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

What if you can't come up with well-defined financial goals?  In this podcast, we discuss ways to help get you on the right path without having a perfectly defined endpoint in mind at the beginning.  In our planning process we focus on aligning your behaviors to the values that matter most to you.  Tracking # 1-05231817 Thanks for listening! If you want to be notified when the next episode wi...

What’s the best way to go about saving money? The pecking order of savings, like many things in financial planning, is dependent on an individual's situation.   During our financial planning process we will have to make certain assumptions, especially around taxes and compensation later in life, but we focus on doing the most efficient thing that we can, while still offering some flexibility....

You can weather the storms in the market when they happen by having all of your fundamentals in place. This includes “bucketing” your assets and staying the course in your financial plan and blocking out all the noise that occurs while investing.  Ben and Adam talk about different ways to feel confident with your investments by recapping 2021’s market environment and staying the course as we enter...

We have a special guest, Stevyn Guinnip, on this episode of A/B Conversations! Stevyn Guinnip, MSEd, CWC is the CEO and Wellthy Advisor at Grow Wellthy™.  She is also the creator of the Wellth Academy™.  She grew up a financial advisor's daughter & enjoyed 20 years as an exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach in the US & Australia. Now Stevyn has blended the world of finan...

Recently, Edward Jones put out the 4 Pillars of Retirement study, which was comprised of health, purpose, family, and finance.  In this podcast episode, Adam and Ben discuss the findings, some of which were surprising.  Throughout the survey results it was abundantly clear that the first three pillars held more weight than the wealth or finance side of retirement.  In fact, did you know that 96% o...

"One of the most heartening finding in this study is that the pandemic has led to a notable spark in generational generosity.  One in three (34%) adult Americans, 85 million people loaned or gave money to a family member or friend who was impacted by the pandemic"  Source: https://www.edwardjones.com/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-01/Edward-Jones-4-Pillars-US-report.pdf Have you ever...

No one likes to lose money, but once in a while it can actually be a good thing! If you own a non-retirement account or basically any investment outside of your retirement assets, you can deduct a loss on your tax return. There is a limit and some caveats in order to deduct your losses. To find out all that it entails, check out this podcast episode!  [1:33] What is tax loss harvesting and what ty...

Have you been considering a big purchase but you’re concerned you can’t afford it since you’re retired? Is making a large purchase in retirement a smart idea? What is the most efficient way to buy a large purchase in retirement? We believe it comes down to two things: can you afford it and what is the most efficient way to go about it. Listen to this episode to hear the logistics of how we would u...

Asset accumulators have a long runway until retirement.  Starting the financial planning process early builds a solid financial foundation to ensure success in the future. Those starting out have competing goals, such as saving for retirement, buying a larger house for a growing family, paying down debt, or saving for their kids’ education. With all these financial aspirations, which one should be...

In this A/B Conversations episode, we discuss asset protection strategies. People want security in life by having safety nets in place when life happens and the unexpected occurs. Luckily, there are strategies to protect financial wealth! Our goal at HFG is to provide the education and plan for the what if’s that happen.  Listen to find out more!   [3:16] What do we mean by protecting assets? [4:0...

Open enrollment comes once a year and is a great time for you to review your work benefits and update them to better fit your current financial life. Life changes. What you may have originally picked for your health benefits might not be the best fit anymore for you and your family.  Making sure that your work benefits line up with all the other pieces of your financial life is important so it fit...

In this podcast episode, we talk about what net worth is, what makes up net worth, and what it actually means.  We also discuss why not all net worths are created equal, how net worth changes depending on your phase of life, and why liquidity is important.  We want to help you grow your net worth to the point where it supports you for the rest of your life. [1:52] What is net worth? [5:47] Not all...

In this podcast, we clarify our fees and how we get paid.  We believe everyone should be paying for advice through a financial planning process.  We explain our process, the two ways we can get paid for financial planning, and how we get compensated for providing investment advice by managing assets.  [3:02] Right now, we are fee-based [4:19] The two ways we get paid [5:04] Initial meeting & t...

