It’s easy to look at people around you who seem to have accumulated more wealth than you and believe they know some big secret that you don’t. Actually, when you break down what people do to build and maintain wealth, it tends to be a series of relatively common-sense actions taken patiently over time. Here’s …
Financial Planner
9 steps to declaring your financial independence
This week brings us U.S. Independence Day. It’s a reminder of several conversations I’ve had with clients and friends lately. In each case it was mostly the same conversation with different details: What will retirement look like? How will they know when they are able to make the move? We do not typically talk about retirement in the traditional …
8 things to know about bear market cycles
Since the S&P 500 index of the 500 largest U.S. stocks set a record high on June 20, many people are wondering how much longer the bull market can last. Markets started their climb in March 2009, and we have not had a bear market since then. This is the longest bull market so far. …
8 Things to Ask A Financial Planner
One of my favorite quotes is: “If you ask great questions, you’ll get great answers.” To get the best experience from a financial planner, you really need to know what questions to ask. Whether it’s your existing advisor, or a person you have just met and are considering, here are eight good questions to ask. …
Why be a financial planner?
Last week, I buried my father. He died at home, in his sleep, at age 85. For most of us, we’d call that a pretty good deal. But it’s hard to say good-bye to your father. Above is a picture of him holding me as a newborn. For me, this was one more chance for …
How much should you pay a financial advisor?
I refer to most financial broadcasting as “financial pornography” because the majority of this information is based on fantasy that’s all very exciting and engaging. There are flashing visuals about stock price movements and a constant stream of talking heads and broadcasts from the chaotic, noisy floors of the exchanges. The goal of all this …