Quick shoutout to Brendan Mullooly, former All About Your Benjamins Podcast and Talkin’s Shop guest for his blog post reminding us that our financial plans do not act as a map, but a compass. A financial plan as a map would suggest there is one guaranteed path to reach our goals, but the path to our goals isn’t as direct…
Today I had lunch with a financial advisor friend of mine, and I learned about a disgusting situation he uncovered with a new client. He can’t share this story because compliance says no blogs allowed, so I’m sharing the story. Allow me to set the scene: Baby boomer couple nearing retirement An IRA with around $220,000, a 401(k) with around…
Allow me to share a story of adversity… Five years ago today my wife and I woke up early in the morning to brave icy roads to make sure we were at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis; what should have been a less than 30 minute drive took us well over an hour–we had no choice because Ang had…
Toward the end of December, I was featured in a segment for our local CBS and Fox affiliates about charitable giving. I was asked about the potential impact on donations due to the changes in the tax laws, primarily centered around the higher standard deduction. Knowing that TV stations are only able to use a fraction of what they record,…
Have you ever wondered why financial advisors quote statistics, charts, and graphs? The data contained in statistics, charts, and graphs used by advisors often backs up the plans created for our clients; it provides the evidence needed to help clients (or readers) stay in the game when emotions begin to cloud their decisions. Be careful though, the data can also…
Last month I took a quick overnight trip to NYC to meet with a number of other financial advisors I respect, friends in the business, and go to dinner with a mentor. It was a quick, but memorable trip; I learned some new things from my friends, made a few new connections, and received a lot of needed wisdom and guidance…
In November 2016, I wrote a blog post sharing my bullishness on the financial services industry. I’m even more bullish now than I was back then, but I was recently reminded just how far the financial advisor community still has to go. Last week I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to hear Ron Carson speak in Indianapolis and…
Every Friday I take Roman, Leo, and now Silas to breakfast at our local coffee shop (shout out to Geist Coffee); R&L get 2 donuts each (I usually get to finish between 1/2 to a whole donut), Silas gets a banana, and I get a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a cold brew…no deviation from the order. Every. Friday.…
“Oh when it all, it all falls down I’m telling you oh, it all falls down” -Kanye West 10 years ago last week (this was supposed to be done last week) it seemed that the stock market, U.S. economy, and the global financial system might actually all fall down–here’s my recollection of the first two days in a crazy week… September…
“Now, this type of thing, happens all the time…” -Snoop Doggy Dogg In “Gin and Juice”, Snoop Dogg breaks down everyday life in the LBC (Long Beach City) and while the life of a financial advisor is not near as wild as that of a young Snoop Dogg, there’s plenty of drama in the FPC (Financial Planning Community)… The Drama…