Most people that want to transfer the risk of long-term care, were people who experienced needing to care for their own aging parents. They don’t want to become a burden on their kids. For everyone else that hasn’t experienced the need for care, we hope this podcast helps sets the stage for what long-term care is, how we plan for it, and what your options are. [2:13] Recognizing the things that co...

If you're wondering if you're on track with your retirement goals, or if you can retire when you want to, or you have enough saved - then this episode is for you! Retirement is a big decision.  Listen to Ben and Adam talk about achieving confidence in your decision by going through our retirement planning process together. [1:17] Common retirement questions [3:08] Retirement variables [4...

Many people consider investing in real estate to diversify their portfolio, but is real estate a good investment?  There are many factors to consider.  Listen to Ben and Adam discuss potential risks to investing in real estate and things to consider prior to buying a property.  [1:53] Our views on your primary residence as an investment [4:07] Using real estate to make money [7:12] Thinking about...

Wills, Power of Attorneys, and Healthcare Directives, Oh My! But honestly, what does all this mean? It’s critical to know what estate documents you should have, think about the best fit for who can execute on your wishes, and most importantly, why everyone should have a plan in place! In this podcast, Adam and Ben give an overview of what the estate documents are, ideas and tips for certain roles,...

Interest rates are next to zero so does that change the old adage that cash is king? Is there a certain amount of cash someone should always have sitting in the bank? To find out the answers, check out this podcast! [2:17] What does "is cash still king" mean? [3:33] The role and amount needed for your cash reserve [7:01] How would we define holding too much cash [8:19] Our three bucket t...

What’s the hardest thing for adults to talk about? Family finances! Money is a tricky subject, but it’s really important to have those conversations on the front end. Avoidance can lead to trouble down the road. Ben and Adam discuss why it's crucial to start the conversation and tips for getting started together as a family.  [1:58] Getting the conversation started [3:14] Why force yourself t...

Job changes are emotional times, whether it was a voluntary or involuntary change.  Change is not always comfortable, and it can also be scary.  Then you throw in a bunch of confusing things around finances, and you may just feel overwhelmed and need some help filtering through those financial decisions.  In this episode, Ben and Adam discuss potential impacts and financial choices that people sho...

Where is the financial advising industry heading?  In our latest episode, listen to Adam and Ben talk about what they see for the future of the industry and trends that they think will become more popular in the next 5-10 years.  See if you agree! Tracking # 1-05174883   Thanks for listening! If you want to be notified when the next episode will be released, you can: Subscribe to the Show For more...

Have you ever thought of who you should leave your estate to?  Estate planning can be daunting with children as heirs, but even more difficult for those with no children or a surviving spouse.  Without a family to care for, you may feel that estate planning is not necessary.  However, everyone needs an estate plan and you can still be very thoughtful with leaving your legacy.  Listen to Adam and B...

The Roth IRA is a great retirement tool and should be something you're considering for your own situation regardless of your phase of life or financial profile. There are some rules to this type of investment and a lot of misconceptions too! Ben and Adam talk about the ins and outs of a Roth IRA and how it can help diversify your “investment buckets”.   Tracking # 1-05163162 Thanks for listen...

We are halfway through the year and thought this was a good opportunity to take a brief pause from all the financial planning conversations we've had and remember that investments are really important too. And for as much as we were so laser focused on everything that was happening in 2020 with investments, it's kind of felt like an uneventful year when it comes to investments thus far....

Retiring early sounds wonderful, but have you ever thought about how much healthcare would cost if you chose to say goodbye to work before age 65? People often forget that they need healthcare coverage to fill the gap until they become eligible for Medicare and it’s not cheap! Listen to Ben and Adam recall recent client conversations and discuss what to expect if you choose to retire early and nee...