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By Todd Youngdahl, CFP®

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “long-term care (LTC) insurance is designed to cover long-term services and supports, including personal and custodial care in a variety of settings such as your home, a community organization, or other facility.” (1) Essentially, this type of insurance policy was created to help cover expenses that you might expect to have when you reach 65 or older. Such expenses, for example, include costs of a nursing home, assisted living, or in-home care which all “help with basic personal tasks of everyday life, sometimes called activities of daily living." (2) Because these expenses are not covered by Medicare, LTC insurance can be very important for some. In addition, this type of insurance can help protect family members and heirs from bearing all the costs of long-term care for their loved ones. Before we explain the different types of LTC insurance, let’s go into a brief history of this kind of policy.

One of our goals at Washington Wealth Advisors is to have the most educated client base when it comes to the world of personal finance. Achieving financial peace of mind comes through a working partnership with your advisor as well as keeping yourself well informed. Videos offer an easily accessible and convenient way to learn about a new topic, understand a financial term, get the highlights of a blog, reference a subject discussed in a review meeting or meet a new member of the WWA team. With that in mind, we are excited to launch our very own YouTube Channel to engage our clients and community in support of our financial education goal.

By Maura C. Schauss, CFP® and Todd I. Youngdahl, CFP ® 

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If you’ve been investing for any length of time, you know that the economy goes through regular cycles, and the first half of 2018 definitely brought its fair share of highs and lows, market volatility, trade uncertainty, and record unemployment numbers. However, as most individual Americans see it, things are looking up. So instead of looking at the daily headlines, here’s a view of our economy from 30,0000 feet as we reach the mid-year mark of 2018.

By Victoria Boinest

It’s never too early for a parent to start teaching their children about money. With a good base of knowledge, children will have a strong foundation from which to draw while managing their finances in the future. Many young adults are graduating from high school and even college with little to no financial literacy. So, to ensure your child is financially smart before they leave the house and go off into the real-world it is ideal to expose them to financial learning opportunities at a young age. Summer is a great time to help your children experiment with money and to begin their understanding of earning, spending and saving. Here are some ways you can teach your child about money this summer.

By Maura C. Schauss, CFP

As parents, it’s in our very nature to want to take care of our children. We are wired to want the best for them and do everything in our power to give them a leg up in life. One way to do that is by helping them with their finances.

With only 24% of Millennials demonstrating basic financial literacy (even though 69% rated their knowledge highly),¹ parents are beginning to realize that it’s up to them to teach their children the skills they need to survive in the real financial world. One way to teach your kids about money and give them a strong financial foundation for the future is by opening a financial account in their name. Here are some of the financial accounts that you can open for your children:

By Todd Youngdahl, CFP®

If you were to take a guess, what do you think is the number one fear when it comes to retirement expenses? If you guessed healthcare costs, you are right, with 41% of Americans admitting they are worried about how to pay for healthcare in their later years.¹ It’s really no surprise that people are losing sleep over potential healthcare costs since it is estimated that the average couple will need $265,000 to be 90% confident they will be able to take care of out-of-pocket medical expenses during retirement.²

Brian Wendroff, CPA, CGMA and Guest Blogger

We’re approaching the halfway point for 2018. Your taxes, and filing next year’s return, may be the furthest thing from your mind these days (after all, you’re just barely over the stress of filing this year’s!). However, with the typically more relaxed schedule that summer months brings, it may be the perfect time to start thinking ahead.

By Duncan Green, WWA Intern

Hello! My name is Duncan Green, and I am currently a senior at McLean High School. I am excited to attend The University of Virginia next fall where I will apply for acceptance to the McIntire School of Commerce my second year. Both my parents attended UVA and my older sister is currently in her 3^rd year - no surprise why I am such an avid UVA fan. Although, after their early exit from the 2018 NCAA basketball tournament, I am much more reluctant to admit that.

By Ann Blakey, MBA, RP®

May 29th is National 529 College Savings Plan Day – and while we aren’t sending each other Hallmark cards for this holiday (yet!), it is a good reminder to stop and think about your family’s education savings strategy.

By Alexandra Devereaux

These days, cyber security is a top priority for everyone.  Here at WWA, client security and privacy is a top priority for all of us.  We strive to educate our clients to make sure they are protected as so much of what they do is done over the internet…from online transactions to sending their tax accountants data, to asking questions about their accounts.  As a Client Relationship Manager here at WWA, I work with our clients and their data daily.  I wanted to share some quick advice that will help keep you all safe.