Running to Retirement
Stay diversified, and stay the course. That’s good advice for both runners and investors.
Brock Purdy and the Importance of Inconsequential Decisions
Category: Financial Planning
One seemingly small decision that no one thought would matter made a significant difference for the Bay Area team and its fans...
Baseball and Investing: Managing Behavior for Success
Money is emotional and our “news” cycle is a catalyst. Investors react to what they hear and how they feel, oftentimes to their own detriment.
Fantasy Football and Financial Planning: What is your strategy?
Making good decisions and ultimately avoiding costly mistakes can be life-changing. Note that it does not start and end with picking the best player or hot stock but rather goals and a plan.
Past Performance is Not Indicative of Future Results
Category: Foster Group
“Past performance is not indicative of future results.” Most people think of investing when they hear or read the sentence above, the ultimate statement of caution. What do you think of this statement when it comes to baseball?
Growth is Everywhere
Category: Foster Group
Not All Advisors Are Created Equal
Category: Foster Group
If you are in the market for a financial advisor, rehearse these three questions before sitting down with a potential suitor.
457(b): The Good, The Not so Good, and The Not Good at All
Category: Financial Planning
457(b) plans can be a great vehicle for retirement savings if available, but they are often complex and come with restrictions 401(k) and 403(b) plans don't have.
Tips to Help Keep You on Track for Your Financial Goals
Personal financial planning is critical to help ensure that, in both good times and bad, emotions do not lead to irrational money management decisions and costly mistakes.
What a Difference a Year Makes
On March 23, 2020, the S&P 500 tumbled another 3%, culminating a near 34% drop over that same month. The Dow Jones hovered around 19,000. Gains from the past few years were gone.
What Tax Documents Do Investors Need to File?
Category: Financial Planning
I start getting anxious this time of year when I am forced to collect all the necessary information for my tax advisor. In preparation for the upcoming tax deadline, Monday, April 18, 2022, I wanted to summarize what to expect in the way of relevant tax information related to your investments.
Should You Work with a CEFEX-Certified Advisory Firm?
Category: Foster Group
Foster Group is the only firm in Iowa and Nebraska that has been CEFEX-certified since 2007.
Making the Most of a Bear Market
If you’re a young professional, negative market returns can carry less weight than you might think. Let’s use 2022 as an example.
The Advantages of 529 Plan Educational Funding
A common financial goal of young families is funding their children’s future education expenses. In this blog we address many of the "what-if's" that clients are asking.
What’s the Best Investment a New Parent Can Make?
No one gets into the parenting game looking to optimize their financial gain, but instead, to optimize their happiness.
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.
The Time Might Be Right to Refinance Your Mortgage
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
If you’ve financed your house with a 30-year or 15-year mortgage in the last six years, odds are you’re paying a higher interest rate than today's rate.
Who Can Benefit from a 529 Plan
While the tax advantages and financial benefits are well-known aspects of a 529 plan, what are some lesser known features of the program?
While You Were Sleeping
Imagine that you fell asleep at the beginning of the year and woke up at the end of 2020. When you wake up, there are some things that would immediately feel different.