Quarterly: Oct 17 Financial Planning & Long-Term Tax Reduction in Light of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that was signed into law in December of 2017 has created a unique and time-sensitive retirement planning opportunity that will sunset in 2025. Representing the most significant tax code overhaul the United States has seen in over three decades, the Tax Cuts and Jobs act brings the US into one of the lowest combined marginal tax rate environments this country has experienced since the late 1980’s. The chart below displays the highest and lowest historical marginal tax brackets in the United States. With the lowest marginal tax bracket as high as 25%, and the highest marginal tax bracket as high as 95%, today’s tax brackets are some of the lowest on record. The challenge with our low current tax rates is that Congress failed to curb spending, and our national debt is now growing at an accelerating pace. These two things: low tax rates and an accelerating national debt, are not sustainable long-term. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, some families will see their marginal tax bracket rise by as much as 9%. This short window, however, creates a unique opportunity to take advantage of our current tax rates and convert pre-tax retirement assets to tax-free accounts. Taking advantage of today’s low tax rates and positioning retirement assets in an account that the US government will never tax again can not only dramatically reduce your lifetime tax liability it can also significantly increase your likelihood of a safe and secure retirement. By taking the additional cash flow created from our General Tax Planning and growing the retirement savings in the “Never-To-Be-Taxed-Again Bucket,” we have the potential to dramatically reduce your life-time tax burden, reduce the paralyzing impacts of RMD’s (Required Minimum Distributions) and reduce the taxability of your Social Security Benefits. With the opportunities and challenges of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Monotelo’s unique blend of expertise in tax law, retirement planning and wealth management can be a critical factor in helping you reach your short and long-term goals.

At Monotelo Advisors we work hard to free up cash flow by helping you minimize your federal tax liability, giving you more money to reinvest into your future. TAX EXPERTISE Monotelo believes there is a better way to help you secure your financial future. It starts by improving your cash flow, then focusing on the budget and retirement savings to help you take charge of a future filled with peace and financial security. Our mission is to make a difference with meaningful and actionable financial solutions that positively impact our client's lives. We do this by integrating the tax component into all our discussions - freeing up cash flow that allows our clients to live the lives they want to live. SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS If you are a small-business owner, there is a high probability that you are paying more tax than what is required. And the key to lowering your tax bill is not in finding a competent CPA to file your tax returns, it's in finding an expert with a disciplined process to help you plan your future. LEARN MORE PRIVATE CLIENTS With the opportunities and challenges of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Monotelo's unique blend of expertise in tax law, retirement planning and wealth management can be a critical factor in helping you reach your short and long-term goals. LEARN MORE RETIREMENT PLANNING The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has made proper tax planning more critical than ever when it comes to preparing for retirement. Monotelo's unique blend of expertise and wealth management can help you reach your retirement goals. LEARN MORE TAX EXPERTISE Click here to access the tools and articles designed to help you manage your taxes and your finances while giving you confidence to take the steps needed to prepare for a future filled with peace, hope and financial security. LEARN MORE

5 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW to Help Improve Your Retirement Years When most people think about retirement planning, they focus on growing their money, but they often overlook other critical issues. Eventually you will be shifting gears to preserve what you saved over the years. Taking a few simple steps today can help equip you for the time when that shift takes place. 1. THE INCOME PLAN Build a plan so that you don't run out of money for yourself and your spouse during your lifetime. While this is easier said than done, you can start by figuring out how much money you'll need to cover your living expenses. This would include fixed expenses (mortgage, rent payments, insurance premiums, etc.), variable expenses (food, clothing, car maintenance), outstanding debt (car payments, student loans, credit cards, etc.) and any predictable large purchases (a second home, a new addition, vacations, etc.). Your guaranteed sources of income, such as Social Security or a pension, will be used to pay those expenses. If they aren't enough, you will need to find other income sources. 2. THE PROTECTION PLAN While the odds of your house burning down are less than 3%, most people wouldn't consider going without fire insurance for their home. It's equally, if not more important to address the risk of "burning down" your income plan. For example, the chances are fairly high that you or a spouse will have some kind of long-term care need. These expenses tend to be high and tend to carry on for extended periods of time. As a result, you need to consider this risk. Another risk to consider is the risk of a pension payment getting reduced. For those who plan to retire on a significant pension, this is a very real and present risk that should be addressed in your plan. 3. THE APPRECIATION PLAN Once you have addressed the income and protection needs, it's time to address how to continue growing your money. Conservative, aggressive, moderately aggressive.... You need to identify your capacity to take risk. Once you have properly identified your risk tolerance, you can then begin to focus on portfolio appreciation. The reason this step is crucial is that you do not want to sell at market bottoms when your emotions get the best of you. This happens when you set your portfolio to take more risk than what your emotions can handle, and this is a recipe for disappointment. 