#financial-planning
Financial Planning
Plan and optimize your financial future with data-driven insights
The Cash Balance Pension Plan, Explained: How Business Owners Who've Maxed Out a 401(k) Can Shelter $150,000–$290,000 More a Year
A cash balance plan stacked on a 401(k) can let a business owner 50+ shelter $150,000–$290,000 a year. Learn how the hybrid defined-benefit plan works, who qualifies, and the contribution and PBGC math most advisors skip.
Fractional CFO Services: What You Should Expect for $2,000–$5,000 Monthly, When to Hire One, and How to Pick Between a Part-Time Hire and an Agency
A fractional CFO gives you strategy, forecasts, and board-ready reporting without a $200K salary. Learn what $2,000–$5,000 monthly actually buys, when to hire, and how to choose between a single CFO and a firm.
The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT): How Business Owners Keep Life Insurance Out of Their Taxable Estate
An ILIT can keep a life insurance payout out of your taxable estate and provide liquidity to pay estate taxes without forcing a business sale. Learn how ILITs work, the three-year rule, Crummey powers, and common mistakes that bring the policy back into your estate.
Key Person Life Insurance for Small Business Owners: What It Actually Covers, What Lenders Require, and the Non-Deductible Premium Trap
Key person insurance protects your business if an owner or critical employee dies or becomes disabled. Learn what it covers, how lenders use it as collateral, why premiums are not deductible, and how much coverage a small business actually needs.
What May's NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Really Means for Your 2026 Planning: Reading the Uncertainty Index, Fuel Costs, and Hiring Data
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for May 2026 moved on uncertainty, not sales. Learn how to read the index, its subcomponents, and what fuel, hiring, and credit signals mean for your pricing and cash plan.
How Service Businesses Should Price Retainers: Utilization, Realization, and the Write-Off That Erodes Margin
Retainer pricing fails when utilization and realization drift. Learn how to set retainers from capacity, track write-offs, and keep margin from quietly going negative.
Business Debt Consolidation: When to Use Personal vs. Business Loans and How to Structure the Refinance
Consolidate business debt with a personal or business loan. Compare rates, terms, and tax implications, then follow a 7-step framework to actually save money and stop re-accumulating debt.
Qualified Opportunity Zones Are Now Permanent: Your 2026 Playbook for the Rural 30% Basis Step-Up and Rolling Redesignations
Qualified Opportunity Zones are now permanent tax law with enhanced incentives for rural investment. Discover how the 30% rural basis step-up, 10-year tax elimination benefit, and 2026 redesignation window can shield your capital gains from federal tax.
Payday Super Is Live: What Australian Small Business Employers Must Do Now
Australia's Payday Super reform, effective 1 July 2026, requires employers to remit superannuation guarantee contributions within 7 business days of payday, replacing the old quarterly deadline and late-payment offset with a stacked penalty regime that adds GIC interest, up to a 60% administrative uplift, and fund-choice loading.
H-1B $100,000 Fee Struck Down: What the First Circuit Ruling Means for Small Employers
On July 24, 2026 the First Circuit denied a stay of the Massachusetts district court's vacatur of the $100,000 H-1B supplemental fee, so the charge is not currently being collected while the government's appeal proceeds — but the ruling isn't final and could reverse.
The Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Rule: What Business Owners Over 50 Need to Know for 2026
Starting January 1, 2026, anyone whose 2025 FICA wages exceeded $150,000 must direct their entire 401(k) catch-up contribution — $8,000 standard or $11,250 for ages 60-63 — into a Roth account, with no pre-tax option and no opt-out.
What It Actually Costs to Sell Your Business: Broker Fees, the Lehman Formula, and Hidden Costs
Business brokers and M&A advisors charge Double Lehman commissions of 10% down to 2% by tier, but minimum fee floors, non-creditable retainers, expense reimbursement, and tail clauses routinely add 5-20% on top of the quoted success-fee percentage.