Greetings!
The summer is in full swing and we are loving it! Weekends at the shore, BBQs, road trips and vacation adventures are so memorable, especially when surrounded by our family and friends. We hope you and your family are enjoying this happy season of sun and fun by doing things together. 
 
Take a look below to see some of the great shots taken of our recent Women’s Outing on the Water, where we learned about Dragon Boat Racing from Lisa Mercuro and members of the South Jersey Dragon Boat Club. What a fun and exhilarating experience it was to share with our team, clients and friends. If you’re interested in joining us for our next adventure, please send us a note and tell us about your interests. 
 
Beautiful things are happening at CURO! We’ve been telling you about some changes we have been hard at work on. Our website is one of those changes and we can’t wait to show you the new and improved online extension of CURO. We hope you will find It to be a resource for valuable information and inspiration for all of your financial needs, including the coveted work-life balance for which we all strive to attain. 
 
The most exciting news has yet to be revealed….until now! All of our hard work and passion at CURO has been illustrated in our growth this year. Our clients continue to amaze us with their accomplishments and we have been hearing how they would like to share our services with the younger generations of their families. We recognized a need amongst our clients and in the community for financial planning suited to the diverse and growing demographic of young professionals seeking assistance preparing for their futures. Who better to lead this new direction of CURO, but Danielle Finnerty, as an expert resource for our clients. She has been elevated to Associate Financial Advisor , a role for which she has been handling seamlessly for months.
 
Danielle has developed a unique service to address the specific financial challenges encountered in the early years of developing a career and growing savings. While continuing to provide exceptional service to our current clientele, she will now assume the role as primary advisor for some of the clients at our firm and continue to seek new clients that fit our practice. She will remain involved with all of our clients and will continue to collaborate with me as specific needs arise.
 
We're so proud of Danielle and her professional development over the years. Please join me in congratulating her in this new and vital role!

Marianna
NEWS THAT AFFECTS YOU
MARKET COMMENTARY: Volatile June Caps Off Eventful Quarter
June was a volatile month, with earlier gains offset by later losses. Still, both the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite ended the month in positive territory. The S&P 500 rose 0.62 percent during the month, while the Nasdaq led the way with a gain of 0.98 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the lone exception, as it declined 0.49 percent.

All three U.S. indices were positive for the quarter. The S&P 500 was up 3.43 percent for the period, and the Dow gained 1.26 percent. But the Nasdaq did best, rising 6.61 percent.

Despite the volatility at month-end, the fundamentals for U.S. markets remained positive. According to FactSet, the estimated earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 in the second quarter stands at 20 percent (as of June 29). This would represent the second-highest quarterly earnings growth since 2011. We know that fundamentals drive long-term performance. If companies meet expectations, then this strong second-quarter growth should encourage further performance.  

A WILD GOOD TIME ON THE WATER!
Ten pops of quick, short paddles, followed by a one minute set of long strokes and finishing strong, digging deep into the river to pull the water back, we experienced what it was like to race a Dragon Boat.

Our group of fun and fearless ladies met up at the Red Dragon Canoe Club in Beverly NJ, where the South Jersey Dragon Boat Club is based. Lisa Mercuro and her team members shared boat safety tips beforehand to keep us all onboard (and out of the water!) Then we were off and into the sunset for wet and wild adventure...
What an awesome time it was for all of us! Our thanks to Lisa Mercuro and her teammates for introducing us to the art and joy of the "DRAGON EFFECT - Enjoyment, Fitness, Fellowship, Education, Community & Teamwork."

Ladies, 18 to 68 years young, mixed along the boat according to size, skill and strength all took part in the action of powering the craft along the Delaware. During our practice we were even greeted by the mighty "Iron Lady," a cargo ship passing through the same channel....surely a sign!

The first few rounds weren't exactly in sync, as we learned how to hold our paddles and where to place them into the water for the most effective, and most comfortable effort to propel us forward. Though, it didn't take us long to catch our stride and feel the teamwork working for us, making the ride smoother and a lot less wet!
Long Term Care ABC's:
Millions Bought Insurance to Cover Retirement Costs. Now They Face an Awful Choice .
source: wsj.com

Long-term-care insurance was supposed to help pay for nursing homes, assisted living and personal aides for tens of millions of Americans when they became unable to take care of themselves.