4. THE TAX PLAN Keeping your taxes as low as possible should be front and center, and there are a variety of ways to do this. One example would be to focus on asset location, as opposed to asset allocation. Asset location focuses on WHERE you choose to do your retirement saving (IRA, 401K, 403B, Roth IRA, whole life insurance, etc.), while asset allocation focuses on WHAT you choose to invest in inside the account. Asset location matters because this will have a direct impact on the tax implications when you need to access your money saved for your retirement years. 5. THE ESTATE PLAN Some estate planning may also be in order to protect yourself from taxes - particularly in states that have an estate tax, as the exemption levels are usually much lower than the federal level. Taking care of loved ones in the future can also be a primary concern for many. Consult with an attorney to understand the legal documents necessary to ensure the efficiency of your estate, including a health care power of attorney, financial power of attorney, health care directives, wills and trusts. At Monotelo, we exist to make a difference with meaningful and actionable financial solutions that positively impact our client's lives. If you have questions about what steps you can be taking to prepare for your retirement years, call us at 800-961-0298

Quarterly: Oct 17 Overcoming Our Cognitive Biases We started a series on decision-making back in June when we introduced the concept of Level 1 and Level 2 thinking from Daniel Kahneman’s book “Thinking Fast and Slow.” The main goal of the series (Better Thinking... , ...Better Decisions , The Fallacy of the Formula ) was to explore how cognitive biases are formed and how they influence our decision-making. The challenge with our cognitive biases is that they tend to influence us most at the extreme ends of the spectrum. And it’s at these extreme ends of the spectrum where we may need to ignore them the most, because all risky asset classes will experience long periods of underperformance. The S&P 500 Index has experienced three separate periods where it underperformed riskless one-month Treasury bills for more than a dozen years (1929-1943, 1966-1982, and 2000-2012). Any student of the market knows that longer periods of underperformance by risky assets are a necessity. If these periods never occurred, there would be no risk, and the risk premium would disappear. The periods of underperformance essentially create the equity risk premium that investors capture when they choose to take on the random and unpredictable risk of the equity markets. If The Markets Are Random and Unpredictable, How Should That Impact Our Decision-Making? Mean reversion is the theory that security prices return to their long-term averages over time. In every asset class, from bonds to stock to commodities, buying what is cheap leads to better outcomes because expensive stocks revert down to their mean over time while cheap stocks revert up to their mean over time. Unfortunately, that truth only holds up over longer periods of time. Expensive stocks can get more expensive in the short-term while cheap stocks can get even cheaper. Using the CAPE Ratio (the Cyclically Adjusted PE ratio from Robert Shiller) for the S&P 500, we can look back at periods of time when assets were expensive and times when assets were cheap. Source: Macrotrends, Multiple.com and Telos Asset Management Company The CAPE ratio is a valuation measure that uses real earnings per share (EPS) over a 10-year period to smooth out fluctuations in corporate profits that occur over different periods of a business cycle. The ratio is generally applied to broad equity indices to assess whether the market is undervalued or overvalued. Source: Macrotrends, Multiple.com and Telos Asset Management Company By inverting the CAPE ratio chart we can observe the direct relationship between price and future returns. The following chart lines up the annualized 10-year forward returns of the S&P 500 with the CAPE ratio at the start of the period. When the blue line is high, stocks are theoretically undervalued and their future return potential is high. When the blue line is low, stocks are theoretically expensive, and the potential for future returns is muted. Source: Macrotrends, Multiple.com and Telos Asset Management Company While these charts clearly prove that price matters, they do not address the value premium (the advantages of buying cheap stocks over expensive stocks). And unfortunately, there is little evidence that investors can accurately time the value premium or when the mean reversion will take place. That’s where patience and discipline come in. And How Do We Overcome Our Cognitive Biases? The key to overcoming our cognitive biases is to override them with a process that systematically allocates based on math and sound logic rather than human judgement. Process-driven investing is nothing more than a long-term approach to putting capital at risk by owning a broad variety of asset classes, making periodic contributions and regularly rebalancing. The challenge with process-driven investing is that it requires an investor to focus on the investment process and not the short-term results. That can be extremely difficult when the short-term results don’t coincide with the long-range return objectives. Over the long term, however, overcoming our cognitive biases with a good process should deliver more reliable outcomes with better results.

