Whether you are a stock investor or a bond investor, the first half of 2019 was outstanding for financial markets. This has been a huge about-face from December when markets pulled back and sentiment was grim. The S&P 500 had it’s best June month in over 60 years. Not that we’re getting overly excited about…
Perfect Gifts for Graduates
June is the time of year when school wraps up, with parents celebrating and guiding their kids to the next chapter in their exciting lives. I was reminded of it this week when looking at my Instagram. I am seeing friends post graduating pics, whether it’s moving on to middle school or moving on to…
Women and Money
Finance is a male-dominated industry. According to Cerulli research, only 16% of financial advisors in the US are female. There have been initiatives to change this but currently, this is fact. It’s no wonder then, that women may feel out of place when they walk into a financial planner’s office. Plus the topic of money…
Do You Need Long-Term Care Insurance?
Being a financial planner for as long as I have, my general observation around long-term care (LTC) insurance is this: if I don’t bring it up, it rarely ever comes up. Occasionally I get asked about it by someone if (and only if) someone in their family was affected by it. Usually by then, it’s…
Ways To Pay for Your Child’s College
I am often asked my thoughts on saving for a kid’s college. With the price of today’s college tuition, there is no wonder why! Parents can and should be planning for this, since the average yearly cost of a public out-of-state college is over $36k a year and growing (Source: CollegeBoard) First, as parents we…
Teaching Kids to Be Fiscally Responsible
It’s no secret that I feel that our nation lacks financial literacy. Most other professionals in my industry feel the same as well. The lack of basic financial knowledge not only applies to adults, but across the entire age spectrum as well. On one hand – this is good for someone like me, who make…
Q1 – 2019: Brandon’s Quarterly Market Commentary
What a difference a quarter makes! After one of the most disappointing quarters in recent history, the first quarter of 2019 ended up being one of the best. Most analysts say a main driver was the Federal Reserve, who went from “zero to hero” by adjusting their stance on the future of interest rates. In…
How Much Does Having A Child Really Cost?
It is always exciting to know that we are going to be bringing a new member into the family. The joy and excitement that come with the knowledge of a new pregnancy never fail to get us jumping off their couch to start choosing the paint colors for the new-born’s nursery. I should know, I…
Downsides of Retiring Early
Discussions I have with people are typically how to structure their life and position their finances such that they can someday retire. After all, no one wants to work until 80, right? With proper planning we devise a path for people to get the pieces in place for the goal of retirement. The so-called average…
Debt Payback
Today we are talking DEBT PAYBACK, snowballs, and avalanches. I believe there are good kinds of debt, but also bad kinds. And I recently have been listening to various conversations in my industry and advice for people who are in debt. The average U.S Household has nearly $7k in credit card debt and is paying…
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