My wife and I play in a fantasy football league comprised of a handful of other couples in and around our neighborhood. This season something interesting happened. As the start of our season drew near, one of the couples in the league had to back out. With literally a couple of weeks left before the start of the season we were in a pinch as nine couples had to decide on one other couple to join the league. Dicey, at best.
How To Get 100% Of Your 401(k) Match
Earlier this year we talked about investment options if you're already making the maximum contribution(s) to your 401(k) and still want to save money elsewhere. We also covered the importance of contributing to your employer's 401(k) plan in order to get the full matching contribution…aka compensation.
Today we're talking 401(k) again and I want to show you why it's important to understand how your employer matches your contributions.
Financial Planning: Where Your Money Goes And Why
If you've been following along with the blog, you've probably figured out a few key themes I like to use when it comes to financial planning. Themes like: Focus on Financial Factors You Can Control, Life Is NOT A Straight Line, Rate of Savings > Rate of Return, Planning > The Plan, etc.
And where your money goes, and why.
That's what we're talking about this week.
Financial Planning: Changing Course
ecently Jill & I took a quick trip to surprise her mom and this required us to fly down to Miami. As we boarded the plane, I peeked into the cockpit. The pilots were in there, doing their pre-flight checks. We moved on down the aisle, took our seats, and prepared for takeoff.
For us, getting to Miami was as simple as booking tickets, boarding the plane, and buckling up. The pilots had a little more on their plate.
Is A Market Downturn Coming?
Recently Jill & I attended a friend's birthday party. It was a Casino Night theme and of course fun was had by all. After all, we weren't playing with real money!
They had two table games that evening: blackjack and roulette. Seeing the roulette wheel reminded me of a visit I took to Atlantic City many years ago.
GAMBLER’S FALLACY
A friend and I were sitting in a lounge…
The Power of Compounding Interest and Inertia
I think we're all prone to inertia in some shape or fashion, be it financially or otherwise. Guilty as charged.
You wouldn't know it by looking at me but I've put on some weight this year. I don't watch my weight. I've always been thin and eat fairly well most of the time. And I've always been pretty active. Like most people, I go through phases of working out. Generally it's pretty regular and I'll take some time off here and there. This year has been a challenge for me…
Financial Planning: The Best Laid Plans...
On May 10, 2008 my wife Jill & I were married. On that day I became a father to my stepson, Jackson. Later that month I started my career in the financial services industry with a measly salary that I was responsible for building and growing.
On June 17, 2009, Jill & I had our first child together.
Now imagine we met with a financial planner who…
Because I Was Inverted - The Inverted Yield Curve
Recently I saw the trailer for Top Gun 2. I love the original Top Gun movie. I'm not sold on the sequel - are they ever any good?
One of my favorite lines from the original Top Gun movie occurs when the Top Gun class is in session outside and Charlie is debriefing the pilots on the MIG fighter jet. Maverick interjects and well…watch for yourself.
The Great Chase
Last week I showed you the financial planning formula. Here it is again
wealth = $$$ x years x % (aka rate of return)
Pop quiz: of the four factors in our formula, how many of them are variable?
If you answered all of them, go ahead and give yourself a round of applause. One of the issues with our formula is…
Desperately Seeking Independence
Today is Wednesday, July 3. And tomorrow, July 4, we'll celebrate our nation's anniversary of independence. We will let freedom ring. We'll proudly wave our American flags. We'll drown our kids (and ourselves) in red white and blue. And then at the end of the day, we'll shoot off some fireworks.
It will be awesome.
Independence for our great nation did not come easy. In fact, the Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 - 1783. It took our country eight long years to achieve independence. And since this blog is (mostly) about money, the irony of The Revolutionary War happening over taxation is not lost on me.
Battle of the Impulses
Our daughter AnnaMay is ridiculously impulsive. She flitters from one activity to another, often leaving a trail of unfinished activities in her wake. Some days it's like a human tornado tore through our house.
And she can rarely walk by Jill or me without some form of physical contact. Maybe a touch on the back, a little "love" punch on the arm, or some type of quasi kung fu maneuver. She *has* to touch us. We love her unconditionally and we realize this is who she is, part of her DNA. She's impulsive.
