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Is Your Home Providing a Good Return on Life?

Why do I live here? As the country continues to reopen following the Covid-19 quarantine many people are starting to ask themselves that question. The pandemic has upended one of the strongest traditional reasons for picking a place...

The Pandemic Shows Need to Keep Up with Technology

Technology has helped to bridge some of the gaps that Covid-19 opened between us, our loved ones, and our communities. Thanks to video chat you’ve been able to check in on family across the country and participate in birthday...

Will a Vacation Home Provide a Good Return on Life?

Vacation homes can provide years of enjoyment and fond memories for multiple generations of your family. They can also create an extra layer of headaches and expenses that prove more trouble than they’re worth. Here are 4 reasons...

Start Your Retirement Business Now

What do Netflix, GE, Trader Joe’s, Microsoft, Disney, and FedEx have in common? They all started during economic downturns .Your vision for your own dream company might not be on the same scale as those giants. But history shows...

Be Resilient and Gain Personal Momentum Coming Out of the Covid-19 Pandemic - PART 2

Part 2: Growth Through Adversity In Part 1 of this series, Dr. Beth Kurland and retired Commander David Sears of the U.S. Navy SEALS shared three habits they believe will help folks build momentum as we – hopefully –...

Be Resilient and Gain Personal Momentum Coming Out of the Covid-19 Pandemic - PART 1

Part 1: Better Habits for a Healthier Mind Since the Covid-19 outbreak we’ve all had to make adjustments so that we could cover our basic needs, care for our loved ones, and remain productive during quarantine. No matter how...

Get Away in Your Own Backyard

Summer travel plans are up in the air right now as federal and local governments sort through the best strategies for keeping COVID-19 under control. Although it’s disappointing to put off a vacation or big family party...

Build Resilience to Prepare for the Country Reopening

Deciding how and when to reopen our country will be a complicated process. As we wait for our government leaders and health care professionals to plot the best course forward, it’s not too early to start thinking about how your...

Use Downtime to Think about Retirement

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many older workers to reassess their careers and how they view retirement. Folks who are fortunate enough to be working from home might be coping with a mix of technological hurdles, while also...

Use the Pandemic as a Catalyst for Change

The coronavirus pandemic has put all our short-term needs front and center. Just getting through one week of virtual work meetings, grade school math lessons, and grocery shopping can be a challenge. And if you’re one of the...

Stay Healthy

Hopefully you’re becoming a little more comfortable with the health care basics that are helping to slow the spread of COVID-19. According to our public health officials, maintaining a safe distance from other folks, wearing a...

Stay on Track, Continue to Give to Others

The coronavirus pandemic has created a very uncertain market environment right now. However, your long-term financial goals are probably still the same: buying a house, getting your kids through college, starting your own company,...

Stay Connected and Focus on the Long Term to Withstand Coronavirus

One unique challenge of the coronavirus pandemic is that it’s a global crisis that’s also affected each and every one of us in a very personal way. We’re all learning to balance our worries about huge topics like...

5 Ways to Make Social Distancing More Social

Few of us had heard the phrase “social distancing” at the beginning of the year. But now, maintaining safe, hygienic spaces that help limit the spread of the coronavirus is just a part of our lives. Here are 5 ideas on how...

The Plan is the Path

None of us planned for this.But your Life-Centered financial plan does have mechanisms in place that will help you getthrough this tough patch with the coronavirus and the financial market volatility. The key is notletting heightened...

It May Be Time to Reconsider What Retirement Means to You

Whether you’ve been told you should retire at 62, 65, or some other age, only you can decide what is right for you. In fact, you may want to reconsider retiring at all––at least in the traditional sense. Many of us...

New Education Opportunities Help Retirees with a Second Act

Your days of rushing a fraternity and tailgating before football games might be behind you. But more and more seniors are heading back to campuses when they retire. In fact, many colleges and universities have started tailoring...

Don't Let a Hacker Keep You from Getting the Best Return on Life

We spend so much of our lives online that protecting our digital selves is now as important as protecting any other asset. Cybercriminals continue to find more devious and more sophisticated ways to access passwords, bank accounts, and...

