Financial Planning: The Problems With Doing It Yourself

We see self-diagnosing from time to time with clients, families, and friends of ours. There is a do-it-yourself mentality out there on many different things in life. Is that okay when it comes to your financial life? When would it be okay? And maybe when isn't it okay? First, let’s admit that running your own…

You’re Off Course 97% of the Time? Control Your Direction

I read an interesting statistic that said when a plane from New York takes flight to Los Angeles, it ends up being off course 97% of the time. Air traffic controllers are constantly giving inputs that call for change of direction and altitude to get the plane precisely where it needs to get to. When…

Financial Planning With Illiquid Assets

One gauge of financial success is monitoring net worth, which isn’t always easy to do. Not many people know the value of their house, their property, their business, and their collectibles, right on the spot. On the other hand, stock market investments are valuated daily. So even though growing net worth is not exclusive to…

Cleaning Out Your Financial Garage

I cleaned out my garage last weekend. I tend to accumulate things I don’t need or don’t often use. I pile up things that should just be thrown away. I stack tools on my shelves instead of putting them back where I got them. Instead of taking an extra minute or two out of my…

6 Considerations for Pension Election

Lots of baby boomers are hitting retirement age. And with retirement come some pretty big irrevocable decisions. One of which may be how to elect a pension. Now let me be clear. Not everyone has a pension. In fact, fewer and fewer people do as fewer and fewer companies offer them. But if you do…