Lifestyle

Life is full of decisions. From deciding what to wear when we get dressed every day to what time to set the alarm for when we we go to bed, every day is full of choices. Some decisions are small with little bearing on life as a whole, and some are large with lasting effects. Sometimes, these decisions can haunt you for months or even years. You may wreck yourself on what is the right decision, the what ifs, and then worry in hindsight about what could have been. Finally, you picked a restaurant to eat at, and now you’re wondering if sushi really would have been better than burgers.

• October 18, 2018

A couple of years ago when my older son, Carter, was about 5, we went to Sesame Street Live! with a couple of other families. Carter had saved some money in his piggy bank and wanted to take some with him for candy. So, we got out some change and exchanged it for paper money. At the show, Carter was sitting with two girls about his same age when he spotted cotton candy vendor. My son flagged him down, and when the vendor got there, Carter announced, “Don’t worry girls, I got this!” At which point he paid $16 for about 4 cents worth of sugar and air.

• August 30, 2018

Everyone feels envious from time to time. It’s human nature, especially in this day and age of 24/7 media bombardment and celebrities who are famous for simply being famous. Everywhere we look, there’s someone who has more, bigger, better, stronger, nicer. While I would never advocate for “keeping up with the Joneses,” and despite the fact that envy is one of the seven deadly sins, I do believe that a certain amount of envy can be a good thing.

• June 7, 2018

I had a conversation recently that reiterated what I have finally come to accept after 20 years in this business: try as you might, you simply can’t be all things to all people. When I first started my career, I literally locked myself in a windowless room with a phone book, and cold-called about 200 people a day, with hopes of talking to 25-to-40 of them, and that those three-to-five minute conversations would lead to me sending some information and following up with that person.

• May 24, 2018

In client meetings recently, some of you have come in and told us about some lofty or crazy goals. Some of these are, well, a little out there, but most of the time we’ll say, “let’s go!” and start planning. I love hearing the goals our client families set for themselves, and the different ideas people come up with over the years.

• April 19, 2018

Here we are in that time of winter when it’s gray outside, and seems to rain for days on end. Without the Olympics as a distraction, we’d all be suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. For a lot of people, this is when they start really thinking about how their life and their finances are intertwined.

• February 8, 2018

Around this time, usually due to New Year’s resolutions and after-Christmas sticker-shock, we get a number of calls from people who want to be more efficient and tackle some outstanding debt. We applaud everyone who has taken this step forward, as many of you have. When it comes to getting your finances on track, one of the most important things you can do is admitting where you’ve gone wrong, and finding a way to take control so you can focus on the more important things in life.

• January 18, 2018