Sep 7, 2026 | Blog, Fair Market Valuations (FMV)
If you hold stocks in a retirement account, you never think about what they’re worth. The market decides, second by second, and your statement just tells you the number. It’s automatic, invisible, and effortless. Self-directed investors don’t get...
Sep 3, 2026 | Blog, Self-Directed IRA Investing, Wealth Building
Here’s a test that cuts through more financial noise than any spreadsheet ever will. Imagine it’s 3 a.m. Something has gone sideways with one of your investments, a tenant issue, a market wobble, a deal that stalled. You’re awake, staring at the...
Sep 1, 2026 | Blog, Retirement Accounts, Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, Wealth Building
Most retirement advice about Roth versus Traditional accounts boils down to a single question: do you think your tax rate will be higher now or later? It’s a fair starting point. But if you invest in real estate, private notes, or other alternative assets inside...
Sep 1, 2026 | Blog, Tax Bites
Payroll administration can be challenging for small business owners — and mistakes can create problems for both employers and employees. Incorrect paychecks can frustrate employees and require time and resources to fix. Errors involving tax withholding, deposits or...
Aug 31, 2026 | Blog, Self-Directed IRA Investing
There’s a sentence we hear more than any other in this business. It comes over the phone, in webinars, at Meetup events, and it’s always delivered in the same tone, somewhere between disbelief and delight: “Wait. I didn’t know I could do...
Aug 27, 2026 | Blog, Tax Bites
Two investors buy identical rental properties inside their self-directed IRAs. Same purchase price, same rents, same appreciation over the next twenty years. On paper, they made the exact same investment. But when it’s time to actually use that money, their...
Aug 25, 2026 | Blog, Tax Bites
Teachers and other educators often spend their own money on books, supplies, equipment and other classroom needs. For 2026, eligible educators may have two ways to deduct qualifying unreimbursed expenses. One deduction is available whether or not they itemize, and a...
Aug 24, 2026 | Blog, Retirement Accounts
Two weeks ago we talked about the quiet season, that stretch of late summer when nothing on your IRA is urgent and everything is easy to handle. Today’s article is the companion piece: a look at what’s coming, so the quiet season can do its job. ...
Aug 20, 2026 | Blog, Wealth Building
There’s a question that changes how people invest, and it usually arrives sometime in their fifties or sixties, often unannounced: What is all of this actually for? For years, the answer was easy. The portfolio was for retirement, for security, for the version...
Aug 18, 2026 | Blog, Tax Bites
Contributing as much as possible to tax-deferred retirement accounts such as traditional 401(k)s and IRAs is a common recommendation. Contributions generally are pretax or deductible, and the power of tax-deferred compounding can help turbocharge growth. But some...
