All too often, people make investment decisions based upon their political concerns. Sure, policymakers can make changes to things like our taxes, minimum wage, and other regulations that affect our economy somehow, but not...

“I don’t mind paying income taxes, but it’s not my favorite thing either. It’s such a strange process. Every other bill I pay is pretty cut and dry. I get an invoice showing what I owe and a due date for when I need to pay it. Pretty simple.But...

Two weeks ago, I got a call from one of my clients. He owns almost 40,000 shares in an unknown local technology company that he bought from the founder many years ago. He paid around $20,000 for it at the time. The stock trades on...

Listen to Rob’s informative interview with Shanta Generally on Episode 113| Thoughts on Things Financial. Click here

I had a new client in the office this morning whose situation lends itself perfectly to a Roth conversion. They are 53 years old and have almost 2 million dollars in 401(k) and IRA retirement account funds. All of their 401(k) and...

“What’s one thing you wish you knew about investing when you were 20?” I was asked this question as a guest on a recent podcast. My answer? “I wish I knew how phenomenally well Apple stock was going to do because I owned it when I...

Our mortgage loan officer told us what we qualified for and I couldn’t help myself as I burst out laughing. Shelly whacked me on the leg under the big conference room table as I regained my composure. “There is no way we can afford...

This is going to sound crazy, but maybe you should not be taking advantage of your 401(k). Maybe you should go ahead and pay taxes on your investments now, not later. Most of the people I come into contact with believe tax rates are...

I have had deep and detailed financial discussions with most of my clients during our current pandemic crisis. Some are having the most successful years of their lives while others have had their income decimated. It’s easy to...

Check out this fun excerpt from my latest book for your reading enjoyment. I used to tell this story to 401(k) participants in enrollment meetings. It’s a real conversation I had with my dad in our garage in 1978! What do you think?

I have had the opportunity to help many people gain personal financial success over the last quarter decade. It’s been a great ride, and I continue to be inspired by their achievements. How did they do it? I think these seven steps were a key...

In working with successful clients, I’m reminded often that just maxing out your 401(k) rarely cuts it. For most of the families we work with, it takes more than just retirement plan assets to effectively retire. Why? Because your...

Answer: Maybe not the account you think! This is a pretty common conversation that we have with clients. Here is a handy chart outlining the different options and their tax treatment: Tax Deferred – Pay it Later Tax deferred...

The first time I reviewed and worked with a nice bond retirement portfolio it was my grandparents investment account. In the mid to late 90’s I found myself driving down to Temple Texas once a week to help them out with medical and...

Many of the conversations I’ve had recently about the stock market have revolved around the question “why” as in, “why is the NASDAQ hitting record highs in the middle of a pandemic?” “Why is Tesla up so much?” It’s a natural...

In this video, Austin and I talk about Equity Indexed Annuities. We’ve been analyzing quite a few of these lately and there are two major takeaways: They are complicated. They provide a guaranteed income...

We would argue that the most important job of a Financial Advisor is to talk people out of decisions that could have potential long term consequences. A very real test of this came during the first quarter of...

In investing as in life, our attitude has a lot to do with how successful we are. Because I have worked with so many investors over the years, it has become easy for me to identify the attitudes that win and those that lose. Losing...

It’s graduation season again. Due to the COVID-19 crisis this one is a little different, but regardless many of our kids are moving to new horizons. We all have a strong desire to impart wisdom and advice to these graduates. Through...

For almost everyone in investing, there are two main risks: 1. The Risk of Losing Money 2. The Risk of Losing the Opportunity to Make Money Of these two risks, we can choose to eliminate one or the...

This crisis has affected different families in different ways and in varying degrees. I can’t emphasize enough that we are living through a significant event. Sometimes it may not feel like it but we are. Much of the normalcy of our...

COVID-19 cut hockey season short and we’ll see if my horns make it on the gridiron this fall for football season. In the meantime, it’s property tax season. If you live in Texas, you should have received your 2020 Value Notice by...

In the last four weeks something near the number of 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment. That is a crazy high number that has led to some eye popping GDP expectations for the quarter. Some reports expecting something...

Were you completely prepared for this? Was your family, your business, or your investment portfolio? I know I wasn’t completely prepared. How could I have been? The current crisis is a reminder to us all that much in life is beyond our control. ...