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Financial Asset Managment

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival Returns Bigger and Even Better: New and Exciting Guests, Panels & Activities On Tap

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A new story for your bookshelf. A photograph with your favorite author. A signed copy of a book you love. On October 5th, the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (“CCBF”) returns to Robert E. Bell Middle School, offering area children and their parents the opportunity to meet the writers behind the most popular children’s stories and find or foster a love for reading. With a record 145 authors scheduled to attend and a wide selection of special events and activities, the 7th annual Festival is primed to build on prior years’ great success, expected to attract over 8,000 visitors.

Voted the Best Annual Festival by Westchester Magazine, the CCBF is proud to host a variety of esteemed authors in October, including big names in children’s literature such as Kate Messner, Dan Gutman, David Kirk, Padma Venkatraman, and Tiffany Jackson. A number of these authors will participate in themed panels throughout the day, offering visitors a chance to hear the voices behind their favorite stories and learn about the writing process at large. Kicking off the author panel will be a keynote address from New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka, whose more than 30 published books include the Platypus Police Squad middle school series as well as his popular graphic novel collection titled Lunch Lady.

Exciting New Panel Presentations

While visitors will have ample opportunity to meet writers and purchase books at the individual author tables, new panels will offer a deeper look into the values and objectives behind the creation of children’s literature, exploring a variety of themes and topics intended to engage both young readers and their parents. Author participants on the “Keeping it Real” panel will discuss their experiences with nonfiction writing, while those on “All the Feels” will examine how their books help children make sense of their feelings and emotions. “Girls in the World” contributors will explore how their books depict the empowerment and growth of young girls throughout the complex issues faced during their developmental years.

Additionally, this year’s panel series will welcome Project LIT Community, described by founder Jarred Amato as a “national, grassroots literacy movement” through which dedicated authors empower young people “as readers, writers, and leaders” by sharing books that “make them feel seen, heard, affirmed, and valued”. Project LIT unites educators and students through books that teach youth about current events and culture, helping them become leaders who can make their voices heard.

Growing Every Year

The Chappaqua’s Children’s Book Festival has become one of Westchester County’s signature and largest events, garnering national attention and growing immensely in size and scope to accommodate larger numbers of both visitors and authors. Outreach efforts extend to schools and libraries in Westchester, Connecticut and New York City, welcoming families from well beyond the Chappaqua community and making this year’s festival likely the largest yet.

To ensure the safety of the growing number of visitors, CCBF organizers have arranged for the town to close off lower Greeley Avenue during the event, creating an easier path for families arriving by train or parking in the train station lot. The closed road, as well as the Bell soccer field, will allow more space for sponsors and food trucks, accommodating the anticipated attendees as well as abundant activities and refreshments.

Also appearing at the Festival will be KidLit TV, a website that connects parents and educators with authors, illustrators, and their work. The station will be broadcasting from the Festival with live interviews from the many visiting authors taking part in the event. Author readings, always an integral part of the CCBF, will now take place in the gazebo on the Recreation Field, and various activities involving art and music will add to the festivities. With a dedication to the principles of community and literacy, a portion of book sale proceeds will go to local literacy programs, encouraging area schools to invest in their reading programs and ensuring that the values of CCBF reach far beyond the Festival itself.

As a community-based event, CCBF is proud to engage both local organizations and families for this highly anticipated day that connects writers and readers in a shared love of literature.

Financial Asset Management of Chappaqua (FAM), one of the festival’s sponsors will be supporting a variety of lead-up events throughout the month of September, including window decorations of local businesses, an art show by author and illustrator Mara Van Fleet and a Storywalk created by the Chappaqua Public Library.

So clear your calendar for October 5th to attend the 7th Annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. ccbfestival.org for more information or to sign up as a volunteer at the event or become a sponsor.

Top 10 Financial Tidbits

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BY SCOTT M. KAHAN CFP®

  1. Join your company’s retirement plan and try to contribute as much as you can. Make sure you are contributing enough funds to get the maximum matching contribution from your employer.
  2. One of the greatest gifts you can give is to help pay the education costs for your grandchildren. Any gifts, regardless of how large, made to anyone for the purpose of funding education, do not incur gift taxes as long as the payment is made directly to the educational institution.
  3. Update your estate planning documents. Protect your health and your wealth with a health care proxy and durable power of attorney. Make sure your will and trusts leave money to the correct people.
  4. Maximize your tax deductions. Donate items you don’t need to charity. If you expect a large income tax refund, change your withholding tax so you get more per month in your paycheck and less of a refund.
  5. Buying low and selling high is a lot easier said than done. Have a solid rebalancing strategy in place that helps take the emotions out of investing.
  6. A shorter mortgage isn’t always better. Consider taking a long-term mortgage, and then make additional payments when you can. If things become financially “tight,” you can stop making additional payments.
  7. Protect tangible assets with the right amount of homeowners, automobile and liability insurance for liability and disasters.
  8. Withdrawing retirement plan assets before age 59½ may lead to a 10% penalty; not withdrawing enough after age 70½ may lead to a 50% penalty. Moral of the story? Know when to make withdrawals.
  9. Pay yourself first. As you set your budget each month, set aside money for savings and fixed expenses first. What’s left over can be used for other purposes.
  10. Like regular checkups with your physician, regular reviews with a Certified Financial Planner professional are important to your financial “health.”

