Financial Planning

40 years to earn it; a moment to lose it Once, I was preparing for a long bike ride – it was going to be nearly 60 miles. I put on my fancy bike shoes and spandex shorts, packed some energy bars, and secured a big water jug to the back of my bike. And…

This insurance can be a real life saver… You are practically an expert at this insurance stuff by now. No, seriously. You probably know more than 90% of the population about insurance. Congrats! But there’s one more type you should know about. It’s called job insurance. Actually, that’s not what it’s called, but that’s really…

It’s really pretty simple… Earlier I said there were two categories of insurance. One is for stuff and the other is for people. We did the stuff thing; now it’s all about you! There are lots of different kinds of insurance for people. Insurance for people, as you could guess, is insurance on a person.…

The least understood but most important type of insurance I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where it rains. Not a little, but a lot. That’s why I’m such a big fan of something called umbrella liability insurance. If you’re like me, you go through a lot of umbrellas. You lose them, or in a…

No one cares about this stuff, but it’s also super important. I’m going to make this short and sweet and give you just what you need to know and nothing more. You’ll know more about insurance than 95% of the population in about five minutes. First thing to understand: there are two main categories of…

How are advisors compensated? Ah, very good question! Let’s talk about the ways an investment advisor or financial planner can be compensated. Hourly Fee. This is the easiest to understand. You get together and pay the advisor for their time. I guess the advantage of this is you control the cost. You know exactly what…

And now, a short screenplay break. FADE IN EXT. WORKSHOP – DAY NAIL Hey there, Hank! How’s it swingin’? HAMMER You know me. I’m swingin’ just fine. NAIL Can you help me? HAMMER Of course, darling. Hammer hits Nail into a large wooden board. NAIL Thanks, Hank! HAMMER Always happy to help. INT. WORKSHOP –…

Start your engines . . . Ying and yang. Chocolate and vanilla. Led Zeppelin and The Who. Throughout history, there have always been battles between two competing forces. And now we can add driver versus passenger to that list. Here’s what I mean. Money can create an interesting power dynamic between you (the client) and…

The remaining four things to look out for… In your quest for a good financial advisor, we know we want to work with a fiduciary, a separate custodian, and someone who has their CFP® designation. Is that it? Not quite, but we’re getting close. Criteria 4 – Stick to the 10,000 Hour Rule Psychologist Anders…

Pop quiz. Quick, which of the following is not a real financial designation? LifeUnderwriterTrainingCouncilFellow CharteredMutualFundCounselor CertifiedSeniorConsultant CertifiedFundSpecialist They are actually all real! And trust me, I use the term “real” very generously. So what does this mean? It means there are a whole lot of “professional designations” available to financial advisors to make them sound…