney

Estate Planning may not be found on a typical list of New Year’s resolutions, but if you have not competed your planning, then it should be. It doesn’t require willpower, it won’t take months to accomplish, and unlike some resolutions, once done, it will not pop up on your list again next year.

Now if you are thinking, I don’t need to do that because I am married and everything I have goes to my spouse; or everything I have is in a joint name; or, I don’t really own anything, so there isn’t anything to plan for…well, if these were valid reasons not to do a will (and in reality they are not!), they are still not reasons to go without a Power of Attorney or Living Will, which are essential parts of Estate Planning.

These are not reasons to have not updated your beneficiaries, or not prepared your Family Letter, or not done your Pre-Planning, or not reviewed the way your assets are titled. There is a whole lot more to Estate Planning than just having a will. And trying to save a few hundred dollars by not planning can often end up costing you or your heirs thousands of dollars.

Although having these documents was always important, in today’s world they are critical. Over the years, our firm has too often had to be a party to situations where the lack of correct documents has cost our clients time and money, put strains on their businesses, and even caused rifts in their relationships with family members.

And even if you do have these documents, you need to be sure they are not outdated. When you update your documents, be sure to contact us so that we can help to coordinate your beneficiaries with your updated wills.

If you have assets in your own name, you need a Power of Attorney. Your Power of Attorney is the person who can handle your assets if you are unable to. Appointing a Power of Attorney is not the same as adding someone else’s name to the account, which could cause a gifting issue or other serious problems. Many married couples believe that because all of their accounts are held jointly, they do not need a Power of Attorney. But IRA’s are owned individually, and if you are disabled your spouse cannot automatically act on your behalf for these accounts. And if you are the person who normally handles an account for another, such as a parent or even a spouse, there may be times that you need to act on their behalf when they are not here to sign or give consent. A Power of Attorney can help to resolve this issue, too. Remember that in accord with privacy laws, our firm is not permitted to give a child, a sibling, or even a spouse information on another individual’s account without written permission.

Once your planning is done, it will provide you with such peace of mind. But to finalize the process, you have to take one more step: introduce your Power of Attorney and your Executor to your Financial Advisor. If you are a client of our firm, we will ask you for a copy of your Power of Attorney. We will want to be sure that we can help if the time comes when you need our help the most. And we want to meet these important people before that time arises. That way they will be comfortable with us, and we will not need to get to know each other during a crisis.

So now as you are writing that list of resolutions, just remember…Stop smoking. Great! Lose weight. Good! Do your Estate Planning. Absolutely!

Yes, Christopher, There is a Santa Claus 

Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.”  — Frank P. Church, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”

 

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

With the onset of the Holiday Season, I find it easy to recall the days of my childhood and the memories of my Christmases past. When I was young, on random Saturdays, my mother and I would ride the streetcar to downtown and get off under the Kaufmann’s clock. I still remember the department store Christmas windows as we walked along Smithfield Street. I remember the bells of the Salvation Army Santa. I remember the Christmas music that filled the air.

The wonderful Christmas memories and traditions of my past are probably the reason that the Holiday Season is still as exciting to me as it was when I was a child. I have never let go of the joy and delight that the season can bring. I have never forgotten the Spirit of the Holiday. And I have never stopped believing in Santa Claus.

Almost 30 years ago, when my son, Christopher, was 10 years old, a group of his friends had 2013 gathered in our family room to play video games. The boys were talking about the hottest new game on the street, and as I passed by, Christopher called out to me, “Mom, can you buy this new game for me for Christmas?” I responded with, “We will see. Maybe Santa Claus will bring it for you.” With that the other boys began to laugh as they chided him with “You mean you still believe in Santa Claus?” And in a voice barely above a whisper, hoping I would not hear, Christopher replied, “No, I don’t; but my Mom still does.”

And I do. I believe in the Santa Claus that helps us find the time that we never seem to have the rest of the year. The time to shop and decorate and bake. I believe in the Santa that helps us find the extra energy needed to write out the cards, to wrap the gifts, to attend the parties, to cook the dinner. I still believe in the Santa Claus who in years where money was tight, somehow made it appear to help to pay for the gifts and the tree and the new outfits. And I believe in the Santa Claus that brings family and friends closer and makes us wish for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All, no matter what the state of the world might be.

