Protect Yourself from Tax Scams This Season

It’s that time of year again - tax season. Let’s not let the fraudsters cash in on our hard-earned money or steal our identity.

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Chart of Day - Median Age of Homebuyers

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Chart of the Day: Higher Homeowner Insurance

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How Florida's Hurricane Season Impacts Home Mortgages

As we enter another year in the Sunshine State, one thing remains consistent—hurricane season. For many Floridians, this season means more than just stocking up on emergency supplies. It's about stabilizing finances and ensuring their most significant investment—their home—is protected. Understanding the relationship between hurricane season, homeownership, and mortgage stability is crucial for anyone navigating Florida's housing market.

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Chart of the Day: Cash Can Cost

Today's Chart of the Day, from BlackRock, illustrates the potential downside of staying in cash for too long. It highlights the excess returns of a 60% stock/40% bond portfolio compared to cash since 1926. The top bars (red) show these returns; for instance, a 10-year holding period yields returns 100% higher than cash.

The black boxes below show the percentage of time cash underperforms; for 10 years, that is 91% of the time.

This highlights the old adage, "It’s not about timing the market, but time in the market." If you have funds that you will not need for more than 10+ years, historically, stocks have been your best bet.

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Chart of the Day: 75% Use Prime

Today’s Chart of the Day from Chartr shows that over 75% of American’s are using Amazon Prime as of 2024. Amazon is now the 4th largest company in the United States and has an annual return of 27% a year vs. 15% for the S&P 500 over the same time frame.

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Your Guide to Residential Mortgages in Florida: What Homebuyers Need to Know

Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you'll make, and navigating the mortgage process can be daunting—especially in Florida’s unique housing market.

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Chart of the Day: Bronze Happier Than Silver

Today’s Chart of the Day has data from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology used by our partners at BlackRock (the company that owns iShares) for a presentation they recently provided to our clients.

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Chart of the Day: Fees go on Forever

Today’s Chart of the Day from Bloomberg shows the percentage of assets and revenue by ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), which we use extensively in portfolios.

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The Benefits of Using Crews Bank & Trust's Online and Mobile Banking

Online and Mobile Banking have transformed how we manage our finances, making traditional banking methods seem old-fashioned by comparison. With just a few taps or clicks, you can gain complete control over your accounts, no matter the time or place. At Crews Bank & Trust, we love to see our customers, but we know sometimes life is just too busy to stop by.

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Chart of the Day: The Value Stocks of Big Oil

Today’s Chart of the Day, shared by my colleague Angie Parsons, is from an article in Bloomberg which illustrates what a “value” stock is.

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Chart of the Day: Online Sports Betting

As we near the Super Bowl, today’s Chart of the Day is from Chartr and shows the boom in online monthly sports betting.

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How to Spot and Avoid Romance Scams

Love - it’s the universal language that makes the world go ‘round, and unfortunately, the perfect cover for scammers. In the age of swipes, likes, and video chats, finding a soulmate online is more common than ever. According to Statista, a statistics portal, "...over 17 percent of the population of the United States were using online dating services, translating to almost 60 million users."   

Cybercriminals are equal opportunity scammers - both men and women can be, and often are, duped by these sneaky tactics. 

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Chart of the Day: Return Distributions

Today’s Chart of the Day from Vanguard shows the distribution of returns from 1928 to 2024, for stocks, bonds, and a combined 60% stock/40% bond portfolio. It also shows where we have ended up in the last four years.

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Chart of the Day: Atomic Habit of 1%

Today’s Chart of the Day is a little different than others, but one to think about. It’s from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear written in 2018.

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