25
2014Classic 401k Mistakes
With so many people invested in 401k’s and so many employers dropping their defined benefit plans (pensions) it is no wonder that we get so many 401k questions on our live call in radio show. With this in mind, it’s important that you don’t make any of these classic mistakes. Not contributing up to at least the match. If your pension plan has a match,...
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16
2014Be Careful of Best/Worst Lists
The Concept of Subjectivity Everyone has opinions, and some you like less than others. The reality is, as we go through life we form our own opinions and beliefs based on our own personal experiences, feelings and desires. This is called subjectivity. This is the opposite of objectivity which is a philosophical concept related to reality and truth. For example, I knew a person...
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17
2014Being Rich Doesn’t Make You Smart!
Take athletes & celebrities for example. They are no different from the rest of us when it comes to making major money mistakes. It has been reported that 78% of NFL players, 60% of NBA players, and a large percentage of MLB players file bankruptcy within 5 years of retirement. Recently, we lost actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman at the young age of 46 and actor...
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03
2014
There is no such thing as a “Free Lunch”
There is a quote in our business that says, “Fees are only relevant in the absence of value.” I truly believe this quote to be accurate in not only our business but in most. It is true; most everything that involves advice or work involves a fee. What we receive in value from the fees we pay will determine if the fee is worth...
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20
2014
Are You Ready To Retire?
Retiring can be a very intimidating subject. Where is your income going to come from once you pull the plug? How much will you need? How long will you need the income? These are all important questions you need to address. You have one chance to get this right and the more prepared you are the higher the probability of success for your retirement. There...
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06
2014When is 20% not 20%
Well actually, this is kind of a trick question, but here it goes. I give you a dollar bill and the next year you lose 20% of it in an investment. The good news is the very next year you make back the 20% you lost, how much do you now have? The knee-jerk answer is “well I lost 20% but made my 20% back...
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28
2014What Is Important to You About Your Money?
What a simple yet powerful question. Ask yourself “what is important to me about my money”. The answer will vary for everyone, yet most will be similar in nature. Answers will be very personal, honest, and sometimes passionate. The bottom line is that the answer to this question will reveal your true feelings, hopes and fears about money. I ask this question to all new...
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13
2014Investing & Dieting have a lot in common
We are not as smart as we think! There is no question that today we know so much more about investing than we did, say 40 years ago. We have low cost investing, internet trading, infomercials running 24/7 on how to make money, and advice on gold, oil and lakefront property everywhere we turn. You name it, it’s out there. The problem is that even...
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04
2014The Retirement We Imagine vs. The Retirement We Live
Everyday in the Midwest, we see what imagination vs. reality is like, and I am not talking about the stock market. Let’s look at something as easy to predict as the weather. How often do you hear of a 70 degree, sunny day yet it turns out to be 58 and cloudy? Practically every day it seems lately. Let’s relate this to retirement. To some...
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31
2014The market is at an all-time high – what do I do now?
Well, that really depends on which direction you are looking. Certainly, looking backwards in time we are at or near an all-time high. The Dow Jones is sitting at 16,300, the S&P 500 is at 1,855 and the NASDAQ is at 4,226. Do you remember NASDAQ 5,000? That was 14 years ago; we still have a ways to go to get there! In most cases,...
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