Financial Fridays with Bob Gustafson

If you’re among the many recent college graduates, you’re likely thinking about your future. You may even have a pretty impressive list of things you plan to do, like buying a car, taking a fabulous trip abroad or buying your first house.

More and more workers are leaving their full-time jobs and becoming part of the gig economy. Whether you are starting a consulting business working from home, a handyman service for seniors or creating an internet business, you are part of the gig economy.

Do you have a child who recently entered the workforce? As a parent, you should still offer advice and guide them on their financial journey. Check out the following ten financial tips to help your young adult find financial success.

Going through a divorce is never fun. Not for you, and definitely not for your children