“If you had actually read it, you would have noticed the second signature line”, declared the man across the counter. My immediate response was “it’s not intended to be read, just to protect you from being sued by me”. I quickly signed and...

Nobody has ever accused me of being a great fisherman, but when I was seven or eight I knew how to catch perch by the bucket load. I would lie down flat on the sun-warmed dock my dad had built and peek over the edge to the water just below. I had...

Buying and maintaining life insurance policies is a pain. On the surface, it seems like a pretty simple transaction but it is actually one of the most complex pieces to the Financial Fitness puzzle. Media bias and aggressive sales tactics...

My how things have changed. Inflation is at an all time low but our household budgets are swollen with monthly obligations that did not exist twenty years ago. It is amazing what we spend on things like cell phone plans, gym memberships, and the...

We spend a lot of time and effort in my practice helping our clients build a solid Estate Plan. After all of the legal documents are complete, beneficiary designations changed, and accounts and trusts squared away; there is always something...

When my clients come in for a visit, more often than not the first thing we talk about is where they have been and what trips they have planned. For those who are in good financial condition, the vacation budget can be one of the largest cash...

Several years ago I took a test at Lifetime where they put me in a mask on a treadmill and tried to kill me. The trainer measured through my mask how much oxygen I was able to absorb while taking me to the maximum effort my heart and lungs could...

I had a friend in high school who went to work for the new McDonald’s that came to town. It was a big deal in Taylor, Texas. My dad liked to joke, “they paraded the Golden Arches down Main Street.” My friend became a fast food cook. Before long...

When it comes to saving and investing money, many times we are our worst enemy. Successful people learn to rely on good systems and processes to achieve their goals, not willpower. Life hits us from all directions so it is hard to be consistently...

Ten minutes into my spin class last night, clipped in with beads of sweat forming along my forearms, Dianna our instructor said exactly what I was anticipating: “add significant resistance and feel the burn”. I turned the evil red knob below me...

Many years ago I wrote “Never Worry about Money” along with some other personal goals on a small laminated card that I carried around in my wallet. That was, and remains today the primary focus with regard to my own personal finances. For me,...

Over twenty years ago, I remember standing on the bridge wing of the USS John Rodgers, a US Navy Destroyer. As Officer of the Deck, I was in charge. We were cruising at 15 knots, receiving fuel and supplies from a tanker alongside just 150...

It’s hard to believe the iPhone is eight years old this month and it’s hard to imagine daily life without it or the Android technology that was spurned by its invention. I conduct nearly all of my banking from my phone now, it’s my only camera,...

I love Christmas. I love all of the Christmas music, getting together with friends and family, and of course giving and receiving Christmas gifts. However; the gifting tradition intrigues me as a financial planner and father to four kids. There...

It is pumpkin carving time at The Schulz house. My youngest daughter is old enough to carve on her own and the other night we prepared for the annual ritual with craft paper on the kitchen table and all of our carving tools at the ready. G has a...

As a plan sponsor, many of the important administrative tasks associated with your plan’s operation happen behind the scenes with your vendors. Because of this, sometimes it’s easy to be lulled into complacency. If left unchecked the Plan can...

For most of my career in private wealth management, one of the greatest challenges has been maintaining client sell discipline in a down market. Interestingly, I rarely hear a peep from my clients in an up market about selling out of their...

I recently read about Vince Young’s Bankruptcy Filing “From 25.7 million guaranteed to Chapter 11”. Like most people, it amazes me every time I see something like this. At the other end of the spectrum, I am fortunate to have a good number of...

It has been six years now since the doors opened for 401(k) plans to allow ROTH contributions. Most employers by now have amended their plans to allow these contributions but few employees understand the rules or even know it exists. Here’s the...

My dad was a Stockbroker for many years before he went to work with my grandad in the newspaper business. He had played the game, knew the rules, and explained it to me pretty clearly one day while we were sitting on the back porch of our house...

As you get closer to Financial Independence Day (the day you start taking money out of your retirement accounts), the reality of what was an intangible concept for so many years can be a little stressful. Here are some thoughts and concepts I try...

I love this article by Mikey Rox on Wise Bread called 10 Habits of Financially Happy People (click on the link to read the article). Mikey used the word “happy” instead of “successful” in his title. I don’t use the term “happy” enough, and I...

Integrity is key. For Advisors, it’s easy to lose sight of integrity because the framework of the financial services industry creates conflicts of interest. In many cases, there is a disconnect between the cost and the service provided. In...

Yes, I love market risk! The risk associated with the stock markets is completely beyond our control so most investors would not make such a bold statement. Instead, many make it harder than it has to be by timing the market, making sector or...