Your Financial Compass with Bulman Wealth Group

One question that comes up a lot from our clients that are in their 60s and starting to ponder Social Security is what benefits are available to spouses? Today we’ll break it all down for you and explain everything you need to know about spousal benefits. You might be able to claim a benefit of up to 50% without cutting into your spouse’s amount, and this could still hold true if you’ve gone throu...

Buckle up, because today we’re diving into the recent buzz around digital currency in the United States. As you might’ve heard, the Federal Reserve recently announced its openness to experimenting with the development and implementation of a digital U.S. dollar. While this possibility may seem daunting, there's no need to panic just yet. It's a multi-faceted issue with many layers to con...

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley bank, you have probably heard a lot of talk about America’s banking situation in the last few weeks. Today, we are here to unpack what happened with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and whether we should be concerned about other banks as well.  We will also take a deeper look at banking insurance and discuss what FDIC insurance covers and what it does not c...

The future of Social Security is a concern on the minds of all Americans. People are constantly wondering whether the money will run out before it comes time to claim their benefits. While the worries are justified, there’s a good chance the government will make changes to the program to keep it funded for generations to come.  We want to take time on this podcast to make sure you understand what...

On episode 12 of Your Financial Compass, Scott has some great advice for empty nesters. You might think your budget's about to open up when the kids move out, but a recent study shows that parents don't always end up with more money in their pockets. Scott explains the challenges of lifestyle inflation and gives some tips on where to invest those extra dollars if you’re able to stay disc...

On episode 11 of Your Financial Compass, Scott introduces us to a strategy that can help you achieve your financial goals in retirement - The Bucket Strategy. The Bucket Strategy is a simple yet powerful approach to organizing your investments and ensuring that you have a reliable stream of income in retirement. It consists of three "buckets" - Safety, Income, and Growth.  In this episod...

Last year was a very turbulent year in the stock market and many people will look back on 2022 without many good things to say, but some positives emerged out of the turbulence. Today we’ll share one of those for us and that was our exposure to Innovator Funds . Bennett Feyerer , External Sales Consultant with Innovator, joins us today to talk about these Defined Outcome ETFs or ‘buffer funds’ as...

Scott will provide an overview for you in this episode by walking through some of the finer points of the SECURE Act 2.0. Plus, we’ll also spend a few minutes talking about the inflation adjustments to retirement plans that are coming and how much more you’ll be able to contribute.  Here is some of what you will learn in this episode: ·      The RMD age pushed back again from 72 to 73. (3:14) ·   ...

It’s not news that the economy has been quite turbulent over the past year and there’s been plenty of negativity to sift through as an investor. We can’t ignore those negative elements but we want to turn that around today and focus on the positive side of the current market conditions.  We’ll do that on this episode by breaking it into three parts:  ·      Update on inflation and the monetary pol...

Today we want to spend some time really delving into what a trust is and why someone would choose this over a will. To help us with this topic, we’ve invited Mike Bennett of MCB Estate Planning to the show. He’s one of our estate planning partners who has more than two decades of experience and understands the ins and outs of a well-constructed estate plan.    Here is some of what you will learn i...

As the end of the year approaches, people start taking a closer look at those tasks that need to be finished before the calendar changes. One that always comes up around this time is Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Since we get questions on RMDs quite a bit, let’s dive in a little deeper on what you need to know. What do these actually mean? Who does it apply to? How might it change in the...

Since annuities are one of the more polarizing financial products out there, let’s take a step back and look at what annuities do and what options are out there. Then we’ll evaluate the pros and cons so you can start forming your own opinion.  Here is some of what you will learn in this episode: ·      The different types of annuities and how they work. (3:37) ·      The cons of fixed annuities. (...

Today we want to approach the conversation of navigating a recession from a few specific angles. First, how did we get here and what’s causing it? Then we’ll look at some of the past recessions and see what we can learn from that experience. And finally, what are some of the practical things we can do to reduce our risk during a recession? By the end of this conversation, hopefully you will have l...

On this episode, we’re going to break down five different acronyms and concepts that you’ve probably heard of but might not completely understand. Here’s what we’ll cover today: RMD FRA ETF Compound Interest  60/40 portfolio The most important thing about any decision you make in financial planning is that you completely understand it, and that’s what we’re hoping this show will help you do. Here...

On this episode, we want to help you better understand the idea of planning by discussing what is and what isn’t a financial plan? We’ll also take you deeper into our process by highlighting the five worlds of investing and financial planning we focus on.  Your plan is meant to be a compass for the rest of your life so building it with all of these different factors in mind will help give you conf...

Welcome to the very first episode of “Your Financial Compass”! I’m your host, Scott Vlahon, Senior Financial Advisor with Bulman Wealth Group. For this first episode, we will be joined by Chris Bulman, Founder and Leading Advisor at Bulman Wealth Group. Chris shares about himself and his family, as well as the history of Bulman Wealth Group. You will also get to learn who I am, and what I will be...