30 Second Advisor: Help with Charitable Donations

by Tracie Handberg | Aug 6, 2025 | 70s, 80s, Giving, Taxes

Many of our clients enjoy donating their time, talents and money to charitable organizations, and we love to support our clients’ charitable efforts. If you are contributing financially to charities, here are a couple of good ways to do so that we would be happy to...

20 Second Advisor: Let Your Money Work Harder For You!

by Melinda Tyrrell | Jun 2, 2024 | 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, Budget, Debt, Young Families

Looking for a higher rate of return on your money? The answer might not be in your HYSA (High Yield Savings Account). Want a sure rate of return that blows those bank rates out of the water? The answer may surprise you – pay off your debt!  While we all...

20 Second Advisor: Your Sphere of Influence

by Melinda Tyrrell | Oct 20, 2023 | 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, Financial Planning, Inspirational

My dad has a wonderful saying that your “sphere of concern and your sphere of influence” should be the same size. When outside forces knock you off track or sideline you with fear, uncertainty or worry, it helps to control the controllable factors in your...

20 Second Advisor: Protect Yourself from Phishing Scams

by Tracie Handberg | Sep 21, 2023 | 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, Technology

What should you do if you get a phone call from someone who knows your name, and maybe some other identifying information, and informs you that there appears to be some fraudulent transactions or issues with your bank or credit card or tax return? “Your account may...

20 Second Advisor: Key Driver For Retirement Happiness? An 85 year Harvard study provides a possible answer.

by Thad Gilliam | Jun 26, 2023 | 60s, 70s, 80s, Retirement

The Answer: Connections. A Harvard study followed some 724 people over their lifetimes to answer the question: What makes us happy? As the study’s participants entered their retirement years, more and more of them communicated the difficulty of forming new and...

20 Second Advisor: Should I just put my money in bank CDs?

by Thad Gilliam | Apr 20, 2023 | 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, Investments, Retirement

I’ve been getting a lot questions from clients on if they should keep their funds in their portfolio or just take it out and put the funds into a bank CD (now paying 4-5%). To me, the question is all about time horizon. Stocks have a much higher expected return...