A huge congrats to Sean and Elizabeth McCann!

The SD team was thrilled to join in the celebration at Sacred Heart Church and Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens on August 13th.

"We are so thankful for everyone who was able to come out and support us. It was a perfect day surrounded by friends & family"

Sean McCann, Investment Analyst

James Moyer welcomes a new addition to the family, 

Trenton Alexander Moyer!

James and his wife, Nichole, added a new healthy baby boy to their growing family. Trent was born in the early hours of September 5th, weighing 7lbs, 3oz. 

"Mila & Camden are ecstatic to have a baby brother and Nichole is doing great"

James Moyer, Investment Relationship Manager

In Case You Missed It...

Mindful Money Forum 

Alissa Garcia sat down with Mike Savage from Charles Schwab to talk about common behavioral biases when it comes to investing, while Dave Brinkman & Jason Staley  review the current state of the market and how maintaining perspective can help you keep a cool head during volatile periods. 

Market Commentary

Jason Staley sits down with industry expert, Kathryn Klaber, to examine what factors might be at play when it comes to the spike in gas prices. Join them as they discuss the future of the shale energy industry, reviewing what is driving rising energy costs and how the energy game has changed with the shift in electricity generation.

Coffee with Alissa

Alissa had the chance to sit down with Professional Licensed Counselor, Nancy Belz, and discuss this month’s topic, behavioral finance. Tune in to hear about some of the most common forms of unconscious bias and how these biases can have a huge impact on our financial decisions.

Employee Feature

Join Alissa Garcia as she interviews Bernadette Burgoon, Client Service Specialist at SDWMA. Bernadette joined the team in June 2022 and has been an incredible asset to the team since!

The rest of our team kept busy getting out and about this summer traveling all over and making family memories! 

From the northern lakes of Michigan down to the beaches of South Carolina, the SD Team was all over the US soaking in the summer sun. This felt like the most "normal" summer we've had since the 2020 COVID outbreak and our team took full advantage!

We had quite a bit of lake fun with Karen out sailing on Lake Erie and Dave tubing on the waters of Hell, Michigan. Jason took a trip west to the most magical place on earth, Disneyland, with his wife and daughters. Derek enjoyed the sun and surf in Hilton Head, while Matt was just a couple of hours away spending some quality time with his family in the Isle of Palms. Demetrius stayed local and had an outing to the Children's Museum with his little ones who had an absolute blast! Bernadette got to spend the summer with her two adorable foster boys and then had a celebratory bash when they found their forever home in August. 

"This past July I competed in the Zelienople Shubrew hot dog eating contest where I tied for 2nd place and ultimately won the tiebreaker."

Nick Mastrian, Manager of Compliance & Systems Operations

"We finally moved in and are settled in our new house, enjoying a lot of land and beautiful sunsets! The photo is a view from our back porch."

Alissa Garcia, Communications & Investment Relationship Manager

Financial Planning Corner

The Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Department of Education have built a plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student debt. The student debt forgiveness is dependent upon your income, tax filing status, and if you received a Pell Grant. Single tax filers with an Adjusted Gross Income under $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 ($250,000 for married filing jointly households) are eligible for up to $10,000 of forgiveness. Those who have received a Pell Grant and are still within the income thresholds could receive an additional $10,000 for a total of $20,000. You may only receive forgiveness for loans incurred before June 30, 2022 and for the amount that you currently owe (ex: if you are eligible for $10,000 of forgiveness, but your loan balance it $7,000, you will only receive $7,000). You will not owe federal income taxes on the amount forgiven, but in certain states, you will owe state income tax (see article linked below for an up to date list). You can apply for student loan forgiveness as soon as October this year once the forms are made available. Federal government officials are advising that you file your application before November 15, 2022 in order to receive the forgiveness before the loan repayment pause ends at the end of December. You will have until December 31, 2023 to submit your application.

If you made payments during the forbearance period (March 2020-December 2022), you may be eligible to have your payments refunded. Please call your student loan service provider if you would like to request a refund. Please note that while refunds will be credited to you, the amount refunded will be added back to your loan balance and will be subject to interest when the forbearance rules end in 2023. If you choose this payment refund option, you may want to wait to apply for student loan forgiveness until the balance of your loan reflects the refund so that you are able to take full advantage of the forgiveness amount.

To sign up to receive updates and the student loan forgiveness form once it is released, please follow the link below and select “NEW!! Federal Student Loan Borrower Updates”:

https://www.ed.gov/subscriptions

Here’s a link to learn more:

The Biden-Harris Administration's Student Debt Relief Plan Explained (studentaid.gov)

To make sure that your information is up to date with the Federal Student Aid Office and to see if you ever received a Pell Grant, please following the link below:

https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing

To determine whether your state of residence is levying or waiving income tax on student loan forgiveness amounts, please see the following article:

https://www.cnbc.com/select/states-waiving-taxes-for-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/

Fall definitely gets us in the baking mood and we are ready to try these

Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter cubed
• ⅔ cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar packed
• 2 large egg yolks room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar for rolling
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon for rolling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
2. Brown the butter in a large stainless steel pan. This will take about 9-11 minutes. While it cooks it will foam, pop, and crackle. This is normal! Stand nearby, watch, and stir it occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
3. When the bottom is covered in brown bits of butter and it smells nutty, remove the pan from the heat. You should have just slightly under 1 cup of browned butter. Pour it into a bowl and set it aside to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then chill the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Do not let it solidify. The butter must be cool but still liquid!
4. Place the ⅔ cup of pumpkin puree on a plate. Use a few paper towels to press into it and soak up the extra liquid. You should do this 3-4 times (with a new paper towel each time) or until the pumpkin feels pretty dry like soft playdough, and now measures roughly ⅓ cup (76 grams).
5. When the butter is cool, whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined. It should look like wet sand.
6. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree.
7. Fold in the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda until just combined.
8. Set the bowl of dough aside for 5 minutes to firm up.
9. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar.
10. Then use a large (roughly 3 tbsp) cookie scoop to scoop the dough. (see notes for other sized cookies)
11. Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar and place it back on the tray spaced 2 inches apart.
12. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middle is puffy and slightly underbaked. Do not overbake or the cookies will be puffy and cakier.
13. Let the tray cool completely on a wire rack then enjoy!

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