Daniel Colston, CFP®
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Hiring Your Dream Financial Advisor

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 such issues as taxes, basis points, pie charts, retirement, and estate planning, but you should 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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Economics, Financial Freedom, Financial Planning, Investments 0 Comment

Are We in a Stock Market Bubble?

market bubble?

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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
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How to Invest in Up and Down Markets

investing, stock market, covid

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,…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Financial Freedom, Investments 0 Comment

What To Do With a 401(k) from a Previous Job

retirement account

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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
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Five Ways to Kick-Start Your Finances This Year

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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Financial Freedom, Tax Planning 0 Comment

Year-End Tax and Investing Moves

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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
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A Good Retirement Game Plan

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…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Finance & accounting, Financial Freedom, Financial Planning, Investments 0 Comment

How To Build A Good Investment Portfolio

investment portfolio

A good handyman has many tools on his belt and even more in his truck. He can complete various jobs with these tools, but different tools have different functions. For some jobs, he will need a screwdriver; other times, he’ll need a hammer, saw, paintbrush, or lawnmower. Your portfolio is the same way. You will have many assets in your investment toolbelt such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CD’s, government bonds, and ETFs. Within these you will also want to…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Investments 0 Comment

Investing In An Election Year

investing during election year

2020 has been a train wreck so far to say the least. Added to all the chaos of 2020, this year is also an election year, which could have a large impact on your finances. The stock market tends to behave a certain way in election years. Depending on who gets elected, there could be huge tax implications on your income and your investments. Added to all of this is the black swan event of the coronavirus and unemployment, Congressional…

Daniel Colston, CFP®
Finance & accounting, Financial Freedom, Financial Planning, Investments, Life Planning, Tax Planning 0 Comment

Roanoke Financial Advisor Authors Book Entitled, “The Money Success Guidebook.”

Roanoke native and financial advisor Daniel Colston spent his time during the pandemic helping his clients make smart money moves, bringing on new clients who were wary of the market ups and downs, and writing the newly released book: “The Money Success Guidebook.” This book is your unique, definitive guide to growing your wealth and living the life you want. Financial planner and investment expert Daniel Colston shows you how to not only invest intelligently, but also how to maximize…