https://josepharmah.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-03-21 https://josepharmah.com/blog/why-business-owners-need-financial-planning monthly 0.5 2022-01-13 https://josepharmah.com/blog/preparing-for-the-2025-tax-season monthly 0.5 2025-03-21 https://josepharmah.com/blog/3-ways-that-first-generation-americans-can-build-wealth-for-the-future monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://josepharmah.com/blog/what-to-know-traditional-401ks-vs-roth-401ks monthly 0.5 2021-12-29 https://josepharmah.com/blog/when-should-you-exercise-your-stock-options monthly 0.5 2021-12-03 https://josepharmah.com/blog/cryptocurrency-and-inflation-is-it-a-good-inflation-hedge monthly 0.5 2021-12-16 https://josepharmah.com/blog/how-a-structured-portfolio-can-combat-the-hardships-of-inflation monthly 0.5 2021-12-16 https://josepharmah.com/blog/does-cryptocurrency-fit-into-your-financial-planning monthly 0.5 2021-12-03 https://josepharmah.com/blog/how-should-small-businesses-think-about-providing-benefits-to-their-employees monthly 0.5 2021-12-15 https://josepharmah.com/blog/covid-19-and-life-insurance monthly 0.5 2021-12-03 https://josepharmah.com/blog/should-i-get-group-disability-insurance monthly 0.5 2021-12-03 https://josepharmah.com/blog/estate-planning-is-crucial monthly 0.5 2021-12-16 https://josepharmah.com/blog/business-planning monthly 0.5 2021-12-03 https://josepharmah.com/blog/tax-g3sjy monthly 0.5 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1586426173708-KJ2FD2M6H5DI1BZ5K6F1/image-asset.jpeg Financial Health Blog - Tax Planning - Are you ready for Tax season? Many are caught by surprise when they file their taxes, and it is typically not a pleasant one! Tax planning season used to be such a stressful season that I would have sleepless nights. On a few occasions, I stayed up until midnight on tax filing day, trying to comb through receipts of all my donations to charities and emails to find tax deductions. At the end of all that work, I would have a huge tax liability or bill. After filing my taxes and paying my tax liability, I would promise myself not to go through the same pain the following year. I would review and analyze the effective tax rates of individuals in my tax bracket and then convince myself that I have the answer. When I asked an esteemed and extremely successful business owner what I needed to do about my tax planning in CT, his response was “make more money”. This answer created more questions in my mind. In order not to worry about taxes, I needed to make a lot more money. If the taxman took 90% of my earnings I would still be ok. What I did not realize then is that tax planning—especially in the case of my clients, tax planning in CT is a necessary undertaking. Through tax planning, all the elements of a financial plan would work together in the most tax-efficient manner possible. Making more money helps, especially as a business owner. However, putting a tax plan in place is paramount. Don’t get caught unawares, giving the government money you hoped to save. Instead, be prepared by making some important choices that will alter your taxable income and provide you with more deductions. Contact Armah Financial for assistance with tax planning in CT. Video calls are certainly available for anyone out of state as well! https://josepharmah.com/blog/costlydelays monthly 0.5 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1586424087867-WXH446M51PRGDFUWC443/image-asset.jpeg Financial Health Blog - Costly Delays - Costly Delays I received a tragic call from a close friend just before the New Year. The night before, her husband had passed on. He was the type of person you could spend hours talking to. A true family man, hilarious to boot, and an amazing chef. The week before he and I had reconnected, we were overdue for a visit and talked about planning time to meet with the families. He was a small business owner, and I cared about his family and their well being, so I had planned to discuss his financial planning, business protection for his catering company and restaurant. Thinking we had plenty of time, I thought I would wait until the beginning of the year. I had no idea that would be the last opportunity we would ever have to speak. At his wake, person after person rose to speak of the impact he had on their lives. His daughter wrote a beautiful poem and prose that she dedicated to him. His wife held others up as they broke down from the pain of the loss. As I watched from my seat, I could not stop worrying about the future of this beautiful family without their patriarch. I also could not shake off the incredible disappointment that I had with myself that I had not moved sooner. What if I had intervened and supported him in meeting his health goals. What if I had reached out sooner and helped him to protect his business in the event of a tragedy like this. With a daughter too young to take on his business but with that as her life goal, perhaps I could have had an impact on this family that would have completely changed their financial trajectory. Why should they both suffer this loss of life and financial hardship. After this most recent loss, I realized that there is no room for hesitation. I will not permit myself to experience this unnecessary regret again. The cost of a little delay, can hurt one's children and their children's children. The benefit of a little advanced planning can positively impact the financial well-being of a family for generations to come. https://josepharmah.com/blog/estate-planning-rmd9y monthly 0.5 2021-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1586423284488-BZ4NI7W3DJU8UG80UI2V/image-asset.jpeg Financial Health Blog - Estate Planning - What are your wishes? I have always avoided the topic of estate planning. Initially, I thought I was alone in this realm. However, I quickly learned that most people do not want to discuss issues pertaining to their death. It’s only natural, estate planning is inherently a morbid topic. There are even famous and wealthy individuals who never bothered to write their wishes on paper. One recurring comment that I run into is the following: “the people who are left behind will take care of the problem.” I am now getting to a point in my life where I strongly believe that such a notion is irresponsible. COVID-19 has made this point more salient. We really do not have an infinite amount of time on this earth. Neither can we trust that we will have all our faculties till the end. Time might run out. Wouldn’t it be liberating to know we have done our part? We have an opportunity to make sure that we have put in place a process that ensures that our loved ones are taken care off, don’t have to pay exorbitant income taxes, and don’t need to guess our wishes. Armah Financial offers estate planning in CT. If you live elsewhere and have chanced upon this page, don’t feel excluded! We would love to get on a video call to discuss your estate or other financial planning needs. Contact us today! https://josepharmah.com/blog/retirement-planning-ap92e monthly 0.5 2020-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1593628360566-YKF72IHU94KH3UWZYHSL/20191031162346-GettyImages-1096101642.jpeg Financial Health Blog - Retirement Planning https://josepharmah.com/blog-social-impact daily 0.75 2021-10-22 https://josepharmah.com/blog-social-impact/should-you-consider-esg-investing monthly 0.5 2021-10-22 https://josepharmah.com/blog-social-impact/esg-investing-in-the-energy-sector monthly 0.5 2020-07-18 https://josepharmah.com/mental-health daily 0.75 2020-07-18 https://josepharmah.com/mental-health/Blog Post Title One-lpx44 monthly 0.5 2021-08-24 https://josepharmah.