The tax deductions that are available to the average taxpayer have shifted over the years. What was available a few years ago may not be available today and what is available today may shift in the coming years. For taxpayers who itemize deductions, you can deduct the medical expenses you paid for yourself, your spouse or your dependents to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your 2019 adjusted gross income (AGI). WHAT EXPENSES ARE DEDUCTIBLE IN 2019? For example – if you and your spouse’s combined income was $110,000 last year and you contributed $10,000 to your IRA, your AGI would be $100,000. You could deduct any medical expenses that exceed $7,500. But you could only deduct those medical expenses if you are itemizing (not taking the standard deduction). * Note- the threshold jumps from 7.5% to 10% in 2020. One of the changes under the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is that you can no longer deduct miscellaneous employee business expenses. This change has a more-significant impact on union members, public servants and sales professionals who are not fully reimbursed for their travel, cell phone or entertainment expenses. For small business owners and independent contractors, your business expenses must be ordinary and necessary to be deductible. This means they must be common and accepted in your industry and they must be helpful and appropriate for your specific trade or business. Here is a more in-depth summary of what you can and cannot deduct on your 2019 tax return: Medical Expenses Deductible Preventative Care, Treatment, Surgeries, Dental and Vision Care: You can also deduct visits to psychiatrists, psychologists, prescription medication, glasses, contacts and hearing aids. Alcoholism Treatment: Amounts paid for inpatient treatment to a therapeutic alcohol addiction center are deductible. This includes meals and lodging provided by the center during treatment. Fertility Enhancement: The cost of the following infertility treatment procedures are deductible: In vitro fertilization, including temporary storage of eggs or sperm. Surgery, including an operation to reverse prior surgery that prevented you from having children. Guide Dog and Service Animals: The cost to purchase, train and maintain a guide dog or service animal to help a visually impaired, hearing disabled or physically disabled person are deductible. These expenses include food, grooming and veterinary care. Stop Smoking Programs are deductible, but the cost of non-prescription drugs is not deductible. Not Deductible Any Reimbursed Medical Expenses that were paid by your employer or insurance company are not deductible. Weight Loss Programs that focus on general health are not deductible. However, if the weight loss treatment is for a specific disease diagnosed by a doctor (obesity, heart disease, etc), the expense is deductible. Nonprescription Drugs and Medicine (except for insulin) are not deductible: Only prescription drugs are deductible. Health Club Dues: Any expenses paid to improve your general health that are not related to a medical condition are not deductible. Cosmetic Surgery: Any surgery that does not meaningfully promote the proper function of the body, prevent or treat an illness or disease is not deductible. You can, however, deduct cosmetic surgery if it is necessary to improve a deformity arising from a congenital abnormality, personal injury or disfiguring disease. Miscellaneous Deductions Deductible Gambling Losses to the Extent of Gambling Winnings: Gambling losses can include wagers, or other expenses incurred in connection with the gambling activity; but they are limited to the extent of the gambling winnings. In other words – you cannot take a net gambling loss, but you can use your losses to wipe out any gambling winnings. Casualty Losses: ”Generally, you may deduct casualty and theft losses relating to your home, household items, and vehicles on your federal income tax return if the loss is caused by a federally declared disaster declared by the President.” IRS Website Theft Losses – The amount of your theft loss is generally the adjusted basis of your property because the fair market value of your property immediately after the theft is considered to be zero. Losses from Ponzi-Type Investment Schemes: Deductible as theft losses from income-producing property. Home Office: You can take a home office deduction if you are self-employed and you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business purposes. Club Dues: Club dues (as we state below) are not deductible. The following organizations, however, are not treated as clubs organized for business, pleasure, recreation or social purpose (unless one of the main purposes is for entertainment): Boards of trade Business leagues Chambers of commerce Civic or public service organizations Professional organizations Real estate boards Trade associations Not Deductible Unreimbursed Employee Expenses