It seems like almost every week I’m reading about another company getting hacked and customer data being breached. Within the last month, I’ve read about at least five major security breaches. So far, I have been fortunate enough to escape being one of the impacted customers of these hacked companies. Continue reading “How To Protect Your Credit From Data Hackers”
As a financial planner at Financial Finesse, I do a lot more than just financial planning. I write blog posts here, contribute to Forbes, participate in our Think Tank, am involved in recruiting and interviewing, and lots of other things. Our plates are always full. Continue reading “Why I Came To Financial Finesse”
Answering calls to our Financial Helpline, I’ve heard some myths or assumptions about retirement and I always enjoy hearing the buzz out there from people contemplating retirement. My thought is – if I’m hearing this from a few people, there are potentially thousands or millions who have the same thought. So, for those who believe some of these things, I’ll share some of the myths/assumptions I’ve heard recently and then give you my $.02. Continue reading “Four Retirement Myths I’m Hearing”
I was looking at some photos recently and one that made me smile was a big group photo taken on a snorkeling trip. Along with the laughter, stories and bonding time with friends, the thing I remember the most about that particular day is swimming next to two incredibly large sea turtles. These things were HUGE. I’m sure they wondered why some doofus was swimming behind them for a rather long time, but they were gracious hosts. They were remarkable beautiful creatures and it looked like they owned the sea while they were swimming. Continue reading “Sea Turtles Are Excellent Role Models”
I heard about a story from a friend and I didn’t believe it.So I went to a more reliable source than my friend’s text message, and I found this article about Illinois lottery winners receiving IOU’s rather than money. The lottery agency is a state run entity and the state has not passed a budget so winners of $25,000 or more are not getting paid right now. Continue reading “When Winning The Lottery Isn’t Really Winning”
One of the most common questions we get is how to prioritize funding different types of retirement accounts.In an ideal world, we would max them all out but most of us need to figure out which ones should take priority. I recently read this article that attempts to answer that question. While I generally agree with the points, there are three things that this article and many similar articles I’ve read tend to underestimate: Continue reading “3 Under-Rated Retirement Accounts”
There are times when I look at my life and realize that I’m not 20-something any more. The phrase “Just Do It” showed me that last weekend. When I hear “Just Do It,” I think about Nike and the ad campaign that started in the late ‘80s. It’s tough to believe that Nike campaign is over 25 years old. Continue reading “Are You Suffering From Analysis Paralysis?”
In a story that may or may not eventually turn out to be true, two men claim to have found a train that allegedly vanished at the end of the Nazi regime and it was (in theory) loaded with valuables. They are offering to share that location with authorities if they are given 10% of the value. There are all kinds of legal, ethical and moral questions that would surround a found former Nazi treasure trove should this train actually exist and should they be given a nice finder’s fee. That could, if it’s a whole train filled with valuables, be quite the fortune! What are they going to do with it? Continue reading “What If Money Fell Into Your Lap?”
One of my favorite phrases with my friends after I say something that clearly isn’t all that brilliant is “Is there any wonder I’m still single?” Sometimes, I say things that are meant one way but interpreted another. At dinner the other night with a group of friends, I made a comment about needing to go outside for a potty break. Of course, I meant the dog but the way I said it made a few of the guests a wee bit nervous. Fortunately, my date understood what I meant and got a good laugh out of it. Continue reading “How Your Finances Can Affect Your Dating Life”
As an addict avid watcher of Game of Thrones, I always hope that the series will go on for as long as The Simpsons. But as we’ve all seen in our lives, eventually all things (good and bad) must end.This article discusses the potential end of the run of GoT. I guess we will all have to deal with a series finale at some point within the next few years. The good news is that with Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Friends, Seinfeld, MASH, etc. (depends on your generation which one will most resonate), we have precedent in watching our favorite show end. Continue reading “All Good Things Must End”
Many moons ago, I remember going from catering company to catering company doing tastings for my wedding. Then there were the conversations with florists, musicians, photographers, venues, etc…it’s all a blur now. Because it was a long time ago and because I was trying to be frugal, the wedding came in well below the average cost of a wedding. I believe that all in, the cost was around $10,000 for everything. Sadly, the divorce 17 years later cost WAY more than that!!! Continue reading “A Big Day And A Bigger Check?”
