Protecting your Downside in an Up-Market
Wow, the market is pretty hot right now with valuations at all time highs. Data suggests small investors are jumping in with both feet. A recent WSJ article quoted Martin Small, head of U.S. iShares, as saying 85% of their exchange traded funds’ inflows so far this year have been from individual investors. There is […]
Automatic Saving May Be Better Than Intentional Budgeting
We’ve had some great budgeting discussions with some our clients recently. If you work with us, you know we regularly update cash flow statements. Knowing your “burn rate”, as we like to call it, is critical to the success of your financial plan. As part of our process, we discuss general categories of expenses, planned […]
A Simple Estate Plan Review is Worthwhile
We tend to believe once our estate documents are signed, we can lock them away only to be seen again when we are gone from this world. The sense of peace in knowing our wishes have been formally documented is gratifying beyond measure, but it’s absolutely necessary to review our wills, beneficiary designations, and trust […]
Profitability is Important at All Levels
As earnings season cycles around again, publicly traded companies will release results for last quarter and for the year-end. Smaller, closely-held companies are busy too as many close out their tax year, fund profit sharing plans, and put together their final year-end financial statements. Even at the family level, financial activity is high this time […]
Finally….A Fiduciary Standard that Makes Sense
With regard to a fiduciary standard for my industry, it’s been a long road so I won’t bore you with the historical details. From the lawsuits (see End of “Merrill Lynch” Rule Leaves BOMs in a Muddle) to the CFP Board in-fighting (see One year on, Goldfarb wants amends from CFP Board over fee flap), and now […]
Lessons and Insight into Dallas Police & Fire Pension Debacle
For the last week, our local news in the DFW area has been all abuzz about problems within the DPFP (Dallas Police & Fire Pension). A great MarketWatch article came out yesterday: Dallas police and fire pension plan problems caused by extraordinary decisions. Some interesting points from the article are as follows: 68.4% of the pension […]
Kid Allowance Do’s and Don’ts
Putting your child on an allowance is a critical step towards their eventual financial independence. It’s important to keep this future goal in mind when devising an allowance strategy. The idea is for our kids to already have some money handling skills before they leave for college and beyond. Once they are out of the […]
Disposable Income is a Dangerous Concept
Disposable is a terrible descriptor for excess income. If we’re not careful, the excess income we earn over what we need can become a trap. More often than not, we’re going to spend excess money on something. If we’re lucky, it’s a one time expense with no further commitments. However; the initial expense can sometimes […]
In Investing As In Golf Instincts Can Lead Us Astray
At the urging of a friend I scheduled a golf lesson last weekend. The instructor patiently watched as balls ricocheted left and right off my 8 iron. With a grunt, he disappeared. I was about to humbly pack up my equipment when he returned with a sack of sand and threw it out onto the […]
