budgeting

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Without a plan it’s easy for things to get out of hand. Here are some 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 for this season. Create a...

As you invest and save more, the movement of money between accounts becomes a larger part of your financial life. Here is some good information on the process, safety protocols, and different options available for moving money between accounts: ...

It’s hard to believe the year is halfway over. Now is a good time to review and determine what steps need to be taken to finish out the second half. Here are five topics to help you put together a nice mid year review. Income and taxes. If your...

The last several weeks we have been busy meeting with our client’s children. We recommend what we call “kid meetings” at a few critical stages: Just prior to getting their driver’s license. Just prior to going off to college. After graduation...

In most of my recent client meetings I am being reminded that retirement is an outdated term. We try to use the term “transition” but that does not fit as a good description either. However; finding the right word is not the real issue rather...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...