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®
Uncategorized 0 Comment

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®
Uncategorized 0 Comment

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…

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

The Quintessential Key to Building Wealth: It’s Not What You Think

Anyone can create the lifestyle and legacy they want—even you, especially you! The good news is that if you want to experience prosperity, you don’t have to time the markets perfectly, make a six-figure income, or inherit a fortune from your deceased uncle. The bad news is that it’ll take work and you’ll have to do the exceptionally boring, yet all-important task to get you there: budgeting. I know it’s not fun or cool to talk about, but we must…

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

A Huge Warning Sign for Stock Market Investors

In the third week of March, 2020, the stock market experienced its worst day since 1987. With fears of the global pandemic worsening, the S&P 500 Index was down 34% by March 23rd.[1] Investors lost a lot of money. While much of that has been recovered, the 2020 market drop leaves valuable lessons for investors about the future of their money. In the months after March 2020, I’ve fielded dozens of phone calls, emails, and texts from investors who were…

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

What to do With Your Investments in Light of the Coronavirus

Markets during Coronavirus

Much has changed in the world of investments since the coronavirus pandemic. The volatility in the stock market this February and March rattled investors before making a rocky recovery April-July. Added to the coronavirus fears are real economic issues of companies slowing down and small businesses shuttering their doors or finding it difficult to find work. While this has been a volatile time in the markets and no one can predict when things will get back to normal, there are…