are no longer Deductible under the new tax code , unless you are a performing artist or serve in the Armed Forces as a reservist. Commuting Expenses: The cost of traveling from your home to your work is not deductible. There is an exception is for qualified performing artists and Armed Forces reservists. They can deduct the cost of hauling tools or instruments to and from work. Fines and Penalties: Any amounts paid to settle a liability for a fine, a civil or criminal penalty or a parking tickets are not deductible. Club Dues: Membership in any club organized for business, pleasure, recreation or social purpose is not deductible – this includes athletic, luncheon, sporting, airline, hotel and country clubs. Campaign Expenses: This applies to a candidate for any office and includes qualification and registration fees and legal fees. Lobbying Expenses and Political Contributions: According to the IRS: “You can’t deduct contributions made to a political candidate, a campaign committee, or a newsletter fund. Advertisements in convention bulletins and admissions to dinners or programs that benefit a political party or political candidate aren’t deductible.” Political Action Committees (PACs) are included in this list as well. Read more articles Failing to order your affairs to minimize your tax burden could cost you significant money - so don't wait to take action. If you have additional questions or need some planning help, please reach out to us.

Many public sector workers do not pay into Social Security because they pay into a separate state or local pension fund. Since Social Security benefits are based on the Social Security wages earned during working years, public-sector workers who do not pay into Social Security will not be eligible for Social Security benefits at retirement. There are other public sector workers however, who have paid into the Social Security pool because they work second jobs or began working in the public sector later in life or retired and began a second career. Public sector workers who have paid into Social Security can qualify for benefits on top of their pension, but those benefits may be reduced based on the number of years they paid into Social Security. How Are Social Security Benefits Calculated? Social Security benefits are based on your average wages for your 35 highest earning years. If you pay into Social Security for 29 years, your benefits will be calculated using the 29 working years plus 6 years of zero wages. Your annual wages are also adjusted for inflation to prevent your early earning years from hurting your benefits. After adjusting for inflation and averaging your 35 highest years, your annual wages are divided by 12 to produce your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). Your monthly benefits are calculated using 3 percentage brackets of your AIME: 90% of the first $926 of AIME, 32% of the next $4,657 of AIME and 15% of AIME after that. Example: If you work for 35 years and have average adjusted wages of $72,000 per year, your Social Security benefit calculation will use $6,000 for your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings and calculate your benefits as follows: THE IMPACT OF YOUR PENSION On Your Social Security Benefits $926 x 90% = $833.40 + $4,657 x 32% = $1,490.24 + $417 x 15% = $62.55_____ $6,000 = $2,386.19 monthly benefits How Your Pension May Limit Your Social Security Benefits If you receive a pension from an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes, your benefits may be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This provision reduces monthly benefits by reducing the first bracket benefits from 90% down to 40% in 5% increments depending on the number of years worked. If you paid into Social Security for at least 30 years with "substantial earnings," then the WEP limitation will not apply. But if you paid in for less than 30 years of substantial earnings the first bracket percentage will be reduced by 5% for each year under 30 until it bottoms out at 40% for 20 years of contributions . This limitation can reduce your base Social Security benefits by as much as $5,500 per year. Example: To demonstrate how this limitation reduces your benefits we have calculated the monthly benefits you would receive if your AIME was $6,000 under two scenarios: 1) where you have 30 years of substantial Social Security wages and 2) where you only have 20 years of substantial Social Security wages: The lower percentage applied to the first $926 of wages when the WEP limitation applies reduces your benefits by $463 per month or $5,556 per year. What Can You Do to Eliminate the Pension Penalty? The Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2019 was recently introduced in congress to repeal the WEP limitations by replacing them with a new formula that treats public servants more favorably. With the bill’s future uncertain, we want to focus on steps you can take right now. The