A Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity (MYGA) is a fixed annuity from an insurance company. You deposit a lump sum, it earns a locked-in interest rate for a set term — usually 3 to 10 years — and grows tax-deferred until withdrawal. It's often described as a CD's insurance-company cousin. The Good Locked-in rate. Your rate doesn't move for the full term, regardless of markets or rate swings. Often out-yields CDs and comparable bonds. Insurers can invest longer-term and pass more yie

Permanent life insurance, whole life, universal life, and indexed universal life (IUL), is sometimes pitched as a way to build "tax-free retirement income" by growing cash value and later taking policy loans against it. The pitch has some truth buried inside it, but for most people looking primarily to save for retirement, it's usually not the most efficient tool for the job. Why the pitch sounds appealing Cash value inside permanent life insurance grows tax-deferred, and pol

If you've opened your Colorado auto or home insurance renewal notice recently and done a double take, you're not alone. Premiums across the Front Range have climbed sharply over the past few years, and it isn't simply because of your driving record or your roof's age. Several forces are converging at once. Colorado has seen a dramatic increase in hail and wind damage claims, and the Front Range is one of the most hail-prone corridors in the country. Insurers price for that ri

Most standard homeowners policies quietly exclude, or sharply limit, three of the costliest categories of claims Colorado homeowners actually file: sewer or drain backup, damage to the underground utility lines running from the street to your house, and full replacement of a hail-damaged roof. All three are easy to overlook until a claim is already underway. Water backup and sump pump overflow A standard homeowners policy generally covers sudden, accidental water damage from

"Someone sold me an annuity and I don't really know what it does" is one of the most common things we hear, and it's a completely reasonable position to be in. Annuity contracts are dense, the terminology varies by carrier, and the person who sold it may not have explained the tradeoffs clearly. Here's how to start making sense of what you actually own. First, figure out which type you have Fixed annuity or MYGA (multi-year guaranteed annuity): Pays a guaranteed fixed interes

Changing jobs raises an immediate question about the retirement account you're leaving behind. There's rarely a single right answer, but there are four real options worth understanding before you decide. Leave it where it is: If your former employer's plan allows it and the account balance meets any minimum, you can simply leave the money in place. This can make sense if the plan offers strong, low-cost investment options, like an especially good stable value or index fund, t

A Roth conversion means moving money from a pretax account, a traditional IRA or old 401(k), into a Roth IRA. You pay ordinary income tax on the amount converted in the year you convert it, and from that point forward the money grows and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement, as long as the account has been open at least five years and you meet the age or exception requirements. There's no income limit on conversions, which is why they're often used by higher earners who ca

Colorado requires drivers to carry liability insurance, but liability alone often leaves real gaps. Here's a plain-English rundown of the optional coverages that show up on most auto policies, and why each one exists. Comprehensive and collision: Comprehensive covers non-collision damage to your own vehicle, hail, theft, vandalism, animal strikes, while collision covers damage from an accident regardless of fault. Both are optional unless you have a car loan or lease, in whic

A 1% annual advisory fee sounds small. On a $500,000 account, that's $5,000 the first year. But because that fee is charged every year on a growing balance, and because it compounds away from your investment returns rather than just your wallet, its real cost over 10 or 20 years is far larger than most people expect. Below is an illustrative comparison of a $500,000 portfolio under two fee structures: a 1% assets-under-management (AUM) fee taken directly from the account each