I’m Thinking the Real Estate Market is Due for a Strong Turnaround. Should I Buy Investment Property?

February 03, 2011

I get this question all the time over the Financial Helpline and in one-on-ones with the employees we work with.  I also hear it regularly from friends who want to know my perspective on this as a financial planner.

What is interesting about this question is that the answer, surprisingly, has very little to do with the real estate market.  And that’s why so many people make bad decisions in this area.  They base their decisions on what they think the real estate market is going to do, when instead, they should be looking at their own financial situation to make a decision on this. Continue reading “I’m Thinking the Real Estate Market is Due for a Strong Turnaround. Should I Buy Investment Property?”

Financial Education: A New Direction

January 27, 2011

It’s been a nice ride conveying my thoughts on various life events that I have had and supplying analogies of those events to different financial topics.  As often happens in life though, things don’t always fall in our lap so rather than force bad analogies on all of you, I have decided to take my weekly blog in a new direction. Continue reading “Financial Education: A New Direction”

Fact Check Your Investments

January 20, 2011

One of the (many) aspects of my job is being part of our ongoing fact checking process.  We are constantly staying on top of the latest in tax law changes that can encompass everything from retirement plan limits to education and estate planning issues.  Needless to say we are kept busy! Continue reading “Fact Check Your Investments”

Investments Du Jour – Are They Right for You?

January 13, 2011

Over the holidays I was enjoying a wonderful dinner at my brother-in-law’s house and as is the tradition, a conversation ensued after the meal.  It started off innocently enough, a little banter about politics, careers, vacations and of course the inevitable, investments.  Now I’ve been involved in a lot of conversations surrounding investments and what my opinion is on the investment du jour.  For those of you who frequent my posts, you know that I am a big proponent of sticking to fundamentals in making investment decisions.  So, asking me my thoughts on investments will lead to such topics as: what is the worst thing the investment can do and can you live with the outcome?  How does the investment fit in your overall portfolio?  Do you understand the basics of how the investment works?  I certainly understand that the answers to those questions may not be exciting but a solid investment choice doesn’t necessarily need to be exciting to get the end result we hope for. Continue reading “Investments Du Jour – Are They Right for You?”

How Much Investment Education Do I Really Need?

January 06, 2011

I often get asked the best way to learn about investing.  It really is quite simple.  Just like anything else, if you have even a slight interest in something, you will be more open to learning about that topic.  For investing, some people will want to learn everything they can because they aspire to manage their own portfolios at some point.  Others will want to know just enough so that they will not be taken advantage of.  But, everyone should have at least an understanding of not only what they’re invested in but also why. Continue reading “How Much Investment Education Do I Really Need?”

A Case for Rebalancing

December 30, 2010

Have you heard the term “paper loss?”  It’s a nice way of saying that you haven’t really lost money on your investment until you place a sell order.  Most investors become familiar with this phenomenon occasionally in their investing life.  But what about the seldom used term “paper gain?”  It’s very likely that you have never heard of that one (since I want to believe I coined it!).  It is the opposite of a loss situation.  You actually made money!  But guess what?  It’s only on paper until you sell. Continue reading “A Case for Rebalancing”

Is Your Financial House in Order?

December 23, 2010

Being the holiday season and my wife and I being the festive people we are, we were taking part in the age old tradition of trimming our tree to make it as decorative as possible.  Everything seemed the same as prior years – same size tree, some friends over to help, holiday tunes playing, and my wife lovingly asking why I don’t put more lights on.  There was one thing different though and that was the fact that all the ornaments were in special containers which made it very easy to decorate the tree but more importantly, easy to put away.  Every ornament in its rightful spot, nice! Continue reading “Is Your Financial House in Order?”

Auto Expenses: Always Look for the Best Deal

December 09, 2010

My daughter texted me the other day (because that’s what they do) just to check in and let me know how college life is going.  Everything was fine with one little exception; all four tires on her car were officially like her Dad’s head, bald.  Now of course she told me that she would figure out a way to pay for new ones, even if it meant she would have to drive on “baldies” for another month.  I immediately let her know that while I appreciate her being financially independent, I also would like to keep her around for awhile (it’s okay to ask Dad for help!).  I think she actually texted back a sigh of relief. Continue reading “Auto Expenses: Always Look for the Best Deal”

Investment Strategies: Keep it Simple!

December 02, 2010

Recently while my wife and I were on vacation with my Dad and step-mom, he found some time to talk to me about some new behavioral strategies regarding investment strategies.  I thought some of the things were interesting, such as taking a personality test to help define possible strengths/weaknesses and delving a bit further into a myriad of investing traits. Continue reading “Investment Strategies: Keep it Simple!”

Finding Money for the Holidays

November 25, 2010

Can you believe the holidays are upon us already?  A joyous time of year can also be the cause of undue financial stress if we don’t plan for it.  Luckily I learned the lesson of socking some money away to prepare for the lavish gifts I bestow on others (sarcasm intended).

So I figured,  what a great “gift” to give all the faithful blog readers, some tips on preparing for not just the holidays but really any major purchase, like that big screen tv you want! Continue reading “Finding Money for the Holidays”

Do You Have a Retirement Maintenance Issue?

November 18, 2010

The other day I was flying back home from Tennessee when it came to my attention that my flight was being delayed due to a maintenance issue.  Now while I find this aggravating, I certainly would prefer getting home in one piece.  Amongst the ramblings (and choice “words”) that I overheard, was this statement: “Plane has been sitting here all night and they wait until morning to find this maintenance issue?”  I chuckled to myself as I gave the person a polite smile, but then I got to thinking… Continue reading “Do You Have a Retirement Maintenance Issue?”

