by Randy Chalmers on March 10, 2023.
As tax season is upon us, let’s talk about them! We know they are an essential part of our society, but nobody wants to pay more taxes than necessary. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to reduce your tax liability. Tax deductions are expenses that reduce your taxable income. There are several tax deductions available, such...
by Dave Conley on February 24, 2023.
I ask potential clients to describe their version of financial freedom (or financial peace) and how we can help them achieve this goal. It’s extremely common for the answers to center on some sort of financial/investment success metric. Stuff like:• Increase my investment returns to 10% a year consistently with minimal risk.• Pay off all...
by Randy Chalmers on February 9, 2023.
If you are like….everyone else in the world, saving is not at the top of your “fun things to do” list, nor is it an easy task. So, here are some ways that you can ensure you pay yourself with a little less stress about the topic. Pay Yourself First You’ve probably heard the phrase...
by Randy Chalmers on January 27, 2023.
Like Dave Ramsey says, a lot of people state they will always have a car payment, which is something I personally have said most of my adult life. This is because we’ve learned to budget our lives around paying our necessities like the mortgage, groceries, water, electricity, and…car payments? According to 2022 data from Experian,...
by Dave Conley on January 6, 2023.
Predicting the direction of the market is like predicting when you will hit the bulls-eye in a dart game. The majority of the time throughout market history, the markets have been rising. History shows that the chance of your money growing in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds is much like the odds of your next dart hitting any number on the dartboard... except the bulls-eye. If you are going to try and time the market by moving your money in and out, you have to ask yourself how confident are you that you can hit the bullseye when you do.
by Randy Chalmers on December 12, 2022.
Like most topics, who you speak to about credit cards drastically impacts the narrative of why you should or shouldn’t use them. So instead of trying to change your mind one way or the other, let’s just look at some facts about credit cards. How does the interest rate work on my credit card? The...
by Randy Chalmers on November 18, 2022.
If you haven’t used the SMART process for setting goals in your life or business, then you probably don’t know what the acronym means. S – Specific M – Measurable A – Attainable R – Relevant T – Time-bound Specific What exactly will be accomplished and by what means? Measurable How will your goal be...
by Dave Conley on November 18, 2022.
The general economic model of a recession is that when unemployment rises, consumers are more likely to save than spend. This places pressure on businesses that rely on consumers’ income being spent. As a result, company earnings and stock prices decline, which can fuel a negative cycle of economic decline and negative expectations of returns.
by Randy Chalmers on October 28, 2022.
When conversations navigate toward the topic of retirement, one of the most common subjects discussed is IRAs. If you are unaware, IRA stands for individual retirement account, meaning it is not offered through your employer, you made a choice to start saving into a retirement account on your own. Traditional IRAs are invested pre-tax, and...
by Dave Conley on October 21, 2022.
The hamster wheel literally describes the concept of lots of activity but making no progress. In times of crisis, either real or imagined we are encouraged to do something. If your house is on fire or if you witness a car accident you must do something and quick. Why is it that doing nothing when it comes to our investments is so difficult. When clients ask "what are you doing..." sometimes the better question is "is there anything that needs to be done" related to our investments? Are you OK with doing nothing when nothing needed to be done?