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How Statistics Can Lead Us To A Faulty Conclusion

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Articles: Salt Lake City Office by Scott Dougan

There’s a great expression that goes something like this: 84% of statistics are made up on the spot. See what happened there? We’ll often see statistics being used for persuasive purposes, but what if there’s more to most stats than meets the eye. What if the story being sold isn’t the real story at all? What’s more, how often are …

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Love Is A Verb: Caring For Others By Helping Them Plan

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Articles: Salt Lake City Office, Tax Planning by Scott Dougan

A friend’s grandmother, Mary, recently passed away at the age of 99. A kind, service-oriented woman who packed two lifetimes into her one, she exemplified what it means to have lived a good life. It’s clear that she served others, and living to 99 required that she also be served. If there’s any doubt that love is action, you should …

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Diversification: Always Something To Celebrate (And Apologize For)

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Articles: Salt Lake City Office, Investment Management by Scott Dougan

This may feel like an old, well-worn topic, but please bear with me; I hope to present a new twist. Diversification is a time-tested way for investors to manage the inherent risks of investing by owning lots of different kinds of assets. Diversification takes many forms, but often looks like this example: owning 60% of a portfolio in stocks and …

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Healthcare May Be Broken, But Your Retirement Plan Doesn’t Need To Be

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Articles: Salt Lake City Office, Tax Planning by Scott Dougan

Live on less than you earn, pay less interest on debts than you receive on your assets, mind your taxes, and you’ll be fine. It sounds so simple, and it is. Similarly, eat fewer calories than you burn, exercise regularly, avoid running red lights in your car, and you’ll be fine. It sounds so simple, and yet it’s not. Why? …

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HARVESTERS EVENT

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Community Involvement, Spring 2019 by Scott Dougan

We are so proud of our clients, family and friends that donated most needed items for our food drive and those that were able to participate in the Child Feeding BackSnack Program this past Saturday at Harvesters. We had a little over 40 folks who worked four assembly lines and put together approximately 3135 backpacks filled with nutritious, child-friendly foods …

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Back to the Basics: Revisiting an Enduring Strategy

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Back to the Basics, SLC Spring 2019, Spring 2019 by Scott Dougan

In a recent email from a very well-known firm in our industry, the subject line stated, ‘[this person] Shares A New Retirement Strategy.’ Always eager to add a new tool to the toolbox, I read further. What the article was sharing was a strategy that isn’t ‘New’, but it’s one that we’ve been using since the day Elevated Retirement Group’s …

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Briefcase Study: Those Pesky Remaining Debts

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Briefcase Studies, SLC Spring 2019, Spring 2019, Tax Planning by Scott Dougan

Before retirement, most people would like to pay off any remaining debts, so they can feel good going into that next phase of life all tidied-up. That makes a lot of sense, both financially and psychologically. In a recent meeting, we not only discussed this but put a plan together that was well received by the family, so we thought …

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Retirement Plan Buyer’s Guide

In Articles, Articles: Kansas City Office, Articles: Salt Lake City Office by Scott Dougan

Car buyers use them and so do people shopping for appliances. The buyer’s guide can be an extremely valuable resource for the person who wishes to compare and contrast the options available to them. But what about retirement plans? Is it possible to test-drive various options for converting one’s nest egg into an income for life? While I’m not aware …