Understanding Today’s Financial Environment
Welcome, I’m Barbara Blas, a financial professional in Kingston, NY. I understand that individuals face unique challenges as they prepare for retirement. I can help take the mystery out of preparing for today and tomorrow. Whether your goal is saving for retirement, college savings, or estate strategy, our personalized service focuses your needs, wants, and financial goals and objectives.
The cornerstone of our practice is wealth accumulation planning for individuals approaching retirement, and retirement income planning for retirees. Our goal is to help you preserve and grow your assets by recommending comprehensive financial and retirement strategies that reflect your needs, values and risk tolerance. We are committed to helping you understand your financial situation and providing you with high-quality, detailed financial information, services, and products to help you achieve your financial goals, truly enjoy your retirement, and leave something behind for the ones you love.
Helpful Content
Mortgages in Retirement
Explore the benefits and drawbacks to paying off your mortgage prior to retirement with this article.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Lifestyle inflation can be the enemy of wealth building. What could happen if you invested instead of buying more stuff?
How Big is Money?
Learn a little about worldwide currency in this fun infographic
U.S. Personal Savings Rate
What can be learned from the savings rate?
Inflation & Your Money
It's important to understand how inflation is reported and how it can affect investments.
Keep Your Umbrella Handy
Umbrella liability can be a fairly inexpensive way to help shelter current assets and future income from the unexpected.
Tax Rules When Selling Your Home
The tax rules governing profits you realize from the sale of your home have changed in recent years.
Building Your Legacy
A four-step framework for building a personal legacy.
Crowdfunding—Capital for the 21st Century
Crowdfunding continues to gain momentum as more people search the Internet for financing and fundraising alternatives.
View all articles 
Can I Refinance My Mortgage?
This calculator can help determine whether it makes sense to refinance your mortgage.
My Retirement Savings
Estimate how long your retirement savings may last using various monthly cash flow rates.
What's My Potential Estate Tax?
This calculator helps estimate your federal estate tax liability.
What Is My Life Expectancy?
Estimate how many years you may need retirement assets or how long to provide income to a surviving spouse or children.
Bi-Weekly Payments
This calculator estimates the savings from paying a mortgage bi-weekly instead of monthly.
Self-Employed Retirement Plans
Estimate the maximum contribution amount for a Self-Employed 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, or SEP.
View all calculators
Your Cash Flow Statement
A presentation about managing money: using it, saving it, and even getting credit.
Protecting Those Who Matter Most
The importance of life insurance, how it works, and how much coverage you need.
Principles of Preserving Wealth
How federal estate taxes work, plus estate management documents and tactics.
Managing Your Lifestyle
Using smart management to get more of what you want and free up assets to invest.
An Inside Look at Retirement Living
A number of questions and concerns need to be addressed to help you better prepare for retirement living.
5 Smart Investing Principles
Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.
View all presentations
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.
When Special Care Is Needed: The Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust helps care for a special needs child when you’re gone.
Are Alternative Investments Right for You?
With alternative investments, it’s critical to sort through the complexity.
A New Way to Look at Your Bucket List
That big list of dreams and goals isn't the only way to look at your bucket list.
Extended Care: A Patchwork of Possibilities
What is your plan for health care during retirement?
18 Years’ Worth of Days
The average retirement lasts for 18 years, with many lasting even longer. Will you fill your post-retirement days with purpose?