A Lesson in Perseverance

November 11, 2010

Recently I was conducting retirement workshops and individual meetings at one of our client’s work sites.  Nothing odd about that since THAT is what my job entails!  But it was this particular client experience that added a special joy to me.

The employees at this site had recently gone through a very difficult time financially.  The company had to bring down the work schedules of the employees to the point where they basically were working one week a month.  I need not tell you that a schedule reduction like that would certainly impact a worker’s finances.  Continue reading “A Lesson in Perseverance”

So What Kind of Life Insurance Do I Need?

November 04, 2010

Lately I’ve been approached a lot from workshop participants and they have asked a common question, “Do I have the right kind of life insurance?”  Now this isn’t an odd question by any means but I was wondering why all of a sudden this has become a hot button.  Was there a sale on life insurance I wasn’t privy to?  Was there a mass life insurance agent licensing I was unaware of?  Whatever the case, it was up to me to quickly let my workshop participants know what to look for in making an informed life insurance decision. Continue reading “So What Kind of Life Insurance Do I Need?”

Cleaning Up the Fall Budget

October 28, 2010

Each year my wife and I look at our household budget and see if there are ways we can trim our expenses.  (I know most people do this in the spring along with their other cleaning, but I dare to be different.)  I figured I would share some of our new found money tricks and hopefully some of these may help at least one other person. Continue reading “Cleaning Up the Fall Budget”

Sometimes Our Kids Do Listen

October 21, 2010

I received an email a few weeks back from my daughter letting me know she was both scared and excited because she was moving into her new apartment and also starting college.  I had mixed feelings when I read this –proud that my little girl was starting this new journey and sad that she was moving on and needing dad less.

But the part of her email that made me the most proud was how she talked about the way she was going to pay for her rent and school.  Continue reading “Sometimes Our Kids Do Listen”

Are You Really “Fixing” Your Portfolio?

October 14, 2010

This past Sunday was quite interesting.  I was doing some early morning chores, washing clothes, cleaning counters and washing dishes.  You know the kind of stuff you want to knock out early so you can watch football later.  Well, as I was washing the dishes I noticed a leak at the base of the faucet.  I figured this is easy enough to fix, so I dried everything off beneath the sink and I tightened the piece that was loose.  All fixed!  However I noticed that the outlet beneath the sink didn’t have a cover on it – little dangerous maybe? Anyway as I was putting on the cover I inadvertently bumped the pipe from the sink and it came loose.  Guess what?  Another leak!

This type of thing can happen in investing. Continue reading “Are You Really “Fixing” Your Portfolio?”

Be Careful of Mistakes! Don’t Let it Be an Option

October 07, 2010

One of the investments I occasionally employ is options.  If I believe a stock is going to go up or down in the short term I will purchase the “option” to buy or sell the stock at a certain price.  Now I never actually hold this option until it expires, I will sell it – hopefully at a gain.  So why am I telling all of you about what I do?  Because I want to highlight the importance of sticking to investment fundamentals and what can happen if you forget, even one time.

In the midst of the banking crisis I saw a company that I felt would benefit in the very short term as far as its stock price.  Continue reading “Be Careful of Mistakes! Don’t Let it Be an Option”

Investment Choices: Be Wary of Following the Herd

September 30, 2010

The other day I was waiting for a flight to Seattle (great city by the way) and the person taking tickets said “Now boarding all those who will not be putting anything in the overhead bin.” I initially thought that this is a great way to seat people, speed up the process and have bin space available for others.  As I watched the people progress through, I saw a lot of backpacks, purses etc. and then I saw it, a ROLLERBAG!  And then I saw another, and another.  Didn’t these people hear?  I was appalled at the first person who skirted the system but amazed at all the others who followed suit.  At long last the ticket agent finally said “Sir, we are only loading people with nothing to put in the overhead bin.”

Now what does that event have to do with financial education?  Everything!  Continue reading “Investment Choices: Be Wary of Following the Herd”

But Changing Passwords is a Hassle!

September 23, 2010

We have all probably heard that it makes sense to periodically change the passwords on our accounts that we access online.  Sure, like I have time to change all the passwords for both my wife and I.  And besides, who could possibly figure out the crazy things I think of. I thought that by being extremely clever once, I could stop any hacker from invading my online accounts and at the same time, not have to worry about thinking up new passwords all the time. Continue reading “But Changing Passwords is a Hassle!”

The Debit Card vs. Credit Card Conundrum

September 16, 2010

A question I often get in workshops and over our Helpline is whether to use a debit card or a credit card.  On the surface this would seem to be a no-brainer right?  Using a debit card allows you to easily track where you’re spending your money, it pulls money directly from your checking account (so you’re not going into debt) and heck, it’s convenient.  And what does a credit card do?  Well under closer scrutiny, a credit card can provide a lot of advantages too.  If you pay the balance in full, you are basically “borrowing” money at no cost to you – which could allow you to earn that extra .10% on your dollars – you also can still get a breakdown of what you’re buying as many credit card providers have this feature, and yes, credit cards are also (sometimes too) convenient.

So now that I have muddied the waters, your question probably is, “Ok Bruce, so when do I use one over the other?”  Well, let me share with you the strategies my wife and I use. Continue reading “The Debit Card vs. Credit Card Conundrum”