Surviving and Thriving on Your Voluntary Separation Package
You’ve accepted your voluntary separation package, packed up the remnants of your storied academic career, and stepped off the campus for the last time as a professional. Ahead of you lies a future filled with the possibilities of someone who may not yet have been ready to perform in their last act on this stage. […]
Eight Ways to Tune Up Your Finances Today for 2022
With 2021 rapidly drawing to a close, the clock is ticking for you to align your tax benefits and retirement plans for the year to come. As expected, there are several new programs, planned increases, and cautionary tales that constitute the financial landscape for 2022. One thing, however, you may NOT have expected: That inflation […]
How to Keep Up with Rising Tuition Costs?
In the fall of 1995, tuition and fees at Texas A&M were less than $2,750/year for a full course load. Fast-forward 25 years and that number has risen more than 10-fold since then. That calculates to a year-over-year increase of almost 10%. At Rice University (Natalie’s alma mater), tuition increased from around $15,000 to more […]
Required Minimum Distribution Suspension: What it Means
In a recent post, we covered the CARES Act and how that impacts taxpayers in 2020. In this article, we want to do a deep dive into one of the most significant tax benefits for the retirees, the suspension of Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) in 2020. For those over 70 ½ and retired (the Secure Act […]
Take Note of These CARES Act Deadlines Coming Soon
Not only have we seen tremendous activity in markets across the world, but we have also seen lots of activity from Congress. Lawmakers passed the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) in late March 2020 to help businesses and individuals deal with the economic impact of the pandemic, and they have been […]
Do You Have Enough Savings for Retirement
A couple walks into my office and sits down. They want to retire. But can they? We start to have a discussion, common to many of my prospective client meetings, about what they have saved. “Savings? Oh, well that is limited to my 401k and the balance is $500,000.” Many would think that this is […]
Briaud’s Managing Partner Joins Podcast to Discuss Employee Benefits
Often, people can overlook the importance of employee benefits by focusing on how much their salary will be and what their take home pay will be. Natalie Pine, managing partner and lead advisor at Briaud Financial Advisors, recently had an opportunity to speak about this topic as a guest on the Money Tree Investing Podcast […]
Are You Owed Money from the Equifax Data Breach?
In 2017, Equifax had a security breach that released personal information of 147 million people. Hopefully the only implication for you due to this breach was heightened awareness of the security of your identity. According to this MarketWatch report: “Equifax has not seen instances of stolen data being used for identity theft, and it has […]
Why You Need an Emergency Fund
What would happen if you experienced a medical issue and had to go without a paycheck for 90 days? How would you survive financially? Would you have to rely on credit cards, a home equity line of credit, or some other kind of loan? Do you have an emergency fund that will allow you to navigate […]
Strategies to Leverage Your Consulting Income
Professors typically develop tremendous expertise in their fields and, as such, are often called upon to consult, write books, and be expert witnesses, among other opportunities, on top of their job with a university. This often means extra consulting income for these individuals, which can become an issue at tax time. To be better prepared […]
