Empowering You to Live Your Best Financial Life
Our expertise in financial, investment, and retirement planning will guide your path to financial fulfillment.
Have an Investment Philosophy
Here’s how most people invest: Act on impulse, React to things they see in the news, Do what their friends are doing, Do their own research and convince themselves they can see what the future holds, Bet their life savings on tips and hunches. Don’t be like most investors!
Create a Savings Target
Your savings balances may fluctuate a lot during the year depending on stock vesting, property or income tax payments, and many other things. But your Savings Target should not fluctuate.
Build Margin of Error in Your Cash Flow Plan
Life Happens. No matter how much we plan or how much confidence we have in the future, it almost never turns out exactly as we expect. It might be fun to say you plan to die with nothing in your bank account but it’s not realistic.
Keep 5 Years of Net Cash Needs Out of the Market
Because we never know what the market will do in the short-term, we should not have any money invested that we plan to spend in the next 5 years.
Understand How Big Financial Changes Affect You in the Long Run
At least once each year you will likely experience some big financial change. It could be a large stock award or having a baby. Or it might be missing out on a bonus round or a major repair on your home.
Have a Cash Flow System
Every dollar you have should have a job. If you aren’t giving a job to every dollar then your dollars are working against you.
Keep Your Spending Categories Manageable
When thinking about your spending, be sure to lump expenses together to save yourself from being overwhelmed by the number of categories or buckets you have.
Don’t Be Afraid to Spend More Than Your Plan
We only have so much willpower to get through the day and the same goes double when it comes to managing your finances. Preserve your willpower by allowing yourself to live outside your financial and spending plan from time to time.
In Your Spending, Target Only Things You Can Actually Control
We are too good at beating ourselves up and in our finances that happens most with our spending. While I love knowing what your spending is, be careful not to be too critical too quickly.
Create a Spending Plan
If you want to do everything you want in life and then die with a dollar in your bank account or whatever amount you want to leave your kids, there is a simple equation.
Match Your Spending with Your Values
There is a lot of talk these days about aligning your investments with your values. But what about your spending? We are hard wired, it seems, to pay little to no attention to our spending.
Create an Emergency Fund
You’ve probably heard this one before, but let’s bring some reality to the topic of creating an emergency fund. An emergency fund is simply a pile of cash that we keep safe and available in case we need it.