first step in the process is to determine your Social Security benefits by creating an account at www.ssa.gov . This account will allow you to view your estimated benefits based on your prior work history. Be aware that the estimates provided by the Social Security Administration will not account for any WEP limitation that may apply to you. After you find your estimated benefits you will need to subtract $46.30 per month for every year short of the 30-year window of substantial earnings. If you are more than 10 years short of the 30 year mark, only subtract amounts for the first 10 years that you are short. If you are short of the 30-year threshold, you may want to consider working a few extra years at a part-time job or starting a new career at retirement. These additional years of contributions will not only increase your potential Social Security benefit, they will also decrease the limitation put on those benefits by the Windfall Elimination Provision. What Constitutes "Substantial Earnings"? Substantial Earnings are a separate calculation from the calculation of year paid into Social Security. To qualify for a year’s worth of Social Security earnings, you only need to earn $5,880 of wages. To qualify for substantial earnings, you need a total of 26,550 of wages subject to Social Security. The table below will show the substantial earnings test. To discuss this further, please reach out to one of our team members at (847) 923-9015. Read more articles Failing to order your affairs to minimize your tax burden could cost you significant money - so don't wait to take action. If you have additional questions or need some planning help, please reach out to us.

Monotelo Advisors Privacy Policy Introduction At Monotelo Advisors, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines our practices regarding the collection and use of your data. Information Collection We may collect personal information from you in various ways, including when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, fill out a form, or interact with our services. The types of personal information we collect may include: - Contact information (name, email address, phone number) - Demographic information (age, gender, location) Use of Information We use the information we collect for various purposes, including: - To provide and improve our services - To communicate with you, including sending newsletters and updates - To personalize your experience on our website - To analyze and understand how our services are used No Sale of Personal Data At Monotelo Advisors, we prioritize the confidentiality and security of your personal information. We want to assure you that we do not sell or share your personal data to any third parties. Your trust is of utmost importance to us, and we are committed to protecting your privacy. Data Security We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. We do not share personal data (phone numbers) with third parties, affiliates or partners Your Rights Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including: - The right to access your personal data - The right to correct any inaccuracies - The right to request deletion of your data - The right to restrict processing of your data - The right to data portability - The right to object to the processing of your data If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below. Changes to This Policy We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on our website. You are advised to review this policy periodically for any changes. No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties

THE MONOTELO TEAM Jim Richter, CFP®, CAIA®, EA, CEPA ® President jim@monotelo.com Jim Richter is the President of Monotelo Advisors. Jim sets the strategic direction for the firm, including oversight of all tax and financial planning services at Monotelo Advisors. He brings 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry, including 10 years of hedge-fund specific work across diverse investment products. Prior to founding Monotelo Advisors, Jim spent 7 years as a Managing Director and Partner at a Chicago-based asset management firm. Prior to his time in the asset management industry, Jim spent 9 years as a fixed-income specialist in the banking industry. Jim is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst with a degree in Finance from the University of Illinois - Chicago. He is an Enrolled Agent, a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the US Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Jim is also a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), trained to help business owners align their goals and build transferable value to successfully exit their companies. If you asked Jim where he would like to be right now, it would be in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Ron Rindone, CPA Certified Public Accountant ron@monotelo.com Ron is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 