Bedel Blog

Welcome to #AskBedel, a weekly personal-wealth Q&A where you can ask financial planning and investment experts for advice. Each week we’ll be answering your personal finance questions, so be sure to submit your questions to Bedel@BedelFinancial.com.

As a financial planner, my focus is on helping our clients achieve their goals, which means maximizing every dollar. This requires a complete understanding of the client's current tax situation, foresight on how their taxable income will look in future years, and some educated guessing on where tax rates may be. The goal is to pay as little tax as possible.

You may have decided to wait until the extended deadline of July 15 to file your 2019 tax return. If so, you may wonder what the "Married, Filing Separately (MFS)" designation is all about. What does it mean, and does it make sense for you?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of the economy. But what impact has it had on the residential real estate market? Are fewer homes being sold? Are prices declining? Some of the results might surprise you.

There is no way to sugarcoat the numbers. The severity of the hit to our economy is unprecedented. Today's headlines may grab your attention, but what does this all mean about our future?

In the investment world, real estate is generally dominated by office buildings, industrial warehouses, retail stores, and apartment buildings. Given that the real estate market had a significant downturn during the 2008 recession, how is real estate holding up during this pandemic?

If you forgot to sign up for your employer's group insurance plan, or you if forgot about pre-tax contributions to a medical savings account, you may get a second chance this year.

Have you heard the expression about the canary in the coal mine? Canary birds were the first to react to unhealthy conditions in coal mines and served as a warning to the miners. Bonds can also be like those canaries, warning investors of a coming recession.

With large swaths of the economy closed for part of the first quarter, expectations for corporate earnings headed south in a hurry. What does this mean for the stock market?

The stock market has experienced dramatic daily and weekly swings, both positive and negative. While traditional economic data will likely continue to be negative for some time, it is helpful to pay attention to developments in other areas that also provide signals of the health of the economy.

Headlines recently proclaimed that the price of crude oil plunged below zero for the first time in history. However, you probably noticed that your local gas station was not giving away its fuel for free. So what exactly happened in the oil markets?

Did you know the CARES Act includes favorable tax benefits for cash gifts made to qualifying charitable organizations this year?