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2022-03-09 https://josepharmah.com/our-mission-1 daily 1.0 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1613933512020-PJV0NBPM2UB3UNLPLXRJ/IMG_2782.jpg Mission My Retirement Wishes I ran into Rosa a year ago. At our first meeting Rosa told me exactly the number of working days she had left before retiring. I joked that she was still very young and that she could work another ten years. To this she replied "I only have seven years left to work. I will be 65 in seven years. Let's get cranking." Like most people of her generation, Rosa has saved most of her retirement income in a 401K account. She had been diligent with her contributions to her retirement investments. Nonetheless she was worried about a potential stock market meltdown just before her retirement. Her other main concern was outliving her wealth. It has been a pleasure working with Rosa. We have explored tax efficient strategies for her retirement and life time income substitutes. Rosa feels more confident now and has better understanding of what she needs to do from now until retirement and during retirement. I have met many people like Rosa for financial planning in CT, where even after following traditional advice there was much they could do to improve their circumstances. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1613934149214-4CEGOCVW5BU19F4W0NY2/IMG_2796.jpg Mission The Sandwich Generation John and Susan Smith reminded me of my own family a lot. They married eighteen years ago and have three children. The Smiths have a very busy life. John is in business and Susan is a doctor. John's parents are in their seventies and live in Florida. Susan's parents lived in NYC most for their lives but moved to CT five years ago to help raise their grandchildren. When I met John and Susan a year ago for financial planning in CT, they explained that they now have to care for their children and their parents at the same time. They are a part of the growing sandwich generation - simultaneously taking care of a younger and an older generation. They also realized that they needed to save for their retirement in order to live out their retirement dreams and not end up in their parents situation. After consultation, it became clear to the Smiths that while they have done some financial planning work on their own they needed the expertise of a professional for peace of mind and a more informed plan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1613891265036-20WX8ZXD3LVLAGA04I2E/image.jpg Mission No Time When I first met this busy doctor and mother of three she was overwhelmed with the number of commitments at work and at home. Despite doing some planning for the future, Tonya did not feel she had the time to prioritize organizing her finances for a secure financial future. Her investments were scattered and she was not sure what was happening with any of the money that she had saved up. She was looking for someone she could trust to walk her through what she needed to know about where she stood and where she could go. We met by video conference when it was convenient for her. I worked with her on locating and consolidating her assets. We then implemented investment strategies for her assets based on her risk appetite. Finally, we made solid decisions on securing her income in the event of sudden disability. Today she has peace of mind about at least one aspect of life during these tumultuous times when she is needed most as a physician. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1585796233080-OVMY097PWE4WCNMNJMPS/nestegg.jpg Mission - A Young Family Nate, an attorney, and Lorraine, a nurse, married three years ago. They are expecting their second child and they both want to continue working because they believe that working teaches dedication and discipline. Nate and Lorraine’s parents worked most of their lives. As immigrants the parents spent most of their lives just trying to make ends meet. Retirement seems a distant consideration to Nate. So he is satisfied with contributing a small percentage of his salary to his employer sponsored 401K plan. Lorraine wants her children to have the best possible life; attend good schools, excellent colleges and have some amount of money to start their adult lives. Lorraine started talking to John about putting a financial plan in place for the family. She was alarmed when her cousin, who is a few years older than her, passed away and left behind her small child. They found me to help them create and implement a plan to address their needs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1585794647632-FC1C9OYYCURO4T86Z1TS/Baby-empathy-800x400.jpg Mission - My Child Needs A Headstart Samantha, Robert and their one year old son, Toby, live in the suburbs. When I started working with Samantha, her main concern was to ensure that Toby was always insurable. After a few exchanges, I quickly learned that Samantha's dad was not insurable after his 35th birthday because doctors discovered he had a heart murmur. Samantha and Robert also wanted to make sure that they had investments in place to take care of Toby's education. We worked together to put a plan in place that ensures that Toby will not have to worry about insurability and also be in a position to pursue his dreams and goals. https://josepharmah.com/about-us daily 0.75 2022-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1613935416048-WZFAHCT6EAKA1H7J4Q86/JosephArmahNew.jpg Founder https://josepharmah.com/home daily 0.75 2022-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3604a9cdad377a574c13dd/1629747170796-H58Z7LFMGO5Y0A949DW3/JosephArmah.jpg Home I am Joseph Armah. I built this company with real people in mind; hard working and hopeful individuals who need to prepare for a secure future but also want to enjoy life today! Taking the right steps with the direction of a seasoned professional who cares, can take all the mystery and anxiety out of financial planning. https://josepharmah.com/whatwedo-3 daily 0.75 2021-10-03