From the day we are born, a future full of exciting adventures and milestones unfolds before us like a road map. We all know that this road map is bound to change; sometimes we end up in detours and have to turn around and start over, sometimes the car stalls out and we need some maintenance, and sometimes the people that come along for the ride—the ones who help guide us and help give directions—are suddenly gone. We are left with an empty space and often aren’t sure how we are going to navigate the twists and turns in the road up ahead. (more…)
Getting Married
Do You Have A Will?
Last year, I picked up a recreational hobby that provides tremendous fun and enjoyment, but I knew it also introduced a certain amount of risk into my life. As a result, I made a deal with myself that this would be the catalyst for the much-needed task of getting my affairs in order. I knew how important it was to do, but it was also something I had been putting off for a long time. Sound familiar? (more…)
Secrets of a Former Financial Advisor… Budgets
I am a former financial advisor. The company I worked for is not important (rhymes with “barbarian excess”), but the life and money lessons I learned from that experience proved to be very valuable. For example, I learned that I can’t sell, which might have led to my career change into compliance oversight of financial services. I liked helping people, and helping them solve the puzzles that were their finances and their frustrating lack of progress towards their goals. But more often than not, I found that what was in their best interest was to keep their accounts where they were, and find a way to save more. But as with losing weight, people don’t want the difficult and slow, albeit tried and true way to get there. They want a magic pill that gets them results tomorrow. Which brings me to the first lesson I learned about people and money:
Budgets Don’t Work.