Better Than Average
In one of my peer groups, a fun poll was posed to us and essentially it asked if our profession (financial advisors) would be more fun if we could reliably beat the market. I got a good chuckle out of it, because, obviously, who doesn't want to beat the market?!? You do. I do. And yes, it would certainly make client conversations a little easier. Maybe a lot. Lol.
But this question also got me thinking. Why are we so wrapped up with trying to beat the market?
Give that Budget the Bird!
Budget. It's a dirty, dirty word. Go ahead and say it out loud. See how many people around you avoid eye contact with you or give you nasty looks. I'm telling you! It's right up there with the dirtiest of the dirty words. It conjures up feelings of anxiety, fear, and even downright disgust in many people. Why? I'll tell you why.
Budgets can feel constricting, suffocating, and demanding. They ask of you to stay within the confines of the box. They come with defined borders.
You must color within the lines!!!!
And we don't like them! For many reasons.
11 Years Later...
On Friday, Jill & I will celebrate 11 years of marriage. Hard to believe it’s been 11 years. Seems like just yesterday I was smashing wedding cake in her face.
We've been through a heckuva lot in those 11 years. Obviously we had our gaggle of kids in a short period of time and, I imagine like many other married couples, we've dealt with our share of challenges, too.
To quote my father-in-law, it's been the best 10.5 years of my life! Haha.
Persistence Pays Off
If you don't know about the Nintendo Switch - well I didn't know much about it, either. All I know is it was one of the hottest items for the holidays. As the kids ramped up for Christmas, all we heard about was the Nintendo Switch. And they put on the full court press. Like Nolan Richardson Arkansas basketball circa 1990’s full court press. Honestly, it was exhausting. Every list for Santa included it. And they must have made like 15 lists each.
Jill and I talked about it and ultimately the kids did not get a Nintendo Switch from Santa.
Before you go yelling “Bah Humbug!” and calling us Scrooges, hear me out.
2 + 2 = 5?
Last week’s blog post I talked about refinancing and used this analogy:
Math ≠ Money
According to Reuben Hersh, an American mathematician and academic, math can defined as follows:
"Mathematics is the subject where answers can definitely be marked right or wrong, either in the classroom or at the research level. Mathematics is the subject where statements are capable in principle of being proved or disproved, and where proof or disproof bring unanimous agreement by all qualified experts—all who understand the concepts and methods involved."
For example, if I told you 2 + 2 = 4, you could not dispute that. This is a fact. If I told you 2 + 2 = 5, you could…
The Tooth Fairy Knows About Inflation
Our youngest son, Sutton, has lost 4 teeth in the last two months. Unfortunately for him, they are his top 4 front teeth. That's right, all of them in a row. So as you can imagine, the Tooth Fairy has been to our house at a pretty good clip.
Sutton has also been socking away some Tooth Fairy cheddar at a pretty good clip, too. Tooth Fairy in the StranClan house pays $2 per tooth. The Tooth Fairy has a stout collection of the very rare $2 bill as well as…
Knock Knock
What did you do this morning? If you're like most, you woke up, got ready for your day, and headed off to the office. Maybe you drove, maybe you took the train or bus, or maybe you walked down the hall to your home office.
No matter your route, you went to work. And you probably got paid.
Stop reading this if you could retire today.
Busted!
In my pre-kid life, I consumed ALL of college basketball. I knew about every team in the tournament and watched as many games as I could all season long. This year, I think I watched maybe two college basketball games from start to finish. I'd never even heard of Lipscomb.
So I'll let you in on how I picked my bracket this year, you know, if you want some expert advice:
How Do You Do It?
Some of you may not be familiar with my personal story. Long story, short: my wife and I went from having 1 kid to 5 kids in a span of 2.5 years. Five kids. That was over 6 years ago. Today, they are 14, 8, 7 & 7 (twins!), & 6 years old.
Raising kids, being a parent, it's not that much different than dealing with your financial life. And of course, both are intertwined. Because let's face it, kids are expensive! Let's discuss: