Investment vs. Speculation: What’s the difference?
Before making any decisions, let’s make sure the next big “Investment” is actually an investment and not just speculation.
Financial Planning
Don’t Rush Your Financial Plan
When it comes to saving and investing, it’s always a good idea to start young and be consistent. Early and often, right? While this is solid advice, I also advise my clients not to rush the process when it comes to building a solid financial foundation.
Your Financial Personality
As everyone is thinking about financial perspectives and priorities during the first weeks of the new year, we encourage client couples and families to ask themselves a few lifestyle and values questions that will help them determine their approach to money – and help us in going over their budgets and goals. No two clients are alike, and lifestyle goals are as varied as the people we work with.
Manage Your Own Money? We Can Still Help.
Every so often, I’ll get a call or have someone come into the office and say they want to bring their spouse in for a meeting, but they’re not really sure how or if we can help them, and then they pause. I long ago stopped filling that pause with all the reasons why and how we can help them. Instead, I’ve learned that the best approach is often to simply ask, why? While the responses I receive vary, the storyline is predictable. Here it is.
Your Financial Persona
If you Google “questions to ask a financial advisor,” you’ll find a plethora of articles out there listing out dozens of things to ask your new financial professional. There are so many that we’ve randomly pulled three and put them here, here and here. Even if you don’t read further, at least you have that. This strategy also works for accountants, and probably for your plumber or electrician. And while we haven’t tried, it might also work for your proctologist.
Lifelong Learning
Most of the time when people come into our conference room or call us up, they want help with how to do something. Whether it’s saving money, budgeting, making major purchases or signing up for insurance, they want to know how.
Bring Your Financial Questions!
If the 80/20 rule applies to everything in life, then I’ve got to assume that the 20 percent of you who ask a lot of questions in your planning meetings have a pretty good understanding of our financial planning discussions. For that 20 percent, you’re good to go, and I love the questions you ask – it helps me understand what’s going on in your head, and to gauge your understanding of these not-so-everyday kitchen conversation topics.
Have You Set Your Holiday Budget?
The catalogs, the catalogs! My mailbox has suddenly in the last few days been invaded by the seasonal army of festive holiday magazines, all suggesting that if I only spend $199 (each!) for those themed placemats, my dining room table will be shown off in all its glory just like the one in the picture. The only problem is, what the marketing people at that company don’t know, is that my dining room table has knife and fork marks all over it, and probably a few drops of blood from the kids! So we’ll probably be looking for a full-size table cloth instead.
3 Money Moves for Scary-good Results (And 3 to Avoid)
I don’t know about you, but I love Halloween. The creative costumes, haunted houses, adorable kids (and the chance to act like one!), plus copious amounts of candy all add up to one of my favorite holidays.
With Halloween happening earlier this week (and all the candy still staring at me!), I got to thinking about some of the “money monsters” we see our clients facing, and how to keep them from sending you running in fear.
But first, I also want to outline a few habits we recommend that can produce scary-good results as well.
Holiday Conversations
Later this month, most of us will be gathering together around the table with our families, whether parents, aunts, uncles and siblings, or the friends and neighbors we consider family because relatives are far away. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, if only for the fact that it’s simple (well, maybe not for the cook!). You put some food on the table, and once you’re done feasting, you find the dessert table full of pies! Then the countdown begins to cold turkey sandwiches.
Enjoy
the ride.
Let us take the mystery out of financial planning so you can focus on what matters most.
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*Representatives are licensed to offer insurance and annuity products in AL, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, ME, MI, MO, NH, OH, SC, and TN and are licensed to offer investment products in AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NC, NE, NH, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, Washington DC and WV. This website and its content are not intended for residents of other states. Securities offered through: The O.N. Equity Sales Company, Member FINRA/SIPC, One Financial Way, Cincinnati, OH 45242. 513.794.6794 Investment Advisory Services offered through The O.N. Investment Management Company. Estate Planning Services provided in conjunction with your licensed legal advisor.