Transitioning from a Work Identity to a Retirement Identity

The jobs we do for 40 hours every week – and the life that job provides for our families over decades – has a significant influence on how we view ourselves. That’s why many new retirees struggle with a loss of...

Focus on Good Habits for Your Health and Finances for a Fulfilling Retirement

When we ask our clients to describe their ideal retirement, two of the most common responses are “healthy” and “secure.” In our experience, most successful retirees find ways to align these two goals …...

Amid 2020 Predictions and New Laws, Focus on What You Can Control to Improve Your Financial Health

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act that was signed into law on December 20th might be adding more chatter to all the 2020 financial predictions bouncing around your news feeds. Throw in an upcoming...

Don’t Let a Volatile Stock Market Interrupt You Living the Good Life

It’s been said that volatility is a tax that investors have to pay for harnessing the wealth-building power of the financial markets. But rationalizing market fluctuations doesn’t make them any less nerve-wracking,...

Millennials and Retirees are Choosing to Leave Fast-Paced Cities for a Better Quality of Life.

Housing is a large item on any person’s budget. But folks about to enter or leave the workforce have to be especially thoughtful about how their living situation is going to impact their financial plan – especially if...

When Setting New Year's Resolutions Be Sure to Rethink Your Financial Goals

If your New Year’s resolutions rarely last until Valentine’s Day, this might be the year to stop “resolving” and start setting goals. What’s the difference? “I’m going to be healthier” is...

3 Considerations to Ensure Your Second Act Career is Fulfilling and Profitable

Your parents and grandparents might have worked at the same company for their entire careers. Today, that kind of longevity is increasingly rare. Some folks are forced into a new career by the ebb and flow of the global economy. Others...

A Holiday Family Meeting Can Ring in a Productive New Year

The holiday season might not seem like an ideal time to have a serious conversation with your immediate family. All that shopping, decorating, cooking, and celebrating can be time-consuming and stressful enough. But if you’re...

3 Non-Traditional Travel Options That Could Add Some Adventure to Your Retirement

According to AARP, baby boomers expected to take 4-5 trips during 2019 (1). Retired boomers who plan to travel more might even exceed that pace once they’re no longer working. Over the course of a typical 20-30-year retirement,...

Are You Spending Your Time Doing What Everybody Else Does in Retirement?

Many soon-to-be retirees struggle to imagine their week without work in it. All those blank calendar days are exciting, but they can also be overwhelming. But once you actually retire, you might find that your daily routine isn’t...

Are You Taking Advantage of “The Longevity Effect” to Get a Greater Return on Life?

This generation of retirees is going to live longer than any in history. Today’s seniors are healthier, more active, and receiving better preventative care. And on top of that, a growing group of scientists is trying to harness...

Don't Let Your Life Go Up in Flames When You're on FIRE

Why work when you can travel, play, sleep in, and … Umm … Sleep some more? That’s both the promise and the dilemma of the popular Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement. FIRE folks spend minimally and...

The Purpose of Money is NOT Just to Make More of It

Imagine that you’re living in a tent on an open plain. One day you plant a tree. For the next 40 years, you water it. You protect it from harsh weather and animals. You never pick its fruit. You don’t climb it for fun. You...

Using a Legacy Letter to Preserve Your Life's Lessons for Future Generations

Your legacy isn’t just about your assets. Of course, as part of our Life-Centered Planning process, we will help you coordinate with attorneys and tax experts to create an estate plan that will provide for your heirs in...

If You're In or Near Retirement, Here's How to Prepare for and Survive the Next Bear Market

Anyone who’s retired in the past 10 years has been very fortunate. They’ve experienced a massive bull market and they may even have a higher net worth today than when they retired! But it won’t always be that way....

Get Your "House" in Order Before You Retire

“Does this spark joy?” Millions of people are asking themselves this question about their homes and possessions thanks to Marie Kondo and her wildly popular decluttering philosophy. Once the kids are moved out, it’s...

Avoiding Knee-Jerk Reactions to Negative Financial Events

As part of our Life-Centered Planning process, we’ve talked about how market volatility is a normal part of investing. We’ve also discussed how we’ve structured your investments to “weather the storm” and...

5 Money Questions to Improve Your Relationship

Many people have a complicated relationship with money. Hang-ups carried over from childhood experiences get mixed together with positive and negative experiences from adulthood. Few people ever take the time to reflect on what money...

