Three Ways to Make Saving Automatic
Category: Financial Planning
Here are some ideas and tools you can use to help make your saving automatic, the biggest key to growing your savings.
Saving for a Rainy Day
Category: Financial Planning
According to a 2020 Federal Reserve study, 36% of American adults do not have enough cash to cover a $400 unexpected expense1. While the opposite 64% say they DO have enough, that still leaves around 90 million American adults unable to handle a modest money disruption in their lives.
Savings Ho!
Category: Financial Planning
It has been eight years, but the memories are still fresh! My wife and I loaded our four daughters into our Dodge Grand Caravan and headed west for our long-anticipated “Westward Ho!” journey. As we crossed the great plains into the Rockies and traversed the high desert of New Mexico into the arid Arizona desert, we laughed, fought, slept, played games, and created incredible memories.
Don’t Borrow from Your Future Self
Category: Financial Planning
While each person has different long-term goals, a common future desire that exists for most people is retirement. There's a day coming when you won't want to, or can’t, work anymore, and your income will need to be replaced. This is a huge “future self” liability that has to be considered.
Getting Rid of Debt Can Help You Save
Category: Financial Planning
At the end of 2021, outstanding consumer debt in the United States, including mortgages, student loans, auto loans, credit cards, etc., totaled $15.6 trillion, which equates to about $50,000 per American. Clearly, we are no strangers to debt. Ultimately, getting rid of consumeristic debt will help you save and accomplish your goals.
Saving More Is Easy If You Eliminate Obstacles
Category: Financial Planning
I listened to a great show on the Hidden Brain podcast a couple months ago: Work 2.0 – The Obstacles You Don’t See. The big takeaway was that often the path to success is not about more motivation but removing obstacles. I think the podcast has had a big impact on my life already. Let me explain.
Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon and Wings Level
Category: Financial Planning
We often get asked by clients about different ideas they heard from a friend, a new exclusive deal they got invited into, or, most frequently, a specific company or stock that a friend gave them the scoop on. The reality is that a lot of the “great ideas and deals” never amount to any real return, and many end up going to zero.
Gifting with a Purpose: Practical Strategies to Positively Impact Your Next Generation
Category: Financial Planning
Because saving money early and often can be difficult, consider how you might help those closest to you to do more of it. Here are some scenarios and ideas.
2022’s Financial To-Do List
Category: Financial Planning
As we kick off 2022, many of us likely have decided on a few financial New Year’s resolutions. Starting the year off on the right foot is important to accomplish your 2022 financial goals. Here are a few ideas to consider when planning for the year ahead.
More Stimulus Aid on the Horizon
Category: Financial Planning
On January 14th, President Biden presented his plan, titled the American Rescue Plan, for the next round of economic aid related to the ongoing pandemic.
Round Two: Stimulus Aid Arrives
Category: Financial Planning
The aid package was just one part of a larger funding bill, and it contained many provisions, most notably an additional round of direct payments to Americans.
Preparing Your Own Tax Return: Is It Worth It?
Category: Financial Planning
Guest Blogger Eric Wahlstrom, CPA. With easy access to online or off-the-shelf software, preparing your own tax return is often appealing as an affordable, logical option.
5 Investor Lessons Courtesy of COVID-19
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
2020 is a year we’ll all remember though in many ways we want to forget it.
Are You Really Ready to Exit Your Business?
Category: Financial Planning
It’s one thing to turn in the office keys and ride off into the sunset as a former W-2 employee, but what about those who started and built businesses?
The Invisible Tax
Category: Financial Planning
One of the things married couples often do not consider in their planning is what I like to call the “Invisible Tax.”
Home Sweet Home, or an Investment?
Category: Financial Planning
Homes are commonly thought of as investments. It’s easy to see why. For most of us, it’s the single biggest thing on our balance sheets for years.
The Four Uses of Money
Category: Financial Planning
Did you know that there are just four uses of money? They are Owe, Grow, Give, and Live.
My General Contractor and I
Category: Financial Planning
That’s when I realized, constructing a basement wasn’t all that different from constructing a financial plan.
How to Make Sense of Goals You Set
Category: Financial Planning
An important part of building out a financial plan is determining goals. Goals help us look at a financial plan with the “end” in mind.
College Planning: Don’t Wait to File Your FAFSA
Category: Financial Planning
If the prospect of sending your child on their entry into adulthood isn’t hard enough, there is all the paperwork to decipher… the ACT/SAT, college applications, scholarship applications, and of course, the dreaded FAFSA!
Tips for Setting Financial Goals in Marriage
Category: Financial Planning
If the financial goals conversation seems intimidating to you, know that you are not alone!