Have you noticed the prices edging up not just on homes and gas, but also on groceries, lumber, used cars, and home improvement items? My friend told me a story last week about how he works in a large home improvement store and over the last year, he’s watched the same 100 ft. spool of electrical wire go from $65 to $95 to $165. Used cars went up in price by 10% across the country in just one month. The…
I was recently invited to be on Derek Wiley’s “You Can’t Deposit” excuses podcast. We had a great discussion centering around the power of good financial advice. Watch the video to hear our thoughts about fiduciary, serving others through one’s career, life transitions, recreation, retirement, investments, insurance, and more. Derek is a highly successful insurance agent who specializes in home, auto, and life insurance. He has built up his own agency in Daleville, VA where he also lives with his…
I was recently asked to be on a panel discussion for a professional group of Virginia lawyers where the discussion centered on surviving an economic downturn during one’s career. The coronavirus pandemic brought its own set of challenges professionally, financially, socially, physically, academically, and even spiritually, but there are a plethora of other disasters that could potentially wreak havoc on your life. Some of these unexpected events can include loss of a loved one or business partner, disease, loss of…
What would having your dream financial advisor look like? You don’t necessarily have to love meeting with your advisor. After all, these meetings typically include discussions about issues such as taxes, basis points, pie charts, retirement, and estate planning. You should, however, feel like you can trust your advisor and that they are fighting for your success. I recently had an interaction with a new client where I not only felt that she was my dream client, but also that…
Are you familiar with stock market bubbles? If you’ve been investing since before the housing bubble of 2008 then you are, but perhaps the 1999 dotcom bubble is a more poignant and painful reminder for you. In the runup to the dotcom bubble everyone believed that the internet was the future of technology. While that was true, it didn’t necessarily mean that every stock with a “www” in front of it was a winner. When the dotcom bubble finally burst…
With the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all reaching new record highs, one must wonder, “is this an inflated market?” You don’t want to miss out on potential gains if this 12-year bull market continues its runup, but you don’t want to lose money by potentially buying at the top either. It can be an emotionally draining time to constantly be looking at your accounts and either seeing losses in your investments or gains in stocks that you didn’t buy,…
The average American worker will change jobs 5-7 times throughout his or her career. This can sometimes lead to a menagerie of old retirement accounts that become too much to try to keep track of individually. It’s not uncommon for workers to forget their login credentials or forget about accounts altogether which can seriously derail their investment goals. If you’ve left a former employer where you were investing into a 401(k) or other type of retirement plan, then you have…
Get your budget on track. This is the most important element needed for your financial success. It is very basic, but you’d be surprised by how many colleagues in my industry are drowning in credit card debt and unable to stick to a budget. I recommend the free app mint.com, which syncs with your accounts to show how your spending aligns with your proposed budgets. Rebalance your portfolio. Rebalancing your portfolio will help you get your asset allocation back to…
As we enter the final month of the year, there are some money moves you can make to maximize your gains and save on taxes. Here are some good strategies to practice towards the end of every year. Realize those capital gains and losses. If this was a high-income year for you and you’ve decided to get out of some bad investments, now is a good time so that you can harvest those losses from the underperforming investment to offset…
Many retirees are not adequately prepared to handle retirement. They go straight from 40-hour work weeks to not knowing what to do. After a month or two of working on delayed house projects, they settle into a Netflix-induced coma. The lack of physical and mental stimulation can cause cognitive and physical impairment, which leads to further mental and health declines. In order to avoid these common pitfalls in retirement, you will need a game plan. This will be one of…