Scott M. Kahan, is a Certified Financial Planner® professional and President of Financial Asset Management Corporation, a fee-only wealth management firm located at 26 South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua. Call Scott Kahan at 914-238-8900.

Getting a Strong Start to 2017

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BY SCOTT M. KAHAN

With the stock market hitting record highs, potential interest rate increases and the ongoing uncertainty as to what is going on in Washington, now is the time to organize. Here are a few quick things to address to get started.

Review your portfolio.

With the rally in equity prices, it’s probably a good time to review your asset allocation. A simple way to re-balance your portfolio is to first set what percent of your portfolio should be in each asset class. Then when reviewing your portfolio, the sectors that have gone up will be over weighted and should be reduced, while the underperforming sectors will be under weighted and can be added to. If you follow this practice, it forces you to sell high, buy low and take the emotions out of investing.

Review Your Taxes and Cash Flow.

If you are getting large tax refunds each year, review your withholding. Financially, it’s actually better to get a small refund or owe a small amount. When you get a refund, it’s your money being returned to you with no interest. In other words, you gave the government an interest free loan. Adjust your withholding or estimated tax payments to ensure you are not over or under paying your taxes by too much. Then look to see if you are fully funding your retirement plans. If not, use that extra money each pay check to fund your retirement plan. The retirement plan contribution usually is tax deductible thus saving you even more in taxes.

Review Your Estate Planning.

When was the last time you looked at your wills and other estate planning documents? Make sure all beneficiaries are in place in retirement accounts. Review to make sure you have named guardians for minor children. If you have avoided setting up your estate plans, now is the time to address this important issue.

Scott M. Kahan, is a Certified Financial Planner® professional and President of Financial Asset Management Corporation, a fee-only wealth management firm located at 26 South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua. Call Scott Kahan at 914-238-8900.

How to Pay for College

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IMG_4590By Scott Kahan

Paying for college can be very complicated, especially if families haven’t saved enough. With many private colleges now costing close to $60,000 per year, parents can expect to spend over $250,000 for a four year degree. State schools can cost as much as $25,000 per year, or higher for out-of-state residents. How do families pay for all this? And what if parents have more than one child? Below, Scott M. Kahan, Certified Financial Planner professional and President of Chappaqua’s Financial Asset Management Corporation, offers suggestions for getting one’s financial planning under control and making the whole college process a little less stressful.

1. Consider your family’s overall financial situation. “College is one goal among many,” Kahan emphasizes to parents. “Retirement is [also] a major goal that should not be sacrificed. You can borrow for college, but you can’t borrow for retirement.” For that purpose, he suggests maximizing your savings into work retirement plans such as 401Ks.

2. For optimum savings, choose the 529 Plan. Available in all states, these plans provide tax-free growth on the money put in, as long as it is used for college. The money can also be used for any immediate family member’s college expenses, meaning, if needed, a parent can take money from one child’s account and use it for another. There is no limit to the number of plans one can set up.

Additionally, using the NYS plan (www.nysaves.org), parents can deduct their contribution on their NYS tax returns ($10,000 max for married couples; $5,000 max for single parents). Says Kahan, “Families can always fund more, but only that amount is deductible.” He also recommends parents use the direct savings plan, rather than the advisor plan, since there are no additional costs built in. Keep in mind, too, that when applying for financial aid, some schools (not all) will not count the 529 as a child’s asset in the calculations. Finally, Kahan suggests grandparents and other family members consider funding these accounts as well, in order to maximize savings.

3. If you have home equity available, consider borrowing from that. Kahan forewarns: “How you do this is important.” With interest rates still low, he suggests refinancing your mortgage rather than taking out a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Why? “The reason is simple,” Kahan states. “A HELOC has a variable rate. When rates start rising, as they will before you know it, this rate will increase, and the college loan will become very expensive. By refinancing a mortgage and taking cash out, you can lock in today’s lower rates for the term of your mortgage. The cost to obtain a new mortgage may be higher, but in the long run, could save you money.”

4. Avoid borrowing from a 401K plan; again, keep retirement money separate from this process. “There could be some advantages to doing this,” says Kahan, “but if you leave your job with an outstanding loan, that loan then becomes taxable income and possibly subject to an additional 10% penalty.”

5. Beware the private student loans trap, as these loans have “low interest rates to start, but those rates can climb.” Also, considering that these are private loans, they do not necessarily provide the same flexibility with deferment and forgiveness of debt as some government loans.

6. Consider the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for your child. These forms should be completed in January of the year the child enters college. Even if a given family may not qualify for financial aid, this plan will allow a parent or child to borrow money using loans available through the school and government programs.

7. Look into Stafford loans and Parent Plus loan options. Stafford loans are student loans that can have lower interest rates, depending upon family finances. Parent Plus loans are parent loans, which allow parents to borrow up to the full cost of education each year.

8. Seek out a Certified Financial Planner professional. He or she can help you identify your goals and figure out how to best execute your plan. “By taking into account all your goals and family finances, they can put you on the right path to meeting those goals,” Kahan explains.

Additionally, Chappaqua residents/parents can benefit from the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund, www.HGSF.org, which provides scholarships to students based on financial need.
Rest assured that all information provided is confidential.

Each year, with the help of a local college financial director, Mr. Kahan also presents a seminar on how to prepare and plan to pay for college at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua. He can be reached at 914 238-8900 or email: skahan@famcorporation.com. FAM is located at 26 S. Greeley Avenue.