40 years in public accounting. Ron has extensive experience with accounting and taxation in the manufacturing and service industries. He is a member of the Illinois CPA Society. Ron has a deep understanding of the Internal Revenue Code and how it intersects with our small business owners and individual families. He has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois. Ron and his wife have one son and two grandchildren. In Ron’s free time he enjoys spending time at his home in Lake Geneva with family and friends. Little known fact about Ron: he has been to the World Series of Poker more than once! Nicknamed “Best Dressed Ron” by the Heartland Poker Tour announcers in 2016, Ron was perfectly fine with his new nickname after he walked away with $74,000 in tournament winnings. Gavin Tabb, CPA Certified Public Accountant gavin@monotelo.com Gavin is a Certified Public Accountant and small business specialist for Monotelo Advisors. He is responsible for supporting our small business clients throughout the United States with seamless payroll, bookkeeping and monthly accounting services throughout the year. Gavin has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University. He is an Intuit QuickBooks Certified User. Gavin and his wife have a five-year old daughter and one-year old son. Mike Matousek, CPA Certified Public Accountant Mike@monotelo.com Mike has extensive experience, spanning over four decades, starting as a staff accountant, and eventually becoming a partner at his own firm. His responsibilities included preparing and filing individual and business tax returns, assisting in audit field work for corporations, assessing the risk of material misstatement in financial statements, and designing audit procedures in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) for various accounts. As a partner at his firm, Mike was also involved in training and supervising staff, playing a leadership role in the development of his team. His current focus at Monotelo involves researching tax positions for clients to minimize tax liabilities and filing complex corporate tax returns. Mike has a wealth of experience and expertise in tax planning, auditing, and leadership within the field of public accounting. Jessica Padden, EA Tax Specialist jessica@monotelo.com Jessica is a tax specialist and paraplanner with Monotelo Advisors. Her expertise lies in personal tax returns and comprehensive tax planning, especially during significant life transitions. Jessica excels at deciphering the complexities of tax returns, helping clients minimize their taxes by addressing issues such as basis calculations, farm income, and company stock plans. With a Master's in Financial Planning from the American College, she is also an Enrolled Agent and Accredited Financial Counselor. Since 2011, Jessica has been dedicated to helping clients achieve more secure financial futures. Her commitment to her clients is unwavering, and she strives to provide personalized and effective financial solutions. When Jessica is not assisting clients, she enjoys spending her time reading, crafting, or hiking with her family. Starla Dolihite, EA Tax Specialist starla@monotelo.com Starla is a tax specialist with Monotelo Advisors. She serves in our personal tax department where she brings her best to Monotelo clients each day. Her attention to detail and commitment to excellence are what make her special. She is passionate about studying tax law and getting into the nitty-gritty so she can apply that knowledge to make a difference in the lives of our clients. Outside of work she enjoys hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding and serving in her church. Starla and Brian, her husband of 33 years, have three adult children and one daughter-in-law. If Starla could be anywhere right now it would be working out at the gym, or at the beach. But not just any beach! The beach has to be on the Florida Gulf Coast. Starla and her husband are Florida natives. Starla has a Bachelor Degree in Accounting from the University of West Florida. Starla is an enrolled agent, a federally authorized tax specialist that operates to provide advisory services to American taxpayers about matters concerning the Internal Revenue Service. Michelle Hartley Tax Preparer & ParaPlanner michelle@monotelo.com Michelle serves as a Tax Preparer and ParaPlanner for Monotelo Advisors. Michelle spent two decades travelling the U.S. and Pacific region as a military spouse. Along the way, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she engaged in PTSD research, earned her Accredited Financial Counselor® certification as a 2014 FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellow, and continuously pursued her passion for financial counseling and education. This spring she will complete her Master of Science degree in financial planning with a financial psychology certificate from the American College of Financial