How to Increase Your Generosity While Not Jeopardizing Your Retirement

How are you going to get the best, most fulfilling life possible with the money you have once you retire? Study after study has shown that retirees who spend their time and money on experiences are much happier than those who just buy...

How to Make a Good Decision When Life Throws You a Tough Choice

No matter how thorough our planning is, life inevitably tosses curveballs at us. Often these challenging moments are linked to major life transitions that affect our families, our careers, and our money. Balancing these variables can...

Three Reasons Why You Should Work Even When You Don’t Need the Money

It might sound a little crazy but there are many benefits to working even though you no longer need the money for your living or retirement needs. These “retirement workers” have discovered that part-time jobs or volunteer...

Don't Let a Declining Market Steer You Off Course

Don’t Let a Declining Stock Market Steer You Off Course Big red arrows, panicked cable news experts, and the echo chambers of our social media feeds can make stock market volatility seem much worse than it actually is. If...

4 Steps to Phase into Retirement and Take It for a Test Drive

There are many reasons why people who could retire are hesitant to do so. Some people think they need to wait until they’re 65 or older. Some are worried about running out of money. Many parents want to keep supporting their...

How Does Your Retirement Savings Compare to Other People Your Age?

“How am I doing?” That’s a big question that most people have when it comes to their money. One way we tend to look for answers is by comparing what we have to what our neighbors, friends, and family, have. Even...

3 Life Insights from the Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos Divorce

One of the reasons that divorce is such a challenging life transition is its public nature. A couple might keep their problems private as they try to work through them. But if a rift opens that can’t be mended, the couple will...

Financial Planning is About Making Your Life Plan a Reality

Many folks who have just begun working with us are surprised by how our planning process starts. We don’t begin by talking about IRAs, 401(k)s, or how much you’re saving. Instead, we begin by talking about you, not your...

5 Steps to Make Your Empty Nest Time a Prime Time in Your Life

Time flies when you’re a parent. Just when you’ve wrapped your head around the demands and responsibilities of raising a child, you turn around and your little bundle of joy is ready to head out into the world. This empty...

Is How You Use Your Money Aligned With Your Values?

A hamster in a wheel. Have you ever watched a hamster running in a wheel? All that running, all that effort, day after day after day … But the poor little critter never really gets anywhere, does he? Many of us feel the same way...

5 Steps to Ensure Your Life Wishes Are Granted Through Effective Estate Planning

Legacy planning is often the last piece folks tackle in their financial planning, because it’s the least appealing to think about. Planning for a robust nest egg that will keep you safe, secure, and fulfilled when you stop...

Setting Goals that Stick Part 2

Setting New Year’s resolutions can be easy and fun, and lead to some exciting changes in your life. Making your goals, based on your resolutions, become reality requires a few steps. Keep them short and easy. Create achievable...

Setting Goals That Stick

The start of the new year always seems to represent new beginnings. It’s a time to remake our priorities and to reimagine our futures. Although the calendar may not recognize its significance, our humanity marks the passing of...

The Pros and Cons of Lighting a FIRE Under Your Retirement Goals

A popular online movement wants to make 40 the new 65. FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. The idea is that by working as hard as you can and saving as much as you can as soon as you enter the workforce, you can become...

How to Have More Fun and Meaning in Retirement

A blank calendar filled with nothing but free time can be every bit as stressful as a packed work week. That’s the surprising fact that many new retirees confront after a few days of hitting the snooze button and puttering around...

Estate Planning Basics

If you are young and healthy, it can be hard to think about worst case scenarios and planning for something bad happening to you. The likelihood is that you will live a long healthy life and may not need some of these documents until...

5 Next Steps When You Are Concerned About an Aging Parent

As your parents begin to settle into their final phase of life, their health, residence, and finances could become a factor in your retirement planning. This is especially true if you are the person your parents have tasked with...

Did You Inherit Your Beliefs About Money From Your Parents?

Parents know that children hear, see, and pick up on everything that is going on with the adults in their lives. And when you were a child, you were no different. Many of the attitudes we have about money were formed at a very early...

