Dollars & Sense

The One Big Beautiful Bill. Have you heard of it? After weeks of hot topic discussion on TV networks and newspapers, the divisive bill has been signed into law by President Trump.  But regardless of your opinions on the bill, we thought it would be helpful to highlight the key things included in the 900+ page document that is important to our clients. Most specifically - the verbiage and benefits...

As we hit the halfway point of the year, it’s time for some reflection and forecasting. Join Marion and Christian as they go through some of the biggest stories that hit the financial markets so far in 2025, including the announcement of tariffs, the fast decline and recovery of the stock market and much more.  But that’s not all. The two then shift gears and look ahead to what might be coming for...

If you’ve ready your local or national newspaper lately, you likely have seen a story or two about someone falling victim to a major financial scam. While you may read it and think “that could never be more”, it may be more likely than you think!  On this episode of the show, Christian and Marion are walking through several of the scams they have seen either through the experience of our clients o...

As we approach the halfway point of 2025, it’s hard not to look back at the headlines that dominated so much of the first six months of the year and see if they are still relevant.   With that in mind, Marc & Marion are spending much of today’s episode of the show discussing “confirmation bias”, or the tendency to favor information that already aligns with one’s preexisting beliefs. This is ve...

With Marc traveling this week, Marion and Christian are driving the ship for this week’s episode.   As we officially enter the summer season next week, most of our “snowbird” clients are heading back to Massachusetts after spending the winter months down south.   But that brings up a big question that most of our clients have – how do you handle changing your residence once in retirement, especial...

Join Marc and Marion for this special edition of Dollars & Sense recorded at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina! The duo spent the last week there for the annual LPL Leadership Conference and have ALOT to share about what they learned.     More specifically, they dive into how when it comes to financial decisions, not everyone looks at things the same exact way. Want to know more? Liste...

Marion is back for this week’s episode of the show after a much-deserved vacation. During her time off, she noticed the overwhelming number of driverless cars she saw in service in the West Coast…  As her and Marc ponder whether recent advancements in technology are a “good” thing, it gets them thinking about how everyone has different perspectives on large topics, especially finances.   But one t...

With Marion out on vacation this week, Marc is tapping in Christian for today’s episode and even let him pick the topic!  At our office, we often hear a phrase like “I was at work and my colleague told me about this…”  More often than not, it’s something about the markets, financial advice, or economic panic. But is the water cooler a better place to make financial decisions than with your advisor...

“If only I had this much money, then I could retire.”  At a certain point, money can buy happiness, but it’s typically if you don’t have shelter, food, can’t clothe your children…  In today’s episode of the show, Marc and Marion discuss how happiness is a fickle marker of success when it comes to your personal finances. Often, it’s comparison that robs people of happiness versus actual financial w...

At Freedman financial, we believe that “hope” should never be your core strategy for your financial plan. “I hope I can get a better job, save more money, my 401k does better than it did last year.” Realistically, what can you do to manifest these hopes? Almost nothing!  On today’s episode of the show, Marc & Marion discuss the hopes and fears that the stock market has produced this year and t...

It’s impossible to know everything when it comes to personal financial decisions, and that is one of the biggest mistakes we see with some new prospects that want to work with Freedman Financial.   In today’s information economy, many think that they can know everything about investment performance, retirement strategy and more. The truth is, you can never fully understand everything.  In today’s...

With May college graduations right around the corner, thousands of newly minted graduates will be getting their first professional paychecks soon.  Among all the “firsts” that come with the jump into the professional workplace, one that many graduates don’t expect is the necessity of understanding their retirement plan options.   In today’s episode of the show, Marc and Marion dive into the intric...

This week, Marc & Marion are breaking down “The Retirement Equation”, which is the six different components of your life that help signal your retirement plan. More clearly, it breaks down your financial and retirement planning into two buckets: what you can control versus what you can.   Listen along as the Freedman Financial team breaks down controllables like spending and savings, while als...

We rarely get calls when things are going well… but when things aren’t doing so hot in the markets – that’s when we hear from more of our clients than normal.   With the recent announcement of tariffs and the economic response to it, Marc & Marion are going back to core principles in today’s episode of the show.   The duo discuss how the current economic events compare to past experiences the...

With April being Financial Literacy Month, Marc and Christian are dedicating this week’s episode to one of the things people can struggle the most to understand about their financial situation – taxes!  It doesn’t matter if you make $1 million dollars or $6 dollars an hour, there’s one thing all of us have to do: pay taxes.  The problem is that taxes and how to manage your tax situation is totally...

How much experience do you have with what to do when someone close to you dies? For most people, the death of a spouse or significant other may be the first or ONLY time in their life that they have to deal with it directly and financially.  In today’s episode of the podcast, Marc and Marion go through some of the most common advice they give when it comes to handling the death of a spouse or love...

“Will my Social Security run out tomorrow?” NO!  Amidst all the market and economic news of the past few weeks, the topic of Social Security has slowly but surely carved out a space in the discourse. With panic among those who are relying on Social Security, we decided to dedicate this week’s episode to the topic.  There is going to be changes to Social Security. How will it impact those that are...

With the downturn in the markets dominating the news cycle, Marc & Marion are dedicating today’s episode of Dollars & Sense to a market overview and how you should be approaching what’s going on.   The main thing to remember: no matter how many times people say “this time it’s different”, it’s probably not!   Listen along as the duo go through the year-to-date performance of the “magnifice...

Is there such thing as a money rule that applies to almost everyone? Marc may have found it... in fact he found eight!  In this week’s episode of the show, Marc & Marion look into the “8 Non-Negotiable Money Rules” that can apply to anyone’s financial situation. Whether it’s 1925 or 2025, these rules seem to stand the test of time.   Listen along as they give anecdotes from their own lives on...

You may have seen the claim that the Social Security trust fund will run out in 2030s.... Is that a possibility?    In today’s episode of Dollars & Sense, Marc and Marion dive right into the tricky topic of Social Security, including what it is for, how it started, and how people in certain age brackets should think about it.     And they even dive into the question of what reform to the Socia...

It’s not uncommon for people to claim that their financial plan is to “beat the market”. But what does that mean? And does it align with the goals that we have for our clients at Freedman Financial?  On this week’s episode of Dollars & Sense, Marc and Marion discuss the difference in investing for the long term versus a strategy of day-to-day (or even year-to-year) growth.   Listen along as th...

Is $1 million the right amount to retire? What about $2 million?    Maybe we’re asking the wrong question... In today’s episode of Dollars & Sense, Marc and Marion discuss the most important question when it comes to your lifestyle in retirement.     And no, it’s not “what is your number.” Listen along as the duo dispel some retirement myths and talk about some of their conversations with clie...

In this special Valentine’s edition of Dollars & Sense, Marc is on location from…. home? He’s joined by his wife Laura as they discuss several topics on this “couples and money” themed episode.   As the parent’s of five children, Marc and Laura dive into some of the key financial lessons they tried to instill in their kids as they grew up, plus some of the differences in the way they think abo...

Late the other night, Marc received a message from a client with the subject line “I’m Worried”. With everything that happened in January – from wildfires in California, to a presidential inauguration, executive orders, confirmation hearings and more – there sure has been a lot to dominate the news cycle.   On this week’s episode, Marc & Marion are here to calm the waters a bit with some ratio...

Based on JP Morgan’s Guide to the Markets for 2025, the Russell 1000 Growth Index saw 50% of its growth last year come from just FIVE individual stocks. You can probably guess the stocks that made up the quintet, but should this information affect your investment strategy?    Marc and Marion dive into that, plus other interesting numbers from 2024 – including the international markets, bond market...