Tag: Investments
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Should You Listen to Your Accountant? How To Optimize Your Financial Team.
“My accountant has been trying to get me to do that.” I hear this more than you think, at least from clients and friends who have a good accountant. But perhaps more importantly, I also hear from people when they don’t agree with a recommendation from their accountant. In either situation, I always find it…
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What Is Your Money Actually For? A Better Way to Think About Building Wealth.
The third pillar of financial planning is building wealth. Once everything is organized and you’re not overextended, making progress on your goals is the final and most important step. Many people start building wealth and skip organizing or protecting it first. They look at the stock market as a proxy for how their financial life…
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What Could Derail Your Financial Plan? How to Protect What Matters Most.
After organizing your financial life into a clearer and more understandable picture, naturally certain problems or issues will surface. Protecting wealth is the next phase on the journey to better finances. What happens if I lose my job? Am I saving enough? What if I get sued? Many questions naturally emerge, questions that you have…
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Is Your Financial Life Working Together? The Three Pillars of Financial Planning.
Once I learned what financial planning was, it felt as if I was given shortcuts on personal finances. There are those on the inside who understand the true meaning of financial planning, and those on the outside who don’t. There is a large misconception in the public’s mind about what financial planning is, and why…
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Short-Term or Long-Term Rentals? How To Determine Which Rental Strategy Is Best For Your Financial Plan.
Getting into real estate investing has become more complicated over the last few decades. Traditionally, real estate investors would rent properties to tenants as long as they could pay the rent. With the rise of companies like Airbnb and VRBO, there is a whole new class of investing within real estate, namely the short-term rental…
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Should I Take a 401k Loan? When a 401k Loan Might (and Might Not) Make Sense.
When it comes to debt, a 401k loan is a gray area in personal finance. These loans are not perceived as bad as credit card debt, but they also do not fit in the “good debt” category, as a low-interest rate mortgage would. So, how bad are 401k loans really? Are they a tool worth…
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Will Trump Accounts Replace 529 Accounts? Comparing Trump Accounts Against Popular Education Savings Accounts.
Before the first account has been opened, Trump accounts are already questionable in terms of how useful they will be. I wrote last week about what we know so far about the new Trump Accounts and how they work. It will be interesting as we learn more about these accounts in the coming months, whether…
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Are Trump Accounts Worth It for Your Kids? What We Know So Far, And What We Don’t.
Among the many changes in the tax code in the last year, one of the more interesting (and confusing) is the new addition of the so-called Trump Accounts. The goal of these accounts is to provide “long-term financial security for millions of children” in America. The question, at least for now, is how exactly these…
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Making Good Money but Still Stressed? Start 2026 With a Simple 6-Part Plan to Reduce Financial Stress for Business Owners.
As income increases, so do financial complexities, both in personal and business finance. As new problems emerge, owners can feel they are on the back foot trying to handle their finances. Each time one area is solidified, another side poses new problems. While no financial plan can completely cover future problems, covering the basics across…
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Is Buying Rental Properties a Good Idea? Why Business Owners are Drawn to Real Estate.
Why do so many business owners buy real estate? Usually, when I am reviewing the total assets of a business owner, inevitably, they own real estate outside of their home. That could be residential or commercial real estate, and usually more than one. While real estate is one of many investments, some owners value the…