I had the pleasure of speaking with Dina Cataldo of Soul Roadmap podcast to discuss "How to Reach Your Money Goals." She has put together an informative and inspiring show aimed at giving people tools and strategies to live their best lives, and she covers a myriad of topics. It was a lively discussion and it inspired me to put together an Investor Self Defense Checklist to help make sure your financial plan works for you: ____I have an emergency fund of 3-6 months' worth of living expenses Read on...
Archives for May 2018
Simple Questions, Convoluted Answers
A new client wanted to switch out of an annuity she had bought in her retirement account with a previous adviser. Needless to say, my antenna goes up when I see annuities in a retirement account because it is both unnecessary and expensive to own these insurance products for their tax-deferral benefits, when this feature is "free" to retirement accounts. As I waded through her paperwork, I clearly saw that she would be hit with a $3,000 surrender charge to get out -- and I Read on...
Dirty, Money Secrets
“You are my 50th birthday present to myself,” a woman said to me, as we sat down to meet. “I’m tired of not feeling like an adult, it’s like I have a dirty money secret.” I’ve heard variations of this same theme many times. This is what women say to me when no one is listening. I could fill a room with these women -- then maybe they would see that many struggle with this very subject. The trouble is no one wants to admit their deficiency – and if you stay silent, advice won’t find Read on...
My Mother’s Heart
My mom, Lucy, 1945 While I think of my mother numerous times throughout the day, this week, just days away from Mother’s Day, I got a little wink from her. A client of ours sent us a note of appreciation. He and his wife have worked with us since 2015. Not to sound too sappy here, but that’s the kind of stuff that makes what we do so fulfilling. What does my mother have to do with this? Everything. As was often the case with her, she gave money to numerous charities. One such charity was Read on...