40s
20 Second Advisor: SMART goals = intentional life
It’s that time of year when we clean out the junk in our house, take stock of where we are, and maybe make a few goals and plans for the coming year! I love to plan, but I’ve learned that nothing happens by accident. The best way to move incrementally toward the life you envision…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Secret to staying wealthy? Fear.
I just finished reading a fascinating excerpt from the book “The Psychology of Money.” In the article, the author, Morgan Housel, lays out the argument that the skills needed to gain vast sums of money are very different than the skills needed to retain and protect wealth. Specifically, Housel says: Capitalism is hard. But part…
Read More20 Second Advisor: 6% vs 2.5% Mortgage – The impact of rising rates on home affordability
If you’re looking for a prediction on when interest rates will rise or fall, alas, I cannot give you that info as I left my crystal ball at home this morning. But, I want to point out how much the recent rise in interest rates affect the monthly payments homeowners must pay when refinancing or…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Concentrated Wealth – A good thing until it’s not.
I was in a meeting last week with a group of other local financial advisors. One of the advisors shared a story about a prospect (from long ago) that was a Yahoo executive. At the time, Yahoo stock was soaring. The advisor begged the prospect to diversify and engage in a strategy that would reduce…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Keeping Up With The Steinbergs
Last week, our family took a trip for our kids’ winter break from school. On the long drive, I had the chance to listen to a podcast, The Just Enough Family. It details the rise and fall of Saul Steinberg, an American businessman that rose to great wealth by the age of 30 only to…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Holiday Volatility In Perspective
In the past several weeks, markets have cooled off just a bit from the nearly non-stop bull market over the last 18 months. Here are a few keys things to remember about investing during these periods (and a short video): It is normal for markets to incorporate “new” information into stock prices. The recent Omicron…
Read More20 Second Advisor: How a $12 hamburger costs you $20.34
It’s not totally uncommon to talk to prospects or clients that make several hundred thousand dollars a year, and they don’t know where all their money goes. Ex: We make $300,000 per year, but don’t really have much savings to show for it. Here’s why I think this happens: The more someone makes, the more…
Read More20 Second Advisor: To borrow or not to borrow? Part 2 – Freedom from debt feels good.
Last time, I wrote about the financial elements to consider when you’re deciding whether to pay off your mortgage early. See here for that post. Today, I want to touch on the emotional elements of paying off debt early. As discussed in the last post, you are almost always better off financially to slowly pay…
Read More20 Second Advisor: To borrow or not to borrow? Part 1 – The true cost of mortgage debt.
With interest rates near their all time lows, I want to write a few blogs about mortgage debt. It’s a question we get asked all the time: “Should I pay off my mortgage quicker than scheduled?” Before we answer that question, I want to explore the true cost of carrying mortgage debt. The factors that…
Read More20 Second Advisor: The Boring Way to Building & Sustaining Wealth
I’m asked all the time about the latest investment trends: Should I invest in bitcoin? Real estate is really taking off, should I buy a rental? What about Tesla – are we all going to be driving electric cars in 20 years? At the heart of all these questions is that investors are often looking…
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