Services. Michelle enjoys working with families to help transmit money values and improve communication to attain shared goals. Her free time is spent baking, rushing to install and enjoy gardens before the next set of military orders arrives, and drilling her son on Latin grammar forms. Michelle also spends time volunteering with organizations that build financial literacy within the military community and serves as a mentor and scorekeeper for a youth robotics league. Alejandro Almaraz Accountant Alejandro.alamaraz@monotelo.com Alejandro Almaraz is an accountant in Monotelo’s Client Accounting Services and Personal Tax department, where he plays a key role in maintaining accurate, organized financial records for our small business clients. He supports clients with accounting, bank reconciliations, payroll processing, accounts payable and receivable, and tax preparation, ensuring financial data is timely, reliable, and easy to understand. He works closely with clients and internal team members to support smooth onboarding, efficient workflows, and compliance throughout the year. While Alejandro is one of our newer team members, he has over twelve years of experience in tax, having joined us from KPMG LLP where he was a Senior Tax Associate. Alejandro has a Bachelor of Science Degree from DePaul University and a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from DePaul University. Alejandro lives with his wife and three young children. Renee Katschke Small Business Specialist renee@monotelo.com Renee is a small business specialist for Monotelo Advisors with over 15 years of public accounting experience. Renee works alongside Mary Bresson in our West Brooklyn office serving our small businesses and farming clients. She started her career in banking and has been providing bookkeeping, payroll and sales tax return preparation services since 2006. Renee also supports our team in preparing individual 1040, corporate and partnership tax returns. Marianne Richter Engagement Manager marianne@monotelo.com Marianne Richter is responsible for ensuring that Monotelo is delivering a high level of customer service and meeting the expectations of Monotelo’s small business relationships. Marianne brings 13+ years of diversified training and marketing experience in the consumer goods industry to Monotelo. Marianne and her husband, Jim have two adult sons. Little known fact about Marianne: she is a certified personal trainer and health coach. If Marianne could be anywhere, it would be on a beach. Anita Ruffin Accountant anita@monotelo.com Anita is a seasoned accounting professional who has served in public and corporate accounting over the course of her career. Working in the accounting department at Motorola for a decade, Anita played the role of staff accountant, compensation analyst and team leader in Motorola’s network services business. Anita holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Missouri. She and her husband have three adult children and a dog! Anita enjoys traveling, gardening, leading her BSF bible group and spending time with family. If she could be anywhere right now, she would be on the beach, in a tropical island! Cassie Beesley Associate Cassandra@monotelo.com Cassie is a long-time resident of Bunker Hill, and is thrilled to assist Monotelo clients in the local communities she loves. Cassie earned two bachelor’s degrees from Eureka College, one in Mathematics and one in Secondary Education. After graduating from college, Cassie worked as an administrative assistant for over 5 years, where she found her calling in accounting and her love for numbers. In her spare time, Cassie coaches girls and boys volleyball at her alma mater high school. When Cassie is not caring for the needs of Monotelo’s clients, you might find her writing her own fictional stories, or hiking and kayaking Sarah Blatter Administrative Assistant Sarah.blatter@monotelo.com   Sarah Blatter serves as an Administrative Assistant in Monotelo’s Personal Tax department, providing essential operational and client support during tax season and throughout the year. She assists with document management, correspondence, scheduling, and client communications, helping to ensure a smooth and responsive experience for every client. Sarah brings strong organizational skills, professionalism, and a service-oriented approach to her role. She is highly skilled in document preparation and workflow coordination and is often the first point of contact for client inquiries. Her attention to detail and commitment to accuracy help the tax team operate efficiently while clients feel informed, supported, and well cared for. Sarah has a Bachelor of Arts in History along with a Master of Arts in History and Museum Studies from the State University of New York, Buffalo State. She enjoys riding horses, cooking, reading and collecting books, and spending time exploring the world with her husband and pre-school aged daughter. 

