Stuff You Need When Your Child Goes to College
The Wall Street Journal recently ran two articles about getting kids ready for college. The first one was a discussion of the important documents you need to have. The second one listed some products your student might find helpful. I don’t mind standing on others’ shoulders, so it’s in that spirit that I present summaries of the two articles. The first list is the more important of the two. It lists six important documents you [...]
Important Milestones
Here, compiled in an easy-to-read, easily downloadable chart, is a list of important milestones you should keep in mind. From naming of beneficiary to the age of retirement, it is a helpful tool of reference that will ensure you never forget significant age milestones. Click the chart to download it for easy access later.
Budgeting Tips for a New Year
The Wall Street Journal, in its weekly “Personal Finance” column, recently featured some 2021 budgeting tips. Here’s a synopsis of them with some additional thoughts from our own Jordan Arnold, CFP.® Tie your budget to a relevant timeframe For example, while an annual budget might be a good idea for a bigger picture view, it’s difficult to put into practice as no two months are alike. I recommend starting with an annual budget based on [...]
Choosing a Career Path
Are you unsure about your career path? It’s a lot to expect from an 18-year old. Check out the quick quiz from Junior Achievement that helps to identify certain personality traits that may provide insight into the profession for you. While you're there, check out the other resources for students. The image below will direct you to the quiz.
How to Prepare When Expecting
My wife and I are expecting our first child in August, and as we continue this journey, I thought I’d provide you some advice on what do to when you’re expecting. Prepare your emergency fund Are you familiar with Murphy’s Law? Murphy's Law is an adage that is typically stated as, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Prepare for the unexpected by setting aside 3-6 months of expenses in a high-yielding savings account [...]
Issues to Consider When Buying a House
Buying a house is a major decision that may seem daunting simply because it is such a big step. There are a multitude of variables to consider, like loans, mortgages, cash flow, and tax issues, not to mention the many steps of the process itself. In order to provide some clarity and help you see the most important things at a glance, we are providing the document, depicted below. This document lists the issues mentioned [...]
In Case of Fire
I just updated a document with the same name as the title of this piece, “In Case of Fire, Pull Lever.” It’s stored in the cloud and contains a bunch of important information for my family, in the event I step in front of the proverbial bus. You should think about creating a similar document. Ours is pretty simple because our lives are. My version looks like this... A listing of our various banks and [...]
Financial Advice for Newlyweds
In an effort to engage a more diverse demographic, we introduce a new semi-annual blog series specifically for our younger clients and readers. First up, here's a list of the most important things we think newlyweds should prioritize to set a healthy financial foundation for their marriage (and lives). We have not ranked these in order of importance, but we recommend them all. You may decide to tackle them in whatever order your situation [...]