You might think that your emotional state of mind is more the subject matter for a therapist to discuss rather than a financial advisor but my experience tells me otherwise. Your feelings have a huge impact on how you spend, save and invest. Those activities in turn shape your financial future. Do your feelings have […]
How to Find Financial Planning Jobs – Ideas from a 25-Year Veteran
From time to time, people ask me how to become a financial advisor and then, how to find good jobs in the industry. Even if you aren’t interested in becoming an advisor, you might like to know how your advisor became one and got their job. How To Become An Advisor The truth is you […]
How Much Income Will You Need When You Retire?
Earlier we found a way to zero in on what it’s going to cost you to live after you retire. Now let’s figure out what your inflow is going to be once you cross the finish line at work. Retirement income has three components; pensions and social security, passive investment income and active employment. Your […]
Year End Tax Tips For Mutual Fund Owners
You might see some very strange things going on with your mutual funds in November and December. That’s the time when many funds distribute capital gains and dividends. Investors get befuddled by this because they can wind up paying taxes on money they may not even receive. Worse, people sometimes have to pay capital gains […]
ETFs vs. Mutual Funds – A New (Unexpected) Wrinkle
In it’s most simple terms, ETFs are very inexpensive mutual funds. They have exploded in popularity – especially commission free Exchange Traded Funds. Does that mean you should invest in ETFs and forget about mutual funds? Not so fast. What Is An ETF? ETFs are quasi-index funds and as I said they are extremely inexpensive. […]
What Is A Credit Line?
A credit line is like a credit card in many respects. With it, you have access to cash (within fixed limits) if you need it. The notable differences are that the interest rates on equity lines are usually far lower than the rates credit card companies charge. Also, the amount you can use is typically […]