• IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO BUY A HOUSE IN BOISE?

    If you’ve been paying attention even a little bit then you know that the housing market in the Treasure Valley has been hot, hot, hot. The median sales price in Boise took a 20% jump this year, even after seven years of already steadily rising prices. This rise is due to the national rebound in […]

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  • IS THE HSA THE BEST RETIREMENT ACCOUNT?

    As we head into the last quarter of the year, many of us are coming up on the time to re-enroll in our employer benefit programs. This leads nicely into a discussion of one of the best retirement accounts available. A secret retirement account, that wasn’t designed as for retirement savings in the first place. […]

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  • HOW CAN A FINANCIAL ADVISOR HELP

    Starting out your initial financial decisions are relatively simple. Try to save more than you spend, set aside a sensible amount for emergencies, and invest the rest for longer term goals. As you grow and advance in your career the decisions tend to become more complicated. As you near retirement the decisions become even more […]

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  • BACK TO SCHOOL WITH THE 529 PLAN

    The summer is over and the kids are back in school. While this is a happy time for parents, it can also cause some anxiety by reminding you that life after grade school is fast approaching. Depending on how old your kids are you may be helping them with their A B C’s, in the […]

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  • ARE WE MEANT TO BE HOMEOWNERS?

    Lately I have been spending more time on the home browsing site Zillow than I’d care to admit. Especially because we are renting our current home and plan to for another year or so, so we won’t be in the home buying market for a while. But I often find myself drawn back to the […]

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  • BOISE PARK RATINGS: CAMEL’S BACK PARK

    Today’s post covers something a little different than the topics I usually discuss on the blog, but I think there is still a smidge of personal finance related material in the topic. As the parents of young children know it can be challenging to keep them entertained. No matter what family fun thing you have […]

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  • 5 BUDGET FRIENDLY FAMILY VACATION IDEAS

    Summer is in full swing and the temps are creeping into the triple digits no matter where you live. In the Kimmet household we are doing our best to beat the heat by running through sprinklers (ours and the neighbors), rafting on the Boise River, and searching for shady spots to hang up the hammock […]

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  • THE ROTH VS TRADITIONAL IRA

    A comment that I often hear when talking to friends and family is, “I know I need to do it, but I’m just not sure where to start saving for retirement”. I think the reason that this is such a common refrain is due to the number of options and choices available. Having more options […]

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  • 9 SMART USES FOR YOUR TAX REFUND

    If you have a refund check coming your way, consider using it to bolster your personal balance sheet. The average refund is usually around $3,000, and most people receive the money within three weeks of filing their returns (I filed our taxes a few days before the April 17 deadline and received ours in a […]

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