I was reminded recently how different we are, as Americans, compared to the rest of the World as it relates to financial independence. First off, a wide majority of humans still live in undeveloped regions and subsist at a very basic level,...

Bucket number 3 is money for retirement. This is a bucket we all hope to get started on as soon as possible. Getting started with bucket number 3 at an earlier age allows us to invest more aggressively in order to take maximum advantage of our...

Bucket number two is used for intermediate term goals. Intermediate term goals are different and unique, depending on your specific needs. Younger professionals my have an intermediate term goal of buying their first home, while others may be...

Money we have in bucket number one is for rather near term financial goals. Because of the short horizon to these goals, they should be invested in a safe manner. An example for shorter term goal would be planning a big overseas trip, or maybe...

It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and I’m worried. Last week, the markets were down hard, with the S&P 500 going from positive double digit territory at the end of the quarter to down just under break-even only 26 days later. Here’s what the week...

This is the first article in a multi part series centered around a different (and hopefully easier) way to think about your financial goals from an overview perspective. When thinking about our financial goals, it is often much easier to think...

How much money do we need to have to begin investing? The truth to this question is a lot less than we think. Many people I have talked to believe that they need to have thousands of dollars saved up to fund their initial investment, however this...

The TINSTAAFL theory is an informal favorite rule among many economists and financial planners like me. TINSTAAFL stands for “There is no such thing as a free lunch”, and means there is a price for everything, whether you know it or not. From an...

From time to time, I find myself roaming the country, assisting a corporate client in their desire to assess and improve the retirement readiness of their workforce. Normally, personal clients seek me out and arrive at my office ready and willing...

Great post by Austin Smith! Disciplined strategy investing over the long term, rather than trying to time the market fluctuations is a proven strategy for long term portfolio success. Attempting to ‘buy low and sell high’ is incredibly...

Only a very small percentage of Americans will ever experience financial independence. Why? Because just being successful in our professional careers is not enough. We have to know how to translate our professional success into personal...

“I think we’re going to be able to call it.”, Austin says as we review our client’s financial plan and assets on the big screen in my office. We’ve been running and re-running the scenarios, carefully reviewing possible future expenses and...

You have never heard of any of my heroes, so naming them by name is unimportant. Besides, my heroes are not interested in publicity. My heroes lead quiet lives, in attractive, inviting homes, where their values and interests are on display....

When should you start saving for your retirement? The most accurate answer is yesterday. Time is by far the most important factor on saving for your future. Starting early, combined with the effects of compounding interest can make a world of...

Shelly and I went sailing for the first time in many years this weekend. I was a little rusty. As we dodged and weaved our way through the 200 or so moored boats out into Narragansett Bay, I was reminded of the importance and power of lift. Sails...

During the Haiti crisis in the mid-90’s, I was a young sailor on watch. It was a calm, quiet, typical Caribbean sunny day and we were just off the coast of Hispaniola in the Windward Passage. Punching holes in the ocean, is what we called it,...

Note: This post is from our intern – Chris Ensch. Chris attended a recent Rotary meeting with me and ran into his old economics professor from High School (College Equivalency), my friend and fellow Rotarian, Mike Gallaher. Chris will graduate...

Today’s post was inspired by the excellent book: Team of Teams, by Gen. McChrystal Modern destroyers use gas turbine engines for propulsion and electrical power. As a young junior officer, I was required to learn all about these marvelous...

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you’ve probably heard about the Bitcoin craze and other cryptocurrencies using distributed ledger technology. I’m a borderline technology geek, so I have been reading about, and...

The market is hot right now – to say the least. We all know it’s cyclical in nature so in a way it feels like we’re just waiting on the inevitable downturn: we just don’t know when, and we don’t know by how much. At current valuation levels,...

Without a plan it’s easy for things to get out of hand over the holidays. Here are some simple steps you can take to make sure all of your gifts get handled reasonably and efficiently: Make a list. Write out everyone you need to purchase a gift...

A recent Wall Street Journal front page story, “The Morningstar Mirage,” stated what most advisers should already know: Morningstar ratings don’t mean much. In my experience, those who rely upon star ratings do so for one of three reasons: ...

Created by Congress twenty years ago, the Roth IRA is starting to show up in seasoned retirement plans in a big way. I remember when the Roth IRA first came out, I thought of it as a tool best suited for younger people in lower tax brackets. Now...

As we get older and enter retirement, some decisions need to be made regarding insurance coverage. We know from our own experiences with elderly parents – and from what we read – that long term care insurance makes sense. However, the premiums can...

At this point, just about everyone seems to be enrolled in a high deductible Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible health plan. The escalating costs of healthcare are astounding. I was depressed for days after realizing a few years ago that my...