I have the opportunity to review client spending patterns regularly, and it’s one of the most important exercises in our client process. Very few of us voluntarily want to discuss spending on a line item by line item basis, but our clients have...

For many of us, our house represents a significant portion of our net worth and mortgage payments dominate our monthly cash flow obligations. Therefore, the way we purchase and finance our homes can impact our finances for decades. Ideally, it...

In June, the CFP Board released proposed revisions to its Standards of Professional Conduct, for public comment. The public forums on these proposed changes just wrapped up last week. I attended the forum held in Dallas and wanted to share a...

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’...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

Consumers and practitioners alike often fall into a trap. In lieu of calculating a retirement plan, we instead rely too heavily on oversimplified rules of thumb and general advice. Rules of thumb, like saving 10% towards retirement and spending...

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...

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...

Do you have a fire safe at home? If you don’t, you should. It’s an important piece of any Estate plan, and too often overlooked. Some people prefer safe deposit boxes, but I like the convenience of being able to access important documents 24/7....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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,...