May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow. Wishing you all of the happiness, health, and good cheer that come with the spirit of this season.
Your Team at Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors
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Here are a few of our team members' favorite holiday traditions. We would love to hear what your favorite holiday tradition is. Please share it with us in the poll below!
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From Vicky Rogers,
Technology Manager & Investment Advisor
For Christmas several years ago, my father-in-law wanted to buy everyone gifts, but age and health prevented shopping trips. What was more natural than socks! As he said, everyone needs socks. The attached picture is the result. He passed away the following April, and we began our tradition. My niece wrote a poem titled 'Socks from Heaven', and provided a special box with the first pair of socks. Each year, a family member receives the socks and reads the poem in his memory. That family member then buys new socks for the box, includes the poem, and gifts it to another family member the next Christmas. Sock Day is December 28th this year.
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From Jason Staley,
Investment Relationship Manager/Director of Research and Due Diligence
Why is Die Hard a Christmas Movie? First things first, this is the most important thing I will ever write for SDWMA. It is unfortunate that I have to write it at all, because as we all know, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. The movie doesn’t happen if Christmas wasn’t right around the corner (hard to be a Christmas movie in June!) and John McClane wouldn’t be traveling from NYC to see his wife and kids in Los Angeles if it weren’t Christmas time! Encountering travel related issues is almost a holiday rite of passage, and John encounters a chatty limo driver, a dozen or so terrorists, and some trigger-happy FBI agents (Die Hard more than checks this box). At Nakatomi Plaza, there is a Christmas party going on, complete with holiday cheer and decorations, semi-over-served coworkers, and mildly tacky decorations. All Christmas movies have a happy ending, and after defeating Hans and his not so merry band of terrorists, John is reunited with his wife Holly and their two beautiful children, just in time to celebrate…. you guessed it, CHRISTMAS! And if all of this weren’t enough, the signature of any good Christmas movie is that you can find it on cable TV regularly post-Thanksgiving through New Years… whether it is TNT, TBS, AMC, or USA, Die Hard can be found almost daily during the Christmas season. P.S. I asked for 1000 words and they gave me 250.
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From Karen Werley,
Client Service Manager
Without a doubt, my favorite holiday tradition is spending time with my family. That is especially true now that our son and daughter are grown, and we have a couple of adorable grandsons (and our first granddaughter on the way!). When we do all get together to open gifts, we have we have a tradition of one person wearing the Santa cap. That person is in charge of collecting all of the gifts from under the tree and distributing them to the proper recipient. While he needed a little help reading the gift tags, our oldest grandson enjoyed his first-time responsibility last year! He was such a good sport, even waiting until everything was distributed before sitting down to open his gifts. We're so looking forward to finding out who will be this year's Santa!
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From Nick Mastrian,
Manager of Portfolio Administration
In a recent psychological study, it has been determined that putting up holiday decorations early makes you a happier person. My wife and I follow this discovery blindly. This year, we had our tree up and decked on November 3rd, with daylight savings time giving us an extra hour to enjoy the process. My belief is that the time and effort to decorate the tree and house is too much work to only enjoy from after Thanksgiving through the New Year. So, hang those lights, trim that tree, and blast the holiday music with no judgement. Doctors' orders!
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What is your favorite holiday tradition?
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Spending Time with Family
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Will Santa Claus bring more gifts to well-behaved investors this year?
SDWMA's Jason Staley was featured in an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarding the 'Santa Claus rally' (the jump in stock prices that often occurs between Christmas and New Years) and the importance of staying the course through market volatility.
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2020 IRS Contribution Limits
The IRS announced the cost-of-living adjustments that will take effect January 1, 2020, which affect contribution and deduction limits for qualified retirement plans, as well as the deductible contribution limits for traditional IRAs.
To view the 2020 Retirement Plan limitations in detail, please follow the link to our article below.
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Cyber Security Tip
Juice jacking is a form of cyber attack that hackers use in charging ports that also serve as a data connection (i.e. USB). Hackers can install malware to your device or copy data from your smart phone, tablet, or computer.
For more information on juice jacking, please follow the link to our article below.
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From Our Kitchen to Yours!
The Best Sugar Cookies EVER
Courtesy of Amber Cranmer
SDWMA's Operations Specialist
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Yields:
3 Dozen
Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter
1 cup White Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
1 Egg
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 cups Flour
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Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth (at least 3 minutes). Beat in vanilla and almond extracts and egg.
In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt, and flour, and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients.
DO NOT CHILL DOUGH. Divide the dough into workable batches, and roll out onto a floured surface and cut into your choice of shape(s). You want the cookies to be on the thicker side.
Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet until firm before transfer.
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Our offices will be closed on the following dates so that our team members can enjoy the holidays with their families.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
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We will have limited staffing on the following dates:
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Monday, December 30, 2019
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Material discussed is meant for informational purposes only, and it is not to be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, this information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice.
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Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, LP
1 PPG Place, Suite 1700
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412.697.5200
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