One of the most common frustrations of a financial planner, really, of any financial professional, is when the client does things backwards. They make a big financial decision and take a big financial action, then afterward, come to the professional seeking advice on how to mitigate the consequences of their decision. “How was I to know that selling that condo …
A farewell guest post by our Associate Planner, Samantha Rauch. Over the past couple of years while working at MY Wealth Planners I have had the pleasure of experiencing what it means to be a financial planner. This is a role that goes beyond numbers and spreadsheets. It is a role that allows you to make a meaningful impact on …
As the old expression goes: “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Yet it seems there are cultures both among aspiring financial planners and financial planning firm owners that attempt just that. Students and career changers have casually shared with me time and time again that they’re looking for a position for two or three years that will …
This is a rare occasioned blog in which I’m going to talk about the straight technical. This is a textbook case study of one of the most powerful financial planning techniques that we use with clients, and the good news is, you don’t have to be rich to benefit from using it, though its value does scale significantly. I’m talking …
During my time in the Army Reserve, I had a job at IBM working in various roles in assisting projects relating to training and transferring services for various client companies to IBM. At one point, I went through the training for the service desk for a Department of Defense contract. The trainer, a woman named Cady, explained “the magic black …
Yesterday, as often happens, a tweet went viral. Now, notably, I’m not here to talk about vesting schedules. Vesting schedules would be contrary to the title, and might be the “least sexy” thing we could possibly discuss. Suffice it to say, vesting schedules exist because employers want to incentivize employees to stay longer than minimum terms with the company. Other …
A gathering of powerful men sits, cantankerously debating the solution to a mutual problem. Among their shouting, a stranger enters their company and offers a solution to their problem. “It’s simple.” He says, which of course, raises a question from the group: “If it’s so simple, why haven’t you done it already?” To which he replies, “If you’re good at …
I made my first impression on the FPA community in the spring of 2019 when I posted on the FPA Activate page, complaining about what I perceived as a lackluster keynote lineup for FPA Retreat. That complaint haunts me to this day in, what I think might be the FPA Staff’s favorite karmic justice, as my testimonial about the quality …
There’s a question I ask every financial planning client when they start a financial planning relationship with us. “Would you like us to shop insurance for you to see if we can get better coverage for the same price or the same coverage for a better price?” It’s not a promise of results or a pitch for a sale, given …
It is well known that many innocuous substances when combined, can produce unintended outcomes. For example, someone taking opiate painkillers who then drinks alcohol can end up with symptoms as mild as nausea and extreme as stopping breathing and going into a coma (assuming the former doesn’t simply result in death!) These issues are a large part of the specialized …