Barney Financial Services

Helping You Today By Planning Your Tomorrow®

Ron Eckloff, CFP®

Welcome to our website, where you'll find a wealth of information in the form of newsletter articles, calculators, and research reports.



We hope your visit will help you understand the opportunities and potential rewards that are available when you take a proactive approach to your personal financial situation. We created this website to help you gain a better understanding of the financial concepts behind insurance, investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation. Most importantly, we hope you see the value of working with skilled professionals to pursue your financial goals. We're here to help educate you about the basic concepts of financial planning, to help you learn more about who we are, and to give you fast, easy access to market performance and data.

We hope you take advantage of this resource and visit us often. Be sure to add our site to your list of "favorites" in your Internet browser. We frequently update our information, and we wouldn't want you to miss any developments in the area of personal finance.

Financial IQ Test

Take this quick quiz to find out your Financial IQ

Retirement Portfolio Lifespan

How Long Will Your Funds Last?

Estate Taxes

Use this calculator to estimate the federal estate taxes that could be due on your estate after you die.

Taxable Equivalent Yield

Calculate the rate of return you would have to receive from a taxable investment to realize an equivalent tax-exempt yield.

More Calculators →

What Do Price/Earnings Ratios Really Have to Offer?

It's not hard to find the price/earnings ratios of publicly traded companies or even the market as a whole reported in the news. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to understand what the numbers mean without the ability to make meaningful comparisons.

Never Retire? Don't Count on It

In a recent survey, just 40% of wealthy individuals indicated they are totally confident they will have enough money for retirement. The other 60% said they will shun traditional retirement and work as long as possible. However, it could be dangerous to believe that a retirement income shortfall can be overcome by working past the traditional retirement age.

HOT TOPIC: European News Causes Market Mood Swings

In recent weeks, the yields on Italian bonds spiked to more than 7%, suggesting the sovereign debt crisis was spreading to a much larger economy and eluding the European Union’s efforts to contain it. The U.S. stock and bond markets have responded to the headlines coming out of Europe. This article explores the role of political risk in U.S. financial market volatility.

ETFs for the Conservative Investor

The number of exchange-traded funds has grown rapidly in the last decade. Total ETF assets exceeded $1 trillion in March 2011, an increase of more than $200 million over the previous year. This article explains the potential benefits of ETFs and why some of them might appeal to the risk-averse.

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