Now, though, the industry is in financial turmoil, causing misery for many of the 7.3 million people who own a long-term-care policy, equal to about a fifth of the U.S. population at least 65 years old. Steep rate increases that many policyholders never saw coming are confronting them with an awful choice: Come up with the money to pay more—or walk away from their coverage.

“Never in our wildest imagination did we consider that the company would double the premium,” says Sally Wylie, 67, a retired learning specialist who lives on Vinalhaven Island, Maine. In the past two years, CNA Financial Corp. has increased the annual long-term-care insurance bill for Ms. Wylie and her husband by more than 90% to $4,831. They bought the policies in 2008, which promise future benefits of as much as $268,275 per person. The Wylies are bracing for more increases.

To make their budget work, she has taken on a part-time landscaping job. The couple has delayed home maintenance, travels less and sometimes rents out their house. “We feel like we are out on a limb here, and these policies are supposed to be our safety net,” she says....

SPOTLIGHT: Our Clients' Dreams Realized
A Vacation 'Nirvana' in Belize
Have you ever thought to yourself "I'm going to quit my job and retire to a tropical island, pina colada in hand and my toes in the sand?" Most of us probably have, but few really ever do.

Evan and Barbara Hall are not your typical ex-pats. Originally from Belize, they migrated to the USA as young children, but throughout their lives and 44 years of marriage they returned to their beloved homeland many times with their children and grandchildren and knew it would one day be the place they would retire.

Successful professionals in the aviation and finance industries, and then later a catering business featuring their native cuisine, neither were ready to hang up their aprons when the opportunity to build a boutique hotel along the shore of Placencia came upon them. Too young in their own eyes to retire, they created the Belizean Nirvana , an all-suite hotel offering their guests tranquility, a feeling of belonging, and a happy place to kick back, relax and enjoy all the beauty, adventure and culture Belize has to offer.

We're so proud to have helped them realize their dream, and hope the next time we meet it's pina coladas in hand and toes in the sand!
STOP Junk Mail For Good With These 4 Steps:
Do you ever wish your snail mail came with a spam filter? 

Your mailbox, once the place of joyous discoveries like a handwritten letter or an unexpected paper check from a distant relative, is now the site of unwanted clutter. What can you do to basically stop junk mail from annoying the living daylights out of you?

Here are four ways to reduce the volume of unwanted mail delivered by USPS :

1. Opt out of prescreened credit card and insurance offers.

Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit optoutprescreen.com  and you can choose not to receive unsolicited offers for new credit cards and insurance. This free opt-out service is operated by the four major consumer reporting companies and generally gets high reviews for effectiveness ― unlike, say, the national Do Not Call Registry, which hasn’t stopped the proliferation of unsolicited spam calls.

Consumers can block prescreened credit card and insurance offers for either five years or permanently. To do so will require that you provide certain...

Mark Your Calendars for Events This Fall

  • Thursday, October 4th, 6pm to 8pm Long Term Care event with Nicole Meyers of Lincoln Financial Group

  • Tuesday, October 23rd, 9am to 4pm Medicare Marathon

Click the image to the right to let us know you're interested in the event and we will save you a seat.
Let us help you curate a wealthy life.
RETIREMENT PLANNING

Retirement planning involves evaluating your current financial standing and creating an accumulation strategy to help ensure your desired retirement lifestyle. A successful plan put into place during the process of wealth building should address ways to maximize growth and tax-efficient distributions.
DIVORCE FINANCIAL PLANNING

Divorce can be a stressful and overwhelming time in your life, with so many important decisions to be made and your financial future at stake. Don't go at it alone and risk being unprepared for the future. Let us advocate for you and ensure fair and equitable division of assets.
INSURANCE & LONG TERM CARE

You likely have Health Insurance and Life Insurance, but what about Long Term Care Insurance?Have you thought about your needs as you age and what will happen to your estate? Learn more about it at our information luncheon in October.


We love to hear from our clients about how we are doing, what we can do better, what services you need, or how we have or can help you achieve your financial dreams. Please feel free to click the button above and send us your thoughts. We're always listening!
“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it. ”
- Oprah Winfrey