Eat Your Heart Out

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

There is no secret about my love for food (and wine for that matter). It does not matter what the meal, time of day, venue, cuisine or time of year, put food nearby and I will eat. When not consuming food at home, having dinner in a restaurant is what we do most often when comparing the options covering the three squares a day. Lunch falls in second place though I do love a good lunch. From a frequency standpoint, going out for breakfast is what we do least. Breakfast at a restaurant seems to occur more so if we are traveling or on some type of getaway. Finally, sprinkle in a brunch or two along the way and that rounds the frequencies for eating the various meals at restaurants. If I were to ask for a survey, I would go out on a limb and say this may be a very common situation. Dinner being the meal that is most often at a restaurant, followed by lunch and then breakfast and a brunch here and there. That all being said, I do know of some people that go out for breakfast almost every single day.

A Quick Holiday Weekend

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

The wet and cold spring has led to a backlog of deferred maintenance projects around my house. Not that I’ve been too eager to power wash the deck or do some weeding, but the especially dismal weather has at least bought me some time and has given me a legitimate excuse to put off the inevitable list of projects. Fortunately, we were rewarded over Memorial Day Weekend with a long overdue break in the historic stretch of rain that we’ve been having and finally got some much-deserved sunshine. With that came a litany of house-related responsibilities that finally had to be addressed. If it were entirely up to me, I would have washed the cars and sat down to enjoy a cold beer. But as we all know, it's bigger than just me!

My Bucket List Is Always Changing

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

We all have heard the term bucket list. What it means to some may be totally different than to others. There are so many factors that can contribute to what is on your bucket list. One factor is reviewing what you have already done or accomplished in your life. Another contributing factor is the life style that you lead and the items that you are accustomed to enjoying. Values can play a role in what makes the list. For sure, the status of your health can certainly affect choices. Experiencing a serious health issue for yourself or a loved one, family or friend, can get you thinking as well.

The Planner's Perspective: Planning For Variable Income

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

Compensation comes in many forms, but the most common form is cash. Many employees are used to getting an annual salary and a periodic bonus, which makes tax and financial planning easier, at least from a cash flow management standpoint. Those who receive significant bonuses, however, are faced with different challenges as variable compensation (commissions, bonuses, etc.) is generally not guaranteed and can vary greatly from period to period. The ambiguity around the timing and amount of future bonuses, especially for highly compensated employees and executives, creates planning challenges for those who have compensation packages heavily influenced by future unknowns.

The Anginette Warrior

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

If you don’t know what an anginette is, you probably grew up outside of Connecticut, had no Italian friends and definitely don’t like desserts. Anginettes are the all-season cookie, not too heavy, not too light. They pair well with just about anything and taste just as good in the heat of the summer as they do in the doldrums of winter. They are festive enough to be the centerpiece in a holiday cookie display or casual enough to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee before you head out to work on a Tuesday morning.  They are so popular, in fact, that the East Haven rotary club just held their 6th Annual Anginette Wars, a baking competition for New Haven County’s finest cookie makers… and my mother Cathy decided to see how she stacked up against the best around.

The Planner's Perspective: Keeping Up With The Jones's

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

The ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’ mentality has never been more pervasive than it is today. Before the widespread use of social media, most people didn’t have an idea of what the rest of the world was doing aside from their neighbors, family and friends. With information about others so easily accessible as people continue to openly share details of their personal lives online, it necessitates frequent reality checks about spending, savings and living within your means. Remember, not all of us can live the Kardashian lifestyle.

Knee Replacement: A Distant Memory

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

My how time flies. It is so very hard for me to believe that three years has gone by since my knee replacement surgery. In that time, I have learned so many things throughout the re-cooperation process. First and foremost, I cannot believe how pain free my daily life is now. I can instantly flash back to every step that I took having a wince of pain that made me limp. Stairs were extremely challenging, especially going down the stairs. The pain was more severe because of the extra stress in the downward direction. Getting in and out of the car was not only painful but had to be done with strategic movements. Anything aggressively athletic was basically off the table. Golf, even though not an aggressive sport, was painful because of the walking to and from the cart. If I was on the floor for painting, cleaning or whatever, getting up and down would be exhausting. Ironically, I had no one to blame but myself for “kicking the can down the road” about having the procedure and so wish I had the surgery sooner.

16 Is A Crowd

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

I haven’t been on a bachelor party in well over a year, so it was long overdue when my closest friends got engaged. As you could imagine, rumors of a bachelor party quickly started flying around. Interest in attending was high as many new or soon to be parents were looking for an excuse to get away for a few days and relax in the warm weather (kid free, of course). The problem is, when you have 16 people to account for and don’t want to have a bunch of separate hotel rooms the options are limited (and often pricey). Kudos to the best man in the wedding for searching near and far for suitable accommodations, which landed us in an Air BnB in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. After seeing the place firsthand, simply calling the place suitable would be an understatement at the least and an insult at the most.

With Scope, Broad Can Be Good

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

It’s rare that someone wakes up in the morning and out of nowhere has a revelation that they need to enlist some professional help to get their financial household in order. Often, people seek out advisory firms after a triggering event such as, marriage, birth, death, retirement, business sale or even after getting whacked with an unexpected tax bill. Other times it is more of a slow burn, where they know they are in over their head (and probably have been for a while) but don’t know where to start. Those that already have an advisor may be looking elsewhere due to service issues or a perceived lack of competency when discussing complex topics. Regardless of what the catalyst is to begin searching for an advisor, the key is to have an expectation of what you want to get out of the relationship.

A Quick Trip To The City

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

Our children gave us tickets to a Broadway show, Dear Evan Hansen, for a Christmas present. Recently, we went into the city to see that show. Regardless of how many times we go, a trip to NYC is always an adventure. A quick 2-hour train ride and the city that never sleeps is at your beckoning call. As soon as you leave the train platform and enter Grand Central Terminal, you can feel the energy of the city and the buzz in the air as people are scurrying in every direction. That energy level picks up a few notches as you leave the train station and walk outside onto 42nd street. The city is alive with taxis zipping in every direction, sirens blaring and horns honking. NYC, we are here.