Advice on Building Wealth & Retirement Planning - A/B Conversations: CFP® Your Way Out Of It

Change can be hard, especially when transitioning into retirement and figuring out new routines in life. You may be surprised to realize it's hard to change your pre-retirement mindset of saving to a post-retirement mindset of drawing down your investments.  Now your savings is finite. We can help you overcome the fears of: Did I save enough? How do I know when I'll run out of money? Whe...

How big of an impact do mid-term elections have on investment returns? Historically mid-term election years have been poor performing investment years. The good news is that the year following a midterm election year, the S&P 500 has been higher every single time since 1950.  Getting on the other side of elections should be good news for investment returns. The most important thing is staying...

Are we all doomed? It feels like almost everyone is struggling with emotional fatigue right now. When's the last time things felt normal?  The negative headlines on safety, war, inflation, politics feel even worse when you're seeing your savings and investments go down and your expenses and spending increasing.   We recognize resiliency is not easy.  We are here to review your retirement...

Saving for college is something that definitely matters to a lot of those that we work with (parents and grandparents) because continuing education is important, and because it’s not cheap! Student loan debt is all over the news. In the absence of saving, you’re stuck with loans.  In this podcast episode, Ben is joined by our newest member of the Haas Financial Group team, Mike Hendrickson.  They...

Most people aren't comfortable talking to others about money. But, Social Security is a universal financial topic that most feel okay with discussing with others because we all get to make an election decision by age 62.  More than 50% of people choose to take Social Security early because they need the income in retirement. But what if your decision on when to elect Social Security isn'...

If money wasn’t an obstacle, would you change anything about your life? Then the most important follow up question: WHY?  This podcast is not only for those living in the lottery world.   If we truly believe that money is the tool that's going to help you live the life you want to live, then we need to think about what you value most.  In our planning process we will ask questions to get you...

Haas Financial Group is inspired by Brendan’s passion around “the human side of advising”. Historically, the financial services industry was more focused on training around numbers, spreadsheets, and market commentary. Those things are 100% required and necessary but, there’s a whole other realm of the relationship that has to do with behavior, psychology, and communication. In this episode, Ben s...

Losing a spouse can be a very difficult and emotional time.  There's so much to do and to work through emotionally, financially, and physically.  In this episode, we help to decipher what needs to happen now, what can be done soon, and what financial things can be handled later.  We provide a checklist of small steps to take to feel like you are making progress in this new chapter of your lif...

We're halfway through the year and it's time for us to share themes from those that focus on investments - LPL Financial, Blackrock, JP Morgan, Nuveen, etc. They don't agree on what the second half of the year looks like.  There are common statements and themes, but a wide range of potential outcomes.    In this podcast episode we discuss the general themes and the outlook for the s...

We want to focus on what we believe financial planning is and that's helping point people in the right direction, making sure they understand the difference between things they can control and things that they can only influence.  When you focus on controlling the things you can, your likelihood of success goes up significantly. It's when you drift into focusing on things you can't...

Navigating through all the news can be difficult especially when the media and articles are designed to elicit a response.  Are you scared to open your statements knowing we're in a bear market? To see and feel your money shifting, and with the news telling you the market is going down, it's very natural and human to boil up with emotion and question if you need to do something different...

Those that have accumulated wealth may want to limit their taxes and keep what they have, if not for themselves, but for their heirs.  The stock and bond market has given us a lot of lemons to work with this year.   If one of your goals is to limit your taxes over time, now may be the perfect time to do a Roth conversion with the market being down.  Ben and Adam discuss Roth conversions and how or...

The estate settlement process can be long and overwhelming for those going through it.  But when you have a checklist prepared with the details and what to expect, you may find it a bit easier than you first thought.  If you've been named as executor, there are things you can prepare for prior to the estate settling process. This will help to properly execute on the deceased wishes in a timel...

Markets are volatile. Investment losses can hurt, but they're going to happen if you're investing.   In this podcast episode, we identify five common investor mistakes that set people back when they take short-term losses and compound the problem by feeling like they need to do something different. We feel that if you want long-term success, these are five things you should avoid doing,...

The sandwich generation is defined as people who are still working, most likely in their 30's or 40's, that are responsible for bringing up their own children while caring for aging parents both physically and financially.  They are feeling caught between two potentially difficult situations, all while trying to focus on their own retirement as part of that process.   This podcast episod...

In this podcast episode, Adam and Ben talk about the different ways to give money to family beyond just writing a check.  We discuss how our financial planning process helps determine if you can afford to gift now, the best way to go about it, and any tax laws that you should consider.  If you wish to pass along your wealth to a loved one while living rather than leaving behind an inheritance or l...

While there isn't a silver bullet that can shield all your money from taxes, this podcast episode focuses on proactive and reactive strategies to help defer taxes if you have excess income.  We focus specifically on tax liability while exploring different investment vehicles to help you allocate your assets appropriately, depending on your financial goals.  And, we discuss factors that may dr...

The key to any successful financial plan is making sure you use reasonable assumptions.  An age gap between spouses can have an impact on irrevocable decisions such as: when to retire, the best time to elect Social Security, pension decisions, and estate planning - just to name a few!  In this podcast episode, Adam and Ben discuss how an age disparity in couples can impact your financial life and...

We are often asked the question "should I manage my own investments or is that something I should let a professional handle?" While there is no black and white answer, the first step is to decide whether or not you want to take on that responsibility.  Next,  develop a process to follow when making decisions around your investments.  Your investment plan should be the guide to making the...

This special podcast episode for A/B Conversations discusses the potential impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine may have on investments and financial planning. We're far from experts on the crisis and the outcome is still unknown at this point in time, but we do want to try to be experts on client communications and financial planning.  We can draw some parallels by using historical data fr...

Have you ever thought about retiring at the same time as your spouse? Part of our job is figuring out if retiring at the same time is financially possible, but it’s also making sure that both partners are ready to commit to the next phase of life. There’s a lot of things to consider other than the financials. Are you emotionally and mentally ready to make that transition to retirement? And, often...

In our financial planning process, we assess any products you may own, such as life insurance or annuities. Next, we provide education on the implications of being contracted to that product. Our goal is to review if there are better options available to you, ultimately to decide if you should be doing something different.  If you are unable to move away from the product, we discuss ways in which...

Whether you’re about to get married or you’re coming from previous relationship and entering a new one, there’s a lot of financial questions that ensue. Is it best to keep your financial lives separate, intertwined, or somewhere in the middle? There isn’t an easy answer and it depends on you feel, but there is some financial planning that should occur no matter what the result is! Take a listen to...

The stock market is off to a rocky start in 2022. How can we be opportunistic with a market that is flat or down?  It's all about perspective!  Listen to Ben and Adam talk about strategies for turning a down market into something positive for your portfolio in this podcast episode.  Tracking # T003588 Thanks for listening! If you want to be notified when the next episode will be released, you...

In this podcast episode we explore the concept of the Final Financial Plan.  The Final Financial Plan is essentially a roadmap for those that are left to help settle the estate, such as the executor or trustee.  It lays out where any important information is and how to access financial accounts.  This document serves as a guide for organizing any wishes that typically wouldn't be put in a wil...