Why us?

Like you, we have passions. Golf. Theater. Travel. Family. Charities. Passions are what we look forward to and wish we could do more often. Our role is to help you do just that: do more of what you’re passionate about.

At First Financial Associates, we excel at listening to our clients and learning their unique needs, dreams, and fears. We want to be your guide through the financial world, and know that understanding you is the key to that journey.

How are we different?

We are an independent financial planning firm.  This means that we represent you, and not any company or product.

Unlike most firms, we have no client minimums and there are no initial consultation costs to meet with us and benefit from an independent perspective.  

Let’s plan this journey together!

Services

 

Retirement Planning

Retirement doesn’t come with instructions.  You need a retirement plan.  We can help you create that plan, and then we’ll work together to achieve the retirement that you deserve.

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Education Planning

Planning for college has its own challenges and we will help you navigate this process.  From 529 plans to what types of assets count for what on the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid), we can help you.

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Insurance Planning

If there’s one thing certain about life – it’s the uncertainty that living it brings.  We will help you navigate what insurance coverages are best for you, from life insurance to Medicare.

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Professionalism. Expertise. Family. Independence.

First Financial Associates.

Blog

Jeffrey B. Snyder, CFP® |
Categories
Alphabet/Google had its initial IPO in August 2024. The company was worth about $26.4 billion on that first day of trading. Meta/Facebook went public about 8 years later, May 2012, and was worth about $104 billion initially. Google did well fairly immediately, whereas Facebook was actually negative for the first year or two before obviously doing very well thereafter. I mention these tech giants because I am getting some questions about SpaceX, and its forthcoming...
Jeffrey B. Snyder, CFP® |
Categories
The S&P 500 has done exceptionally well the past few weeks, bottoming for the year-to-date period in the low 6,300s on March 30th, only to explode up north of 7,100 as of April 17th. It was over a 12% move to the upside in about 13 trading sessions - not unheard of historically, but an extremely strong period. We remain near that 7,100 level as I write this post on the evening of April 21st...
Two items of note: I have two accountants to refer clients to that I feel comfortable with: a. One is my friend Greta Loesel. She is not a CPA, works for HR Block, and is appropriate for simpler, easier tax returns. Cost minimum is $89 and can run higher from there, but total expense remains on the lower end. b. My other friend, John Patoka, CPA, is a partner with SR and Co. in Glastonbury...