Although for some the holiday season may seem lackluster with the state of the economy, the endless negative news from the media, issues facing the country or because of personal or family concerns, more than ever, once again, I believe that Santa will appear bringing the blessings of faith and hope; the kindness of strangers and the love of family and friends; the miracle of sharing; the knowledge that all we have is all we need; and the realization that we still live in the greatest country in the world.

And when years have gone by these blessings will still exist, and hopefully our current struggles will be lost memories and Santa will continue to be part of Christmas.

We at The Musuneggi Financial Group wish this year that the miracle of Santa will be part of this Holiday Season for everyone we know.

Friends Helping Friends

Preparing for a Visit from Uncle Sam

Death, taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.”  ~ Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

Was this the year…

…You retired?

…You bought a house? You sold a house?

…You had a child? Your child moved out?

…You withdrew from your IRA? You got your pension?

…You started taking Social Security?

…You got divorced or had a spouse that died?

…You bought a business? You closed a business? You sold a business?

…You bought an investment? You sold an investment? You cashed in Savings Bonds?

Any of all of the above may affect what you owe the IRS or what they will owe you.

I make it a rule to not give the IRS more than I have to, especially in advance; but I also don’t want any surprises in April, and I don’t want to find I owe them more than I anticipated. To be sure I am on track my accountant does a mock return in the fall. She reviews those items that might add to my tax burden and reviews those items that might give me a tax break. Then she projects what this all might look like come tax time next year.

If I am on track we are good. If I have over paid, I stop withholding (more money for Christmas gifts). And if I am behind, I have months to catch up instead of grasping for a lump sum of funds on April 15^th.

This is particularly important if you are withdrawing from an IRA. You may be withholding taxes, so the hope is that you are on track. But if you are withholding more than necessary, you will only be paying taxes on money that could have continued to be tax deferred, saving you taxes.

So reach out to your accountant or CPA and ask them to do a mock return. If you do not have an accountant, we will be glad to refer you to one of the trusted professionals who are part of our Resource Group.

And by the way, if the whole tax structure makes you question your intelligence, remember it was Albert Einstein who said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”

Saving “the Savings”

One of my mentors from many years ago used to have an expression: “No one has a monopoly on the great ideas.” This was a reminder that we can learn from everyone. Friends. Family. Children. Employers. Employees. Strangers. Associates. Competitors. Anyone and Everyone.

But he also reminded me that learning requires listening.

Knowing this, I am always listening for the next great idea. And in a recent meeting with a client, I heard a great idea. When I hear a great idea, I always ask the source if I can steal it…and this time was no different.

I stole the idea of saving “the savings.”

My client and his spouse review their receipts from the grocery store and look at the bottom where it says “You have saved this amount.” They take that amount of money and put it away in savings. What a great idea! This is, after all, a reward for being a great shopper. They could have shopped somewhere else and not saved money by using their rewards card or coupons. But because they were smart shoppers, they saved money. And they continue to save. Over time those savings accumulate and can be used for other wants or needs.

It is like those people who save their change at the end of the day. Or those who payroll deduct their savings into their credit union account. Or those who have their investing done systematically from their checking account. Anything that is fun. Anything that is easy.

According to a March 2015 article in USA Today, one-third of Americans have no savings and 47% of Americans have enough money to pay for only 90 days of living expenses. At the same time, a study by the Bureau of Labor says when people lose their jobs, the average length of unemployment will be 31.7 weeks.

So let’s save “the savings” from the grocery store, the gas station, the pharmacy, and anywhere else that lets us know how much we have saved that day. Life has a way of costing money when we least expect it, and saving “the savings” may just save the day. What a great idea!

Wisdom & Market Timing

A wise man once said that the best way not to be hit by a train is not to be on the tracks. Could this hold up as an analogy for the stock market? Watch the Wisdom of Marketing Timing video from our partners at Dunham & Associates to find out.

Feel free to pass this along to family and friends. If you or they have any questions, we are here to help!

MFG Named One of Pittsburgh’s Fastest Growing Companies!

Using Emotion as Your Investment Guide?

As the market climbs and falls, your emotions are probably following suit. But could letting emotions guide your investment decisions cost you returns? In their latest Calm, Steady and Common Sense video, our partners at Dunham & Associates look at why emotions aren’t necessarily the best advisors:

Feel free to pass this along to family and friends. If you or they have any questions, we are here to help!

Is There Hope in a Bear Market?

Wondering if there’s hope in a bear market? Our partners at Dunham & Associates think so. Watch this video to learn why.

Feel free to pass this along to family and friends who are curious about the bear market, too. If you or they have any questions, we are here to help!