Three Ways to Make Saving Automatic
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
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 » Cashflow
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 » Cashflow
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 » Cashflow
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 » Cashflow
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 » Behavioral Finance
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: Investing » Alternative Investments
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.
Is the Stock Market a Glass Half Full?
The month of January was marked by negative returns for global stock markets. But, as the well-worn phrase, “Is your glass half full or half empty?” implies, our view of, or the way we feel about the state of markets as investors, may be more related to our personal dispositions than what the numbers indicate.
Chart of the Month – Feb 2022
Market declines are never enjoyable in the moment. But these kinds of intra-year pull backs are normal when looking at market history.
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.
The Challenge of Entering a Bull Market
A Q&A with Senior Lead Advisor, Phil Kruzan.
Georgia, Political Majorities, & Markets
Unprecedented! That word had been used ad nauseam in 2020.
Are You Really Ready to Exit Your Business?
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 » Behavioral Finance
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.
What This Year Reminds Us About Fixed Income
Category: Investing » Asset Allocation
This year has reminded us of the many important roles that fixed income can play in portfolios.
The Four Uses of Money
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.