4 Things to Consider Before Financially Bailing Out Your Adult Children

According to a recent study by TD Ameritrade, 25% of baby boomers are supporting their family members financially (1). Support to adult children averages out to $10,000 per year. That’s $10,000 that boomers aren’t saving,...

3 Ways to Know When You Are Ready to Retire

There’s a pretty good chance that your parents and grandparents retired just because they turned 65. Today’s retirement is a bit more complicated than that. While age is still an important factor, your ability to connect...

Student Debt Effects on Millennials' Financial Security - Part III

Part III If you’re like many millennials in their 20s and 30s, you want the help of a financial planner but are living paycheck to paycheck as it is and aren’t sure how you can afford it. In order to engage this type of...

Student Debt Effects on Millennials' Financial Security - Part II

Part II As we briefly covered last week, the student loan landscape is a vast and unfriendly place. You’ve probably heard the phrase “never accept a first offer.” When it comes to taking on a repayment plan as...

Student Debt Effects on Millennials' Financial Security - Part I

As millennials enter their 20s and 30s, they begin to ponder the future and what it might look like for them. The goals and objectives of this generation, my generation, are as diverse as the population itself. They love to travel and...

The Return of Volatility and Top Chef

As the S and P 500 market index made adjustments last week by dropping down -4.1% according to market watch, the year to date numbers remained positive at 3.58% since January 2018. This email is just a reminder that, like a top chef...

Why Young Professionals Should Be Working with a Financial Advisor

Have you ever been brushing your teeth or walking your dog when all of a sudden you have a flashback to something embarrassing you did in the past that literally stops you in your tracks? I wish I could say this does not happen to me...

Planning for Disability

Have you ever broken a bone or gotten mono? Were you able to keep working? In many cases of injury or illness, people have no problem going right back to work or returning after a brief hiatus. But what happens if you have a stroke,...

The Smart Parent's Guide to Preparing Financially for Your New Baby's Arrival

There are few experiences in a couple’s life more exciting than welcoming a baby into the world. Children provide a wonderful new light in your life. They help round out your feelings of purpose and meaning. They (might) bring...

Homebuyers Guide for Purchasing a House

If you’ve never bought a home before or are shopping with your significant other for the first time, the prospect of everything that has to be done ahead of time can be a little overwhelming. If you aren’t where to start or...

5 Benefits of a Consolidated Investment Portfolio

I’m often asked by potential clients when they first approach us for financial planning advice, what my thoughts are on consolidating assets from multiple advisors to one advisor. Contrary to what you might have read about...

Empower Yourself by Recognizing Your Freedom to Choose

Empower Yourself by Recognizing Your Freedom to Choose “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor Frankl We may not always be able to control the circumstances of a...

Financial To-Do List for Married Couples

Are you recently engaged or newly married? Congratulations! This is an exciting time in your life and it is also one of significant transition. There are many things that need to be considered or updated when you are combining your...

When is Taking on Debt Worth the Risk?

Have you ever taken a vacation with your friends and put it on a credit card – promising to pay it off later? Did you pay it off later? If you’re like many of my clients, the answer to these questions is often Yes and No,...

4 Ways to Feel More "At Home" in Your Home

Do you feel “at home” in your home? Your home is often the biggest financial purchase you’ll ever make. But is it also giving you the emotional payoffs you hope for? Your home is an important part of your financial...

A Simple Plan to Achieve More in Life and Feel Good About the Results

A Simple Plan to Achieve More in Life and Feel Good About the Results We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in the short-term and underestimate what we can accomplish in the long-term. The frustration that results is one big...

Finance and Family -- Why so taboo?

Finance and Family – Why so taboo? Although it is a something that is used every day by people across the country, money remains a controversial topic among American families. It is often even considered...

Don’t Just Work for Money, Work for Meaning

In a recent survey of 12,000 workers worldwide conducted by the Energy Project, only 50% of respondents found meaning in their jobs (1). Imagine spending 40 hours a week doing meaningless work. It’s soul-sucking, but it...

ROH (Return on Health) Why Delay? You Can Start Improving Your Health Right Now!

A Common Scenario. A busy 40- to 50-hour work week, kids that need shuttling to and from school and extracurriculars … and a gradually decreasing metabolism. Sound familiar? Young, working couples with no kids may have more...

