Blog

The Bridger office will be closed on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day. Have a fun and safe holiday.

Like most women, you’re wearing more hats than ever, more people are counting on you, and you still have ambitious goals to reach. What if you had one simple tool to help with it all?  Women today are making significant...

The Bridger office will be closed on Monday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. Have a fun and safe holiday!

The Bridger team made chocolate lava cakes, rice pilaf and sweet and spicy chicken. It was delicious! 

Comics, Collectibles, and Coping with Calamity

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Rare collectibles can provide an entertaining form of alternative “investment,” and might seem particularly intriguing when markets are wobblier than Aunt Gertrude’s jello salad. Comic books can sell for millions of...

Time in vs Timing the Markets

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Thursday, May 12, 2022

History tells us that market volatility is a feature of how the market functions and not a bug. While it’s natural to have a reaction to market volatility, it’s also important to understand the potential impact of that reaction as well.

Your 1040 tax form is more valuable than you might think

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

While you may only think about your IRS 1040 tax form once a year, it actually provides a lot of information that can help you with your overall financial strategy.

Fed Gives Clear Signal About Interest Rates

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, March 14, 2022

The Federal Reserve met in mid-January, and clarified its position on monetary policy, providing the clearest hint yet about short-term interest rates. The fed hinted that the first interest rate hit could come as soon as March.

Know your 401(k) options between jobs

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

If you or someone you know is in this situation due to COVID-19, you’ll likely have several questions about job hunting, unemployment insurance, and health care. You may also be wondering, “What should I do with my 401(k)?”

How will inflation impact your retirement?

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, January 10, 2022

So what does this mean for you and your retirement strategy? Simply put, the higher the rate of inflation, the less your dollar will buy. For more information on how inflation can impact your retirement, take a look at this flyer.

2022 Contribution Limits

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Preparing for retirement just got a little more financial wiggle room. This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced new contribution limits for 2022.Staying put for 2022 are traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)...

Gridlock in the Supply Chain

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, November 15, 2021

While the world has begun to recover from the economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the delayed reaction has been felt in the supply chain. Industrial shutdowns around the world slowed production to a relative crawl, leaving...

Why Estate Planning Is Important Today

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Plan for tomorrow, today.That seems like sensible advice, doesn't it? Yet a surprising number of people leave no estate plan in place for their survivors. It makes a certain amount of sense. Nobody likes talking about death. But this...

Five Ways to Fund a Buy Sell Agreement

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

When a business has multiple owners, it's vital that you have a mechanism to transfer ownership in case of an adverse event. Without a plan that all parties have agreed upon, it's much easier for personal and legal disputes to crop up...

September Is National Life Insurance Awareness Month

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

It’s time for your life insurance checkup.September is National Life Insurance Awareness Month, so it’s a great time to review your coverage.1If you don’t have any life insurance, you’re not alone. Life...

A Wall of Worry

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, August 16, 2021

Have you ever heard the Wall Street expression, "markets climb a wall of worry?"It's the idea that financial markets are constantly on edge. Traders fret about how long a market rally can continue before it runs into trouble. Worry...

Oil Prices Hit Six-Year High

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

On July 6, oil prices reached a six-year high of $76.98 a barrel. This benchmark came as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies failed to reach an agreement regarding an increase in production.1This...

Conducting Your Mid-Year Financial Checkup

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, July 12, 2021

With June officially behind us, it’s time to face the facts: we’re headed toward the second half of 2021. While there’s still plenty of time to enjoy the rest of summer, we encourage you to slow down and check up on...

Inflation Can Be a Scary Word

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Inflation can be a scary word for people who are retired. It’s code for “prices are going up, but my income may stay the same.”The most recent reading on consumer prices put inflation back into the conversation. The...

How COVID-19 Caused a “She-Cession”

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Since the 1980s, unemployment rates have trended higher amongst men than women during a recession. In previous periods of economic downturn, this made sense. Male-dominated industries, like construction and finance, were typically...

“Green Shoots” in the Economy

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Investors looking for "green shoots" to confirm that the economy is on the mend have seen plenty of examples in recent weeks. Retail sales rose 9.8% in March, the largest monthly gain since May 2020. It's important to remember that...

Are Americans Saving Too Much?

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, March 29, 2021

Among the many changes arising from the pandemic, one of the most noticeable was a change in American spending habits.A survey released in March 2021 by Pew Research shows that Americans have increasingly chosen to put away what extra...

The Shadow of Inflation

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, March 8, 2021

I’m sure you’ve heard that the House recently passed the Senate another round of stimulus to try and counteract the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new stimulus package could narrow income eligibility to...

Economic Predictions: What Lies Ahead?

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, February 22, 2021

It can be easy to overlook the nation’s solid economic fundamentals when the financial media splashes stories every day about an army of amateur traders, short-selling mania, and initial public offerings (IPOs) that double in...

How the Internet Gamed Wall Street’s Short Sellers

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, February 1, 2021

You may have heard the news about stocks for certain companies suddenly ballooning, quickly going from lunch money prices to several hundred dollars a share. In one case, the shares rose over 1700% since December 2020.1 So, what...

