I was speaking about personal finance to a group last weekend when someone asked the question, “How do you know if you need a financial advisor?” I thought that this was a great question, but one that’s not necessarily easy to answer.
Why You Need a Financial Plan Before Investing
4 minute read
Financial planning includes investment planning, but investing is not financial planning. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about what a financial planner does. It still surprises me how many people I speak to who think of a financial planner as being synonymous with an investment portfolio manager. This is not the case. A financial planner who provides comprehensive wealth management services provides both financial planning and investment portfolio management, but investing is just part of the service. A financial plan needs to be in place to direct and guide the portfolio.
Are My Taxes Going Up in 2021?
3 minute read
I’ve heard many versions of the question “Aren’t taxes going up?” over the past couple of weeks. This often comes along with a misguided (but partially true) statement about something that the person has heard about President Biden’s proposed tax plan. Unfortunately, we’re often provided with the headlines that make compelling news rather than a detailed report of the news.
What Does a Financial Planner Do?
5 minute read
It’s surprising to me how many people still don’t understand what a financial planner does. Over the past year, I’ve found that a lot of people either just have no clue at all, immediately think of the “financial advisor” who tried to sell them whole life insurance or an annuity and then asked them for names of their 5 closest friends to contact, or they think of the traditional investment advisor who helps them manage their retirement portfolio.
Keystone Financial Habits
5 minute read
The beginning of the year is one of the main times when people are motivated and looking to create new positive financial habits that will lead to a better financial life. If there were only a handful of financial habits for you to focus on developing this year, what would they be? What are those few things that you should focus your time on?
5 Personal Finance Wins to Start 2021
4 minute read
“If you haven’t started, then taking action is more important than finding the best strategy. If you’re already taking action, then ensuring you’re working on the right thing is more important than working harder.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits
Top 5 Certifiably Financial Posts of 2020
< 1 minute read
Thank you to everyone who has read this blog this year!
Experiences Over Things
3 minute read
Two weeks ago I interviewed someone on my podcast (Circle City Success) whose motto is ‘Experiences Over Things’. He and his wife both earned good incomes – he was a 5X national award winning salesperson and she was a clinical pharmacist – but they quit their jobs to travel to 35 countries in 27 months through 2019. A lot of people around them struggled with trying to understand why they didn’t buy a bigger house, why they didn’t have more “stuff” in their house, and why they would quit their jobs at such a great time in their careers. The answer to all of these questions is ‘Experiences Over Things’.
Should I Refinance My Student Loans?
4 minute read
Similar to mortgage interest rates, student loan interest rates have been dropping this year. That decrease in rates, along with the pause in payments and interest accrual under the CARES Act, has led many to wonder whether they should be doing something with their student loans. One of those options is whether or not to refinance them.
Why Buy Stocks?
4 minute read
Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of people have been asking me about this stock or that cryptocurrency, what I think of them, and whether I think they’ll do well going forward. I think that most of these people probably read an article(s) or saw something on TV about the thing that they asked me about and then either bought it or wanted me to confirm what they heard before they bought it.