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Updates From The Experts

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...

The More We Make, the Tougher It Becomes to Retire

In this final quarter of the year, I had the opportunity to run retirement plans on quite a few 401(k) plan participants. Whenever possible, I enjoy sitting one-on-one with employees to help them understand and formulate a retirement scenario. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Need Help Prioritizing Debt for Payoff? Let Me Help

In America, paying down debt is a rite of passage. Most of us at one point or another have felt the suffocating effects of too much debt. Deleveraging can be a long and complicated process, but it’s necessary if we want to achieve personal...

It's Tax Planning Season: 6 Things to Consider Now

It’s tax planning season at Schulz Wealth. From now until Thanksgiving, we’ll have our eyeshades on, reviewing accounts and client files to make sure we close out the year in a tax efficient manner. Most people do their tax planning in March and...

Two Critical Problems with Conventional Mutual Funds

The Wall Street Journal did a whole series of articles last week on the big shift major mutual fund companies are seeing away from active management. See: Wall Street’s ‘Do-Nothing’ Investing Revolution. The evidence against active management has...

Indexing vs Low Cost Investing: There's a difference

Indexing is not the same as smart, low cost investing. With indexing, you accept the market performance of an index designed to measure market performance. A key point here: market indices are designed to measure performance, not as investments...

Investment Returns and Presidential Elections

One month away from the general election, everyone is talking about how the next President will affect the stock market. Opinions vary based upon political leanings, but most believe there is a connection. I recently reviewed some research from...

3 Reasons to Get Serious about Your Finances

updated May 1, 2018 For many people, there is a point where things change financially. It’s at different stages of life for different people, but at that point, it’s time to get serious about personal finances. If you’re not sure you’re there...

5 Questions to Consider Before Current Market Conditions

As an investment adviser, people ask me all the time “how’s the market doing”, and I always try to answer politely. Believe it or not, I never watch CNBC and unless I’m trading that day, I don’t monitor intraday volume and pricing. I’m too busy...

Long Term Care Dilemma: 7 Mitigation Steps

One of the first things I realized when I started in this business was the need for long-term care insurance. It was clear then, and is still true today, that living longer increases the chances of needing assistance with normal activities of...

Life Insurance Agents: Where Did They Go?

Life insurance agents created the financial planning community, and sadly their own was damaged in the process. Can recent regulation spur a rebirth? Needs-based selling, where an agent gathered pertinent client data, created a proposal, and...

Advisors: It’s Time to Drop your Series 7

You’ve still got time. Think of the DOL’s new fiduciary rules as a shot across the bow. Heed the warning, change course, and discover how rewarding this business can be without the glaring conflicts of commission. Loaded mutual funds, variable...

New DOL Regs: Business as Usual?

It’s inevitable, from working over twenty years in an industry like mine, you tend to get a little cynical. The ink is hardly dry on the new “fiduciary” standard promulgated by the Department of Labor so it’s hard to know exactly what’s in it,...

5 Reasons to Fire your Financial Advisor

updated April 25, 2018   If your advisor is not on the same page with you, it makes it harder to weather downturns. There are five very basic service points your advisor should be hitting, and if she is not, you should consider making a change. ...

Reality Check: What is Stock and Why Own it?

With billions of dollars exchanging hands each day, continual fluctuations in prices, and constant media chatter about the “market”, it’s easy to lose sight of what we are actually purchasing when we buy publicly-traded stocks.  Let’s try to...

Bear Market Planning: The Steps You Should Take

We headed into our first semi-annual client reviews of the year last week with a certain level of apprehension. A big drop in the market right out of the gate wore heavily on my mind. Are we headed into a bear market? Maybe. We’ve been through...