Should I Sacrifice My Retirement to Support My Children?

Should I Sacrifice My Retirement to Support My Children? Most parents will say that they want to help their children as much as they can and give them every advantage. But what if “every advantage” comes at the expense of...

How Will You Practice Your “ART” in Retirement?

A hammock on the beach. Your favorite chair in the living room. Waking up when you feel like it. A blank calendar. Doing what you want when you want. Doing nothing if that’s how you feel that day. After a lifetime of working 40...

Three Overlooked Keys to Being a Prudent Investor

Does investing strike “fear” in you? We once heard somebody say the word “fear” stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” That seems to apply to investing. Here’s why. The stock market makes...

What is Your "Philosophy" on Insurance? Here's What You Should Consider...

Most people consider insurance an important part of their financial plan. But do you also have an insurance philosophy that you use to determine exactly how much coverage you need? By the way, people often tell me they...

Giving: How To Do The Most Good Without Disrupting Your Financial Plan

Many studies have shown that charitable giving provides greater happiness than buying more stuff. Eventually, you get used to your fancy new car, and the enjoyment it provides goes down. But giving forges feelings of connectedness and...

Divide and Conquer, are you and your spouse on the same page regarding spending?

Spending: What to Do When You and Your Spouse are NOT on the Same Page? Most married couples take a “divide and conquer” approach to household tasks and chores. One spouse might handle weekly shopping, the other might...

Winter 2018 Perspectives

Check out our winter Perspectives today, including tips on safeguarding your credit, making and sticking to your financial resolutions, and vacation destinations! Click here for the full magazine!

Savings: Does Your Desire to Save Match Your Reality?

“The only money that’s really yours is the money you spend. Everything else goes to somebody else.” Teddy Chafolious That piggy bank we remember from childhood wasn’t just a place to store our birthday money...

Debt - What's Your Story and How Do You Feel About It?

Debt: What’s Your Story and How Do You Feel About It? In a recent study, half of Americans said their expenses are equal to or greater than their income. 1 Revolving credit, particularly credit cards, is an increasingly...

Fall 2017 Perspectives

Check out our fall Perspectives today, including tips on health, reducing stress, and seasonal foods! Click here for the full magazine!

Advisor Views: Mutual Funds or ETFs?

6 Fun - and Affordable - Fall Activities

Fall is here! The season of changing leaves, cooler temperatures, and fun fall holidays – like Halloween and Thanksgiving – are coming up soon. Here are 6 ways to enjoy all those fall activities without breaking the bank!...

9 Tips on Purchasing and Financing Your New Home

Do you have a down payment? Putting at least 20% down is ideal. It avoids the need to purchase mortgage insurance and communicates to the seller that your finances are strong. If you don’t have 20%, there are programs for...

Declutter Your Debt this Spring

Our 2017 Spring Newsletter is here, and we can’t wait to share it with you. The common trend for this time of year is spring-cleaning, which isn’t always fun but sometimes necessary. The end result can make you feel so...

Advisor Views- Making a Million

Spend Less, Save More, and Don't Do Anything Stupid

No matter what generation you are a member of – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennial, or Gen Z – I have some free, basic financial advice that will serve you well. “Spend less, save more, and don’t do anything stupid...

Importance of HIPAA Privacy Authorization

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: the unexpected phone call telling you that your child has been in a serious accident and is in the hospital. Frantic, you prepare to leave to be with your child as you call the hospital...

2017 Summer Perspectives

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Yes, You Might Actually Enjoy a "Working" Retirement

An important part of your retirement plan is a discussion of the benefits of working, regardless of age. Retirement is no longer an event––it is a segue into an altered definition of life as you know it. One definition of...

Are You Getting the Best Return on Life You Possibly Can?

When it comes to investing, the current standard of return on investment (ROI) can be self-limiting, adding pressure that is counterproductive. So much of ROI is not within our control. We can diversify investments––always...

Advisor Views- The Reverse Mortgage: Tapping Retirement Income from Your Home

Networking for Women: It's Important, Ladies

Networking has, over the past couple of decades, become something of a buzzword. It’s schmoozing with less emphasis on selling something, and it’s socializing with a professional slant. Sometimes it’s fun, and...