The Medicare Coverage Gap One of the most confusing Medicare provisions is the coverage gap, often called the “donut hole.” It may be clearer if you look at it as the uncovered portion of the annual Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage. Here’s a way to understand it better. This also applies to drug coverage that is integrated into a…
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Wine & Finance, Fall 2018: Modern Loss and Grief
A Talk with Modern Loss Founder Rebecca Soffer One thing I took away from an evening with author Rebecca Soffer is that sharing grief helps make it better. We thank Rebecca, founder of Modern Loss, for coming to our offices in NYC to talk to Blue Spark Financial’s clients. So what is Modern Loss? It’s a book, and a website,…
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Sustainable Investing, Part 1
Sustainable Investing If there’s a trait most of us share, it’s a desire to make the world a better place. That is why there is increasing interest in sustainable investing. Many of us want to try to earn solid or even stellar returns while contributing – or at least causing less harm – to the greater good. But what is…
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College Savings After Tax Reform
Students and their parents dodged a bullet with the final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Initial drafts of the bill had included the elimination of the Lifetime Learning Credit, the student loan interest deduction, along with the taxation of tuition waivers (used mainly graduate students and college employees). In the end, none of these provisions made it into the…
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Charitable Giving in 2018
Charitable Giving The landscape for charitable giving changed with the new tax law, but we are seeing that clients – with or without a tax write-off – still want to give to their favorite organizations and charities. After all, we give to support causes we cherish and to show gratitude for good fortune we have enjoyed. Financial incentives are nice,…
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