First Things First

First, an admission; before I went to school and started learning about my current profession, I made the mistake that I’m going to be writing about today. When you know better; you do better, as Oprah likes to say. So what’s the mistake you ask? It’s haphazardly selecting mutual funds or other investments in your retirement plans. I’m going to talk a little bit about why our normal investment...

Toby Keith’s Financial Planning Advice(?)!

Remember that I’m originally from Oklahoma. I grew up listening to country music. This wasn’t my first choice but you didn’t mess with the radio station if my dad was within earshot. Now, I actually enjoy it. I was listening the other day while Toby Keith’s “Somewhere Else” was on and two lines of the lyrics struck a financial or goal planning nerve. Toby had gotten it just right. In...

Fiscal Fitness

  If any of you aren’t sure about what I can do for you and how the fee-only financial planning process works, this may help: I work like a personal trainer does, except I work on your fiscal fitness! The analogy isn’t original and it is a little simplistic but it does make sense. Just like a personal trainer: We have to do an assessment. What kind of shape are you in now? This isn’t to judge you,...

Updated: Is it Harvest Time?

The Updated information is italicized: Drum roll please! The answer is: Yes, it’s still harvest time. Actually, it’s always harvest time. When I originally wrote this entry, it was nearing the end of the year. I was focusing on the fact that if anyone had losses to take for the year, they should take advantage of the situation for the 2010 tax year. However, if you’re holding securities in a taxable account,...

A Resolution Worth Keeping

While most New Year’s resolutions are worth keeping. Those associated with your happiness, health and wealth should receive priority. And, necessarily, as a personal financial planner, I have to advocate for those resolutions relating to your financial security. If you have peace of mind surrounding your financial situation, it makes dealing with the other obstacles life throws your way less overwhelming. The basics...

Bond Fun….ds!

Bonds or bond funds or bond fund ETFs? Which should I buy? What’s the difference? What happens if interest rates go up? First, there are many factors to consider. If you have a definite date that you need the money and you buy really safe bonds or you’re wealthy and can buy enough bonds to be nicely diversified; individual bonds are the way to go. An advantage to owning individual bonds is that you normally don’t...