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Fall 2021 Newsletter

Strategic Planning Group’s newest Fall 2021 Newsletter is here! Enjoy articles from our CEO and President, Ryan Craner, as well as from advisors, John Park, Tom Craner, and Alex Craner. Are you familiar with the different types of scams many are facing daily? Enjoy this crossword as you test your knowledge of 6 different Scams and Schemes. Do you think …

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How to Appeal Your Property Taxes

Between 30 percent and 60 percent of taxable property has an inflated assessment, which may lead to higher property tax bills. Moreover, typically fewer than 5 percent of taxpayers dispute their assessment.¹ For homeowners who think their local government may have assessed their property’s value too high, there are ways to appeal and potentially win a lower assessment, which may …

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Professional Development Update

I started in the financial industry about 5 years ago. As I have continued to progress in my professional development, I have made a few interesting observations for this update. The first being that there is a huge need for consumer education regarding financial planning and decisions. With that in mind, there is no shortage of financial advice being promoted. …

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Sideways Markets

We are nearly halfway through 2021, and so far for this year, the markets are mixed (up and down). We have been in a sideways market for the last six months. These sideways markets can last for a few months or even two to three years, historically. Sideways markets are difficult for investors, especially after the last four to five …

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Balance

Throughout the world’s cultures and religions, the concept of balance is one of the most prominent. From the metaphysical yin and yang in eastern beliefs to the more corporeal day and night in Judeo-Christian theology, balance is prominent for a good reason. The brilliant scholars and philosophers of humanity’s past understood that there exists a balance in all things. We …

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I Cannot Wait to Retire!

I can’t help it; at the ripe ‘ole age of 36, I dream about retirement most days. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. I’m fortunate to earn a living in a field I enjoy so much. Honestly, I feel the need to pinch myself on occasion. There is no way I should enjoy work this much, but …

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Lockdown Fever

What is Lockdown Fever?When we are gripped by fearmongering in the media, start binge watching television, and wait around for the sign that it is safe to come outside, we are suffering from Lockdown Fever. Last spring, we were told, “Two weeks to flatten the curve.” Well, those two weeks turned into months and months of the same advisories and …

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Spring 2021 Newsletter

Strategic Planning Group’s newest Spring 2021 Newsletter is here! Enjoy articles from our CEO and President, Ryan Craner, as well as from advisors, John Park and Tom Craner. Are you ready for a brain game? Try to decipher our Retirement Word Scramble.  Do you think you can get them all? Strategic Planning Group is growing. We are always excited to …

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How Income Taxes Work

The Internal Revenue Service estimates that taxpayers and businesses spend 8.1 billion hours a year complying with tax-filing requirements. To put this into perspective, if all this work were done by a single company, it would need about four million full-time employees and be one of the largest industries in the U.S.1  Continue on to learn more about how income taxes …