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Our Wealth Chatter blog is where you'll find our own musings on markets, the economy, and the many planning opportunities that impact our clients day-in and day-out.

Monday, April 27, 2026

I just returned from a conference in Puerto Rico. The mood among other investment advisors and talking heads was caution for the rest of 2026 due to the unrelenting headline risk, but bullish longer term due to - take a guess - AI.

Friday, March 27, 2026

PA has an inheritance tax that begins at 0% for a surviving spouse, 4.5% for children and other direct descendants, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most other heirs.

Monday, February 9, 2026

York is enjoying another moment in the sun as the nation’s 250th birthday approaches. For the non-history types, York was a big deal back in the colonial days. Next year marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of...

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Asset location is one of the levers that rarely shows up in headline returns but can compound value over decades when handled well. When investing and tax planning are treated as separate conversations, opportunities are often missed. When

Monday, January 5, 2026

I’ve lived in central Pennsylvania for most of my adult life - long enough to develop a real appreciation for its culture, history and beautiful landscapes. It more than compensates for our miserable winters...

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Monday, December 22, 2025

Retirement income in PA protected from state income tax, sales taxes spare essential goods, and the overall tax rate structure is predictable. The main trade-off is inheritance tax.

Monday, December 1, 2025

Happy holidays to you and yours. I’m still a Seinfeld fan and savor re-watching the Festivus holiday episode from 1997; it has aged well. In the episode, frustrated by the commercialization of Christmas, Frank Castanza creates his own...

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Waiting until full retirement age (FRA, 66 to 67) gets you your full Primary Insurance Amount. Claiming Social Security benefits early means smaller checks right away, while delaying could add 24%+ to your number!

Monday, September 22, 2025

I recently visited the US Army Heritage Museum in Carlisle for the first time.  The highlight was the outdoor walking tour featuring military equipment, encampments and fortifications across the various wars in US history.  I saw up close..

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

If you’re starting to think more seriously about your finances or retirement planning, here are 5 common pitfalls we see year after year - and how to avoid them.

Monday, July 28, 2025

It’s been an interesting summer, both personally and professionally and I’m writing to vent some things now top of mind, in no particular order. · Tuesday July 8th was a day I’ll never forget. My wife and life partner, Carrie, was...

Monday, July 7, 2025

Well, he did it. Against improbable odds, President Trump strong-armed a historic, sweeping, ginormous new law across the finish line on the Fourth of July, despite razor thin Republican margins in Congress. Say what you will about...

Monday, May 19, 2025

My life was running fine – and then my colleagues Jake and Heather nudged me to finally engage with artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology.  I recently did; now I’m hooked on AI and my life is suddenly more complicated and enriched...

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

I had a memorable bucket list experience last month. Carrie and I schlepped to Las Vegas for a long weekend to see The Eagles at the Sphere concert venue. The Eagles were excellent, due in large part to the brilliance of their newest...

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Welcome to 2025. We’re at the mid-point of a remarkably wacky decade.

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

The AI driven stock market spectacle is not my first tech bubble rodeo. As a young investment professional in the late 1990s, I had a front row seat during the internet stock bubble/crash.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

The human foot is a remarkable machine. It’s a complex anatomical network of bones – twenty-six in each foot to be precise, one-fourth of the entire human body - joints (thirty-three), ligaments (one-hundred) and muscles (nineteen)....

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The cigar has embodied financial triumph for centuries.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

I checked off a key bucket list item several weeks ago: an eighteen-day Italian vacation. The experience exceeded my high expectations. I personally played travel agent and the family gave me high marks for our busy itinerary.

Friday, March 31, 2023

I planted a footprint on the backside of 2022 and don’t have the mental energy to analyze all that went wrong last year.  Here’s to better times for you and yours, starting now.

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

I suffered an embarrassing moment last week.