Personal Savings Rate

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, January 18, 2021

The personal savings rate in the United States, which is the amount of income left after taxes and household spending, has reached some significant milestones.In April, when much of the country stayed home to avoid the COVID-19...

2021 Opens With a Bang

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, January 11, 2021

The first week of 2021 has already had many ups and downs. Just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean that the 2020 issues go away, and so far, 2021 has been no exception to this rule.The markets opened on January 4 and...

Markets & Marriage

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Friday, December 11, 2020

Your investment strategy is a lot like a marriage. One day you may feel like everything’s going swimmingly. The next day, there might be an argument over who forgot to load the dishwasher. And even the best marriages and...

Coronavirus Vaccines and the Economy

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Thursday, November 26, 2020

As the United States sees a rise in cases of COVID-19 across the nation, news of two promising vaccines out of hundreds being tested has offered a ray of hope for a fatigued world.1A positive reaction to these vaccines affects every...

Long-Term Rates Are Creeping Higher

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, November 9, 2020

With all the election chatter and stock market volatility, it may have been easy to miss the ongoing uptrend in long-term interest rates.The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is sitting just below 1%. Just a few short months ago, the...

Election 2020: Be Confident. Be Bold. Be Patient

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

It should come as no surprise that the economy is the most crucial issue in the upcoming election.But here's something that may surprise you. More than 90% of investors say they plan to change their portfolio in the 12 months...

Home Improvements Trending Higher

Melanie Colusci*, CFP®, AEP®

Monday, October 19, 2020

Due to COVID-19, Americans are spending more time at home than ever before, leading to a record amount of spending on home improvement.1It’s not that big of a surprise since many Americans now find their homes are doing triple...

Right now, many Americans are worried about their financial health due to the impact COVID-19 has had on the country. Adding to these concerns were July's consumer prices— excluding food and energy—which rose at the...

One of my favorite Wall Street quotes is from Mark Twain, who said:“October: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June,...

With the economy and financial markets flashing mixed signals, it’s no wonder that lawmakers are deadlocked on whether to pass a Phase 4 of the CARES Act. More than $3 trillion in stimulus has been pushed into the economy since...

Hindsight is 20/20. It’s only human to imagine what it might have been like to turn left instead of right on some fateful day. However, that sort of daydreaming is unhelpful when investing, especially when it leads you to try and...

The COVID-19 virus has Infected a lot more than people. Even if you don't have the virus, chances are it's had some impact on your money and personal finances.

Are you eligible for a stimulus check from the Treasury Department? Here are some of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) many people are asking.

In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, we'd like to share our list of ideas to celebrate the indispensable people who keep our offices running so that we can focus on growing our businesses.

The $2 trillion “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security” (“CARES”) Act was recently signed into law. The CARES Act is designed to help those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also providing key provisions that may benefi

In light of current events and potential financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Treasury, IRS, and Federal Government have announced several changes to tax season deadlines. Here is an overview of what you need to know.

EXCITING NEWS! The BRAND NEW Bridger Financial Group website has launched! 🚀 We’d love for you to come take a look! Our site features hundreds of videos, articles, and calculators to educate, entertain, and answer your questions...

There’s been no shortage of scary things in the news lately. From the images of panicked selling on the stock market floor to press conferences with the World Health Organization officials, it seems like anything could happen...

On Saturday, March 7th our team headed to Akron, OH for the annual 21st Century Financial Awards Celebration! Congratulations to Bridger President Melanie Colusci for winning Silver Advisor of the Year! She also qualified for HTK...

We are thrilled to announce the promotion of Liz Carlson to Financial Advisor! Liz has been with Bridger Financial Group since 2016, having titles ranging from Intern to Marketing Director to Senior Client Associate. “It went by...

The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company (Penn Mutual) is pleased to announce Melanie Colusci, CFP®, AEP®, as the recipient of the 2019 Rob Holmes Financial Professional of the Year Award.

Bridger Financial Group, a Pittsburgh, PA-based financial services firm, is pleased to announce that Melanie Colusci has been recognized by broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC (HTK), as one of...

It was great to see so many of you at the Get Your Paper Organized event at the Sewickley Public Library! Certified Financial Planner™ Melanie Colusci joined forces with Certified Professional Organizer® Sandra Lane to share...

Clients and friends of Bridger Financial group donned their favorite black and gold for the Black and Gold Party aboard the Gateway Clipper. During our 3-hour cruise, guests enjoyed beautiful Pittsburgh views, a tasty dinner, a...

Thank you to the guys that joined us at Axe Throwing Pittsburgh - LumberjAxes for making our men’s event such a success. The guys enjoyed ditching the age-old meeting for axe throwing, beer drinking and connecting with friends!

Melanie Colusci and Certified Professional Organizer Sandra Lane hosted a collaborative event jam-packed with tips and tricks on how to tackle the paper monster that many of us have. Melanie gave an informative presentation on what...

Bridger Financial Group hosted a client appreciation event aboard the Gateway Clipper Fleet in downtown Pittsburgh. Clients and their guests spent three hours on the river while enjoying a dinner buffet, drinks and a beautiful evening...

Melanie Colusci and the Bridger Financial Group team hosted a fun event for clients and their friends that featured both Style Truck, Pittsburgh's first mobile boutique, and House of Colour style consultant Julie Shields. Melanie...