WHITE PAPER INTRODUCTION COULDA-WOULDA-SHOULDA!!! This case was more of a “could have, would have, should have” than it was an opportunity to go back and correct the mistakes of the past. We are choosing to share this case because we think it demonstrates why it’s so important to pursue wise counsel when making big financial decisions. The case involved a high-earning couple. He was a highly paid executive and she was a high-producing realtor. They were planning to make some improvements to their home while also investing in a few income properties. THE CHALLENGE Having a high percentage of their nest egg wrapped up in their retirement accounts, they decided to pull $200,000 out of one of their IRA’s to fund their purchases. When this couple decided to pull the money out of their IRA, they were fully aware of the 10%, $20,000 penalty they would have to pay on the early withdrawal. Given the size of their retirement accounts, it seemed harmless at the time. They, however, had no idea how this decision would come back to haunt them. In creating another $200,000 of taxable income for that year, they not only incurred the $20,000 early withdrawal penalty, they also • Moved themselves into the highest tax bracket (39.6%) • Lost all their exemptions (which cost them over $5,000) • Lost a significant portion of their itemized deductions (which cost them $2,000) When all was said and done, they paid about $95,000 in federal income tax and penalties on their early withdrawal, and netted about $105,000 of the $200,000 they withdrew. THE SOLUTION If this family had sought our advice at the time, we would have recommended that they avoid the $95,000 tax bill by simply choosing to take out a small home equity line of credit. In doing so, they would have retained the full $200,000 in their retirement account and paid no additional taxes. Had this family not been able to borrow against their home we would have encouraged them to do two things: Split the IRA distribution over two years: Not make the $40,000 contributions that they were making to their 401K and IRAs, and use the additional cash flow to reduce the amount needed from the retirement account. This course of action would have enabled them to use their itemized deductions and more of their personal exemptions. They would have put themselves into a lower tax bracket, reduced their tax liability by around $20,000 over the two years, and had another $10,000 in their retirement accounts when all was said and done. Not all decisions lead to this kind of negative outcome, but in this case, the lack of wise counsel caused this family to go down a road that was less than optimal. Having the right advisory team in place would have saved them over $30,000. Coulda-woulda-shoulda! Save as PDF More White Papers WLW: Win One, Lose One, Win One JSZ: Junior Sam Zell SOO: Starting Over, And Over

Big Beautiful Bill Webinar Segments Click on the topic you want to learn more about based on our webinar. How the OBBBA has changed exit strategies for business owners Overtime Pay Child Tax Credit SALT Cap No Tax on Tips Senior Deduction Check out our articles on the Big Beautiful Bill Understanding the New Tax Relief for Seniors and Hourly Workers: Tips, Overtime, and Social Security Explained Jim Richter 25 Takeaways From the Big Beautiful Bill Michael Baumeister Three Sweeping Tax Reforms That Could Impact Your Paycheck Jim Richter

Second Act Planning Retirement Readiness Course Join us for one of the following weeks where we review the steps to prepare and thrive in your "Second Act," where your retirement can be so much more than a life of leisure. Week 1: Highlight Your Passions, Skills, and Gifts. Famous baseball player Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else.” This course focuses on identifying your desired outcomes for the next phase of life and the preparation needed to get there. Topics include change/transition, articulation of personal values, and an understanding of your current and potential financial reality. Week 2: Engage Your Mind and Body According to Socrates, “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” This course focuses on how to optimize Social Security and Medicare to increase the security of your retirement years. We will also explore how to establish new physical, intellectual, emotional, and social habits for this next phase of life. Week 3: Reflect on Your External and Internal Codes Intellectual elite, Albert Einstein, once said the hardest thing in the world is to understand the income tax code. The course focuses on how to navigate the US tax code to your advantage with tax-efficient planning and tax-efficient retirement distributions. We will also address estate planning issues and end with an assessment of the internal codes (e.g., rules) that might be limiting all you are intended to be. Week 4: Originate Your Next Act Today American tennis groundbreaker, Arthur Ashe, said: “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” This course focuses on investing what you have to generate a viable return for the future. Subjects discussed include investment risk/return, fixed-income security features, and articulation of the concepts that will inform your decisions in the future. To participate in one of the four classes, email Michael Baumeister at michael@monotelo.com and indicate which class you would like to be a part of, or submit the form below.