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 …
Independent 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 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. …
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 …
How should I start preparing for retirement?
As a financial advisor, I don’t think it’s ever too early to start planning for retirement. Ideally retirement planning starts as soon as an individual starts earning money, even on their very first job. However, specific planning really ramps up in the years and decades just before retirement. That’s when it’s important to start visualizing …
How to be like Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is one of the most famous investors in America. The first week of May, Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual shareholder’s meeting. Buffet writes an annual letter to shareholders prior to the meeting. So Buffett is usually in the news this time of year. I was recently in a Jimmy John’s …