The old adage goes “you get what you pay for,” but I’m personally taken with a more realistic version from Hearn’s laws that goes: “You always pay for what you get. If you are lucky, you will get what you pay for.” Truly, this is the stuff of common sense, yet people often expect a French Bistro experience on a …

In the financial services industry, there are lemons. A lot of lemons. In fact, I’d go so far as to argue that the majority of financial products are lemons, and in turn, that most of the people producing and selling those lemons, know that they are lemons. In fact, the presence of lemons in a marketplace can be so significant …

Over the weekend, the President of the United States made national news (as one often does) by stating that the $3.5 Trillion proposed spending bill in the house would cost “Zero” because it is “Paid For”. Much as I’d like to tell servers at restaurants that my bill is zero because I can pay for it, there aren’t any stores …

It’s no secret that laws are not written by perfect people, nor are they error free texts bestowed upon us by a higher power. In fact, it’s fairly well known that many laws are written in part or entirely by policy makers and lobbyists with an interest in the outcome of the laws. Yesterday, Congress released the text of the …

It’s not uncommon to see an advertisement for “guaranteed passive income”; whether it’s the harmonica playing insurance agent, a real estate mogul, an accredited investor Regulation D offering on Facebook, or just your bank touting some FDIC secured CDs, there is no end to the promises of others to give you guaranteed passive income. Yet, as the old adage goes, …

The old adage goes that there’s “no free lunch” when it comes to life. Put more clearly in context, only two things are sure in life: “Death and Taxes.” One of the key roles a financial planner plays in their client’s lives is that of “tax eliminator.” This differs from tax evaders (criminally not paying taxes that are due), but …

As you know, we were on hiatus for two weeks earlier this month, as I was in Manhattan, Kansas, at Kansas State University (which, for those who don’t know, is Harvard for Financial Planners). It seems only fair that with the interruption to your regularly scheduled educational content, that I should share some of the research we did while we …

Nothing quite captures the attention of the American public like being wealthy. Whether it’s celebrating or decrying billionaires for traveling to space, observing major gaps in wealth between various members of the population, and otherwise simply hanging on every word (or tweet) of the ultra-successful, nothing seems to capture our attention like people with money. Yet, research over the decades …

Surprisingly, starting up a business is a common occurrence during economic recessions. As many people are laid off or their companies fail during an economic downturn, it’s not uncommon that some people say “now is the time to start a business.” This is a phenomenon that was somewhat absent during the recession in the late 2000s, largely driven by the …

I have a love-hate relationship with banks in general. While Banks have a long and questionable history, it is unquestionable that they’re a cornerstone institution in our society. That role isn’t only held by “bank banks”, but also by credit unions and assorted depositories of various types. Ultimately when I say bank going forward, you can assume we’re talking about …