As we take this long weekend to celebrate our nation’s independence, keep checking back with our blog team to learn some tips and tools that can help you in your quest to become financially independent. We at Financial Finesse wish you a happy 4th of July. Celebrate, enjoy, be safe and take a few moments to reflect upon your path toward financial independence. Enjoy the long weekend!
Very often, I talk to people who have financial concerns that are weighing on them. I’ve noticed a correlation between the age of the person and the concern. Lately, a lot of people who are within a few years of retirement have been concerned about the stock market and relatively new hires who are just establishing a career have been concerned about their level of debt impairing their ability to make progress toward their important life goals. Those are two mini-trends I’ve been seeing lately. Continue reading “Un-Crushing Student Loan Debt”
My apologies if you haven’t watched the Game of Thrones season finale yet. But if you haven’t and you’re a fan, exactly what are you waiting for??? I’ll take a few liberties with the show’s broader themes and hopefully won’t spoil anything that you haven’t already heard or watched. Continue reading “Financial Lessons From The Game Of Thrones Season Finale”
I am not normally a fan of extended warranties on many things.I once worked with someone who owned car dealerships and in discussing their business, I learned that the extended warranties have very high profit margins so the consumer in me said “if the profit margins are that high, they probably aren’t a good deal for me as a buyer.” I usually opt out of the warranties on relatively durable goods like a car, washer/dryer, microwave, etc. So far, it hasn’t come back to bite me (so far…). However, I do give consideration to buying the warranty on less durable things, like electronics (laptops, TVs, etc). Continue reading “The Only Extended Warranties I Usually Buy”
Risk is something most people want to avoid.For that reason, and with 2008’s stock market crash and a lot of talk about today’s market being at or near all-time highs, I am seeing people re-evaluating the level of investment risk in their 401k’s. One trend that is a bit troubling is going on with young employees in their 20’s and 30’s who entered the workforce or were relatively new hires when the 2008 collapse happened. Many of these employees are shunning investment risk at perhaps the expense of their future financial security. Continue reading “Which History Matters?”
One of the things I love to see is a different perspective. When we hire a new financial planner on our team, they offer a lot of “new employee energy,” a fresh set of eyes and a different life experience to the table. Fortunately, we recently hired Cynthia Meyer as a part of our team and she sent me this blog post about her view on a very common type of call that we see on our Financial Helpline. I like her approach… Continue reading “Climbing The Debt Mountain”
Once in a while, usually during a long cold winter in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic area, my thoughts wander into a warmer place. I’ve joked that one of the requirements for my next home is that I have to be able to call the local Home Depot/Lowe’s and when I ask if they sell snow shovels, their answer MUST be… “NEVER! Not a single day during the year do we sell snow shovels.” It was while discussing that philosophy with a friend that she pulled up this article on her phone to discuss her retirement dream. She would like to explore the world for a decade or so and then settle down in whatever place she feels like calling home. That sounds like a pretty cool lifestyle and one that a lot of people would love to experience. Continue reading “Retirement Isn’t All About The Numbers”
I was talking with a friend recently who is a big fan of words and language, which could explain the presence of more bookshelves in her house than I’ve ever seen in anyone else’s house. We started talking about the language and words involved in my role at Financial Finesse. I’ve noticed an evolution in terminology during my 5 years here. There have been three terms that have been used a lot by our employees, our clients and in the general corporate environment. I see the terms evolving in the corporate workplace and a few members of our financial planning team discussed the evolution recently and found that the evolution of the terms aligns with the evolution in the way people process information. Continue reading “Financial Education, Literacy, or Wellness?”
In a conversation I had recently with an employee of a large healthcare company, the topic of retirement planning and investing merged together. She had recently started her job and wanted to be sure that she got off to a good start. Her prior employer had no financial wellness benefits provided so this was her first conversation with a financial planner. The conversation was very revealing about her views of herself, the world of investing and the level of financial knowledge that many people who work in financial services business assume that individuals have when they walk in for a conversation. Continue reading “Small Changes Now Can Mean Big Long Term Results”
