Business

Leadership Marco alumni have made good on a pledge to assist four outstanding students with their university expenses. The money was raised by the recent “Wet Paint Live” event, in which artists spent a day capturing assorted Marco scenes on canvas, and then auctioned the paintings off at a gala evening the same day. Full story »

Gather ‘round. This is must reading. If what you are about to read can’t help you save taxes or help you increase your personal tax wealth, it will certainly help someone you know. Full story »

A colleague and I were talking about how it might feel to work with a financial advisor. Realistically we decided that this experience could be viewed in several ways. Some may view it as a positive and constructive experience, while others could find it frightening or even painful. Full story »

As you may already know, by investing in a 529 college savings plan, you can give your grandchildren the opportunity to benefit from a college education while taking advantage of potential tax and estate planning savings. This is because you can make this investment federal-tax-free and you can also contribute up to $60,000 per beneficiary without triggering gift tax consequences. Full story »

Several years ago, my family and I had the opportunity to visit the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford in Fort Myers. These two innovators were close friends and winter neighbors. Full story »

Tax planning is an indoor sport, usually only played by adults. This particular tax game is played for the benefit of younger family members. Most are about 4 years old or younger… 50 is good, but the younger the better. Actually, we train our clients to call when the baby is born. Full story »

Gimmicks have made people rich before, and it’s a gimmick that Marco Islander Jim Gratkowski thinks might just do the trick for him. In the heady tradition of the Pet Rock, the Chia Pet and The Clapper, Gratkowski has secured a patent on his Slam Timer, a bar-top device that measures how fast one chugs a drink. Full story »

“Longevity risk” is one of the newer financial buzz words. It’s a fancy way of saying we could live too long and run out of money. There are many things we can do to minimize the risk of this occurring but the adjustments are all to “money side” of the equation rather than to the “longevity side.” Full story »

As I travel the country, speaking to numerous groups in varied industries, with different clientele or customers, and unique challenges, there’s still a common occurrence. It usually goes something like this: At some point, either during or immediately following a program, a participant says to me: “Jeff, while listening to you, I had an ah-ha moment!” “It was amazing, I now realize...” or... “I had an epiphany!” Full story »

Dillan soon will no longer fly the friendly skies. His mother made the decision recently because of a couple of reasons: costs and Dillan just doesn’t like it. So, he will stay with a woman who now sits with him sometimes during the day. His mom and dad fly to New Jersey at least twice a year to visit family and for business purposes. Dillan, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever mix, has been flying since he was a baby, said his human mom, Doreen Falcetano of Cape Coral. But now the cost to fly him in the cargo bay of the aircraft has skyrocketed to $250 round trip for him to go with the family to Toms River, N.J. Full story »

Returning to his roots after a teaching sabbatical in Nevada, attorney Gary J. Hausler has joined the Law offices of William G. Morris on Marco Island. Full story »

Pollo Tropical opened its second Naples restaurant on Monday. The newest location for the Miami-based, Latin/Caribbean chain is 3777 U.S. 41 East, about one mile from Airport-Pulling Road. Full story »

Jeff, what most influences employee satisfaction? Although my clients have annual revenues from less than $1 million to billions, there are certain key “employee satisfiers” that are common and crucial to any size company. Full story »

It’s easy to lose — big dollars — to the IRS… almost always unnecessarily. Following are some easy-to-do (tax-saving and wealth-building) strategies that we have done hundreds of times, yet are little known. Why? Because most professional advisors don’t know how to implement them. Full story »

“We are licensed and insured. We offer safe, reliable, on-time and affordable service. Call for pricing. If you need it moved today, Capt. Phil is on the way.” — Capt. Phil Lawler Full story »