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314 Park Row Unit 2 Chestertown, MD 21620

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sarah.schut@ceterafs.com

Blog

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

A culture of courage is built on strong pillars. This past week, the Reagan-Udall Foundation issued a report, Operational Evaluation of FDA’s Human Foods Program. It is an objective analysis of how well the FDA is functioning,...

Friday, December 2, 2022

What's the best advice you have given to others? Did giving that advice help you follow your own suggestion? Often the act of giving advice can lead individuals to implement the ideas they suggest as helpful to others.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Thursday, November 18, 2021

I just read this great quote and questions by the author of Atomic Habits, James Clear in his weekly newsletter: "How much could I lose?" is not merely a financial question. If I make this choice: - How much time could I lose? - How...

Friday, November 12, 2021

Are you values driven? Do your actions play out what is most important to you? It’s not easy sometimes to live up to our own standards of what we believe and how to get there. It is true that some people have incredible resolve...

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Monday, November 8, 2021

Do you have an idea of where you want to be in five years? After I had my oldest son, now 22 years ago, I didn’t really know where I wanted to be in five years. I wasn’t even asking myself that question, but after a baby,...

Friday, September 3, 2021

Do you take art classes, work with a coach on your golf swing, or are learning a new language on your commute? Are you trying to improve your work skills or go for that next degree? Do you find learning about your finances challenging?...

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Radcliffe Financial is proud to announce that Sarah Schut, CFP®, RICP® has been authorized by the College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company to use the Chartered SRI Counselor™ professional designation...

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Has Covid thrown you off-course? Who do you know that has been most affected? As I look around my world, surveying my clients, friends, and family, I am struck by the psychological toll the pandemic has taken and continues to take...

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Thanks to the CARES Act there are special tax benefits for cash donations made in 2020: Many people no longer itemize their tax returns. To help make giving valuable to all tax filers, the CARES Act, allows for an...

Friday, October 9, 2020

Is your portfolio sound? Is it thoughtfully constructed? The blueprint for a portfolio is built for your goals. It is individual to your stage in life. It considers retirement goals, and what financial concerns or risks that might keep...

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Do you have a to-do list right now? Maybe one sitting on your desk, in a planner, or maybe just a mental check list. Is "balance my retirement portfolio" on the list? Is figure out how much I should be saving written down? Opening a...

Friday, July 17, 2020

Did you take it back in school? I’m old enough that it was mandatory, and as I reflect on school, it was incredibly helpful. It’s where I learned as a kid: How to write a check and balance a checkbook How compounding...

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

There is a study constantly sited in financial planning about an experiment done with preschoolers and marshmallows. The study found that kids left alone with a marshmallow and told if they didn’t eat it, they would get more...

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Have you had a birthday in the last few months? It’s not easy with limited social contact, but I’m happy to say we managed to have a wonderful, relaxed birthday. Homemade fish and chips and a bottle of champagne. What a...

Friday, May 22, 2020

What do you miss most – going out to eat, concerts, hanging out with friends? All of it! What I really miss are First Fridays. In our little town, on the First Friday of the month everything opens in the evenings –...

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Are you checking your investment account far more often since we entered the current crisis? Is retirement near and market turbulence is keeping you up at night? Or, are you recently retired, and second-guessing your plan? Are you...

Friday, February 14, 2020

What aren’t you doing right now, that one year from now you will wish you had? I am paraphrasing a question that appeared in one of James Clears’ email newsletters, which I look forward to receiving every week. Does this...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Guiding Principles as a Business Owner: Act in the best interests of clients And in a way that is legal and ethical Compete aggressively to succeed Base investment strategies on a scientific methodology Emphasize financial...

Friday, September 6, 2019

My 15 year old daughter earned money to buy some of the clothes she wanted. It's been a learning experience for both of us.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

What was your first job? My 16 year old son was a sailing instructor this summer. He learned a lot about working with children, parents, bosses, and coaching peers. It was a tough first job. He liked working with the kids. Things were...

Friday, August 9, 2019

When I was growing up my parents had three newspapers delivered. One paper in the morning and two in the afternoon. Back then, my parents took the time to read an article or two in the morning at breakfast before starting the day. In...

Monday, August 5, 2019

The Luxury of No Air-conditioning People are shocked to hear that my family doesn’t have air-conditioning. We live in an old farmhouse by the Chesapeake Bay. Summers are hot and humid. You can smell the marsh on muggy nights. The...

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Dad never went back to Normandy, Italy, and definitely, not the North Sea where he was horribly seasick. At 17 he had enlisted in the Navy. He said one of the last things he remembered after enlisting was seeing the “What Trenton...

Friday, May 31, 2019

Monday I was at my desk paying bills and going through the budget. I was not in a great mood. I don’t find writing checks that much fun. I was also checking account balances including the 529 plans set up for my kids. In case you...

Friday, May 17, 2019

She lost her husband last October. He was in his 50s. She is in her 40s. He was there one day, and he was gone the next. She and her three kids still try to understand what has happened to their world. How could it happen? They had a...

Friday, April 26, 2019

Are you hearing conflicting economic analysis? This morning I received some economic data analysis reports from two different sources. The first explained that the dollar hit its highest level of 2019 as new U.S. home sales increased 4...

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Do you believe the long term potential for investing in health care stocks? Right now the health care segment is taking a bit of a bruising. It's important to remember why you might include health care in your portfolio. If you have an...

Thursday, January 24, 2019

The waiting room… My son is in for a day of testing at Nemours in Wilmington, Delaware. It’s not dire, but we have questions, and after a long day, in about a week, we will know more. We are fortunate because although our...

Thursday, December 27, 2018

The S&P, the Dow, NASDAQ – have lost their gains for the year as of December 27th. Retired clients are nervous about “where will I get income?” As investors we have been counting on gains in value along with earnings...

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Catching up on what’s going-on Recently, a friend of many years contacted me. He and his wife knew me when I was young, long before my years of education, exams, and time spent becoming a financial planner and investment advisor....

Thursday, November 29, 2018

I was at a party outside Washington, DC, last weekend, and it only occurs to me now, I was one of just three natural born US citizens. There were South Americans, Russians, Ukrainians, Koreans, and more. Everyone had an American story....

Monday, November 5, 2018

Social Security is far more complicated than most people realize. The decisions baby boomers make now can have a tremendous impact on the total amount of benefits they stand to receive over their lifetime. Social Security in the Future...

Monday, October 1, 2018

The sticker shock of graduating with a doctorate A friend asked me to talk to her best friend from high school. She has just graduated from veterinary school, and she has already landed a dream job as a small animal vet in her home...

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Do you know someone who has just retired? Recently I met with a client who just retired from a 30-year career. She feels very good about making the leap into retirement. She’s ready to enjoy life without so much worry. We were...

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Are you putting money in your 401K, paying down your mortgage, saving for the kids’ education in a 529? Are you doing everything just right, but you still don’t feel secure? What’s bothering you in your retirement...

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Do you have a mission statement for your legacy? Do you remember the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey? There’s an exercise in the beginning of the book to help individuals define their personal...

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

What happens if? It’s been 20 years, and the marriage ends. I know more than one person who thought it would never happen – divorce. It’s not in the plan. How do you start over? There are more and more gray divorces....

Monday, June 4, 2018

Can one habit make a big change In The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg, cited research that found a correlation between making your bed and following a budget. I have thought quite a bit about this connection. The theory is that...

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

After many years of study and practice, I have achieved the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation. Here's a link to an online article. The CFP® marks identify those individuals who have met the rigorous experience and...

Monday, May 21, 2018

Does money make you happy? Money is a tool. It pays for our housing, food, clothing. As we move up in the world, money provides more and more for us, better cars, better clothes, better furniture, better (fill in the blank). We strive...

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Let me tell you a little story… Motivated to action Last weekend I want wanted to get out my art supplies and create something! I had been saving some special paint for the perfect project, and I had finally come up with that...

Thursday, October 19, 2017

As the mother of five children, I want to make sure my kids have good financial sense (sorry for the pun). Even for a professional, it’s nice to have a basic guide with financial milestones for kids. Recently, we were contacted...

Thursday, October 19, 2017

-Benjamin Franklin To understand a client’s investment goals you gather all of the relevant documents from risk tolerance and investment statements to life insurance policies, but an important asset that people often forget is...

Thursday, October 5, 2017

How do you want to fully experience life? Buy a sailboat Learn to play the piano Fly family and grandchildren home for the holidays Leave money to the Humane Society Take a river boat cruise down the Sein Put money in a 529 for...

Friday, September 29, 2017

Living in Kent County, Maryland keeps you grounded in American history. Visit downtown Chestertown and you are walking in a community rich with Colonial architecture from Wide Hall on the Chester River to Washington College. Our very...

Friday, September 22, 2017

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” -Ayn Rand In our business we speak with clients about investment diversification, performance and risk, but there is so...