The Life Planning 101 Podcast

The August 2008 Money Magazine offered up an article of several successful individuals talking about the smartest financial advice they have ever received. Billionaire and CEO of Virgin records, Richard Branson shared a story about his lack of knowledge in the financial realm and being humble about what you don’t know...

There is a lot of controversy around annuities. Some advisors use them as if they were a cookie cutter for every client and some advisors despise all of them. Then, there are the majority of advisors that either fall somewhere between these two extremes or the solution-based advisors that use them when they see fit. So, what is the real story with annuities? Why do the extreme viewpoints exist? And, what is right for you?...

We live our lives and are encouraged to live life fully and to not have regrets. Though in fact, that word itself establishes a negative frame of mind. However, we have found that this same word can produce a positive outcome  with the addition of a simple adjective: unacceptable. At the end of your life, what would be a regret that you absolutely do not want to have?...

If you Google the top financial concerns of Americans, you will see zillions of polls taken. The interesting thing is that the top three, though interchangeable, are fairly consistent: retirement and/or maintaining their current lifestyle, living paycheck to paycheck, and paying for healthcare. Louisa May Alcott had it...

By now you are probably aware that if you are taking your Social Security benefits, you won’t be getting a raise in 2016. You may even be aware that in addition to not having a Cost of Living Adjustment next year, the maximum benefit amount you can receive was actually reduced. Yet there is an even bigger concern when it comes to future benefits...

It is probably safe to assume that all of us have at one time or another been touched by, and wanted to contribute to, a good cause. And it is probably safe to assume that all of us have wished we could do more for that something that touched our heart. What if I told you that it is possible to do more and it may not cost you anything?...

Just recently I was speaking with one of my more affluent clients who wanted to lease a new vehicle and could not! Why? Her credit score was not high enough. Whether you are wealthy or not,having a bad credit score can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Suppose two executives who have worked at the same company for the same amount...

If you ‘Google’ this question, it results in all sorts of mathematical tools that tell you how you should add up your assets that you have acquired over your lifetime. However, if you read about half way down the first page of search results, something changes with the addition of the word “true.”  There is a perfect quote by...

Maybe you have drawn up a will or even went to the extent to attend a seminar about something such as The 6 Things That Could Be Missing In Your Estate Plan and subsequently met with the firm who gave the presentation for a first and last meeting to set your plan in place. You probably even have a beautiful leather bounded binder with all of your estate planning papers secured inside as well as a list of the attorney and/or financial planner’s name address...

Recently I was speaking with a client about how important it is to take preventative measures in regard to health - eating right, exercising and taking the right supplements. People are living longer than ever before, but that doesn’t mean we are living healthier than ever before, which can prove to be a double whammy. The same double whammy applies to...

#1… $1 million is enough…This might sound like it is, but most of the time it really isn’t enough. Life insurance needs are calculated in various ways, but experience has taught us that most individuals want their spouse to be taken care of for the rest of his/her life if death were to occur. Moreover,they might want to make sure the kids attend college, don’t want the spouse to have to work, etc. Well if this is the case: $1 million might be...

Don’t feel alone. You don’t have to be a search engine whiz to discover that 77% of Americans saw their taxes increase in 2013 (the most recent tax data available). To add insult to injury, it hasn’t stopped therefor many of us. Itemized deductions are disappearing, we have two new taxes to fund Obamacare and increase Medicare support…

This was a recent headline in a newsletter we read frequently called “Trust Advisor.” The article opened with the statement,“Imagine that you’re a self-made person with $100 million in assets. Do you leave it all to your children?”1 Okay… $100 million is a bit outrageous, but it did give me anew perspective. What if my estate was$100 million? Would this be too much to leave my kids? ... If “yes,” why would it be too much?...

Warren Buffet said, “Risk comes from not knowing what you’redoing.” Isn’t it interesting that the same could be said about “Fear?” Everyone has a slightly different relationship with risk. We are the sum total of our experiences or lack of experiences which have led us each to a precise point in life. Some of us thrive on risk. Some of us do everything we can to avoid risk.And the majority of us are somewhere in between this million mile range...

Our experiences over the last 26 years working with individuals who are in their last years of working, retiring, and reaching retirement have taught us more than you can imagine. But if you were to ask what the number one piece of advice we would give you from all of these experiences is, it wouldn't have anything to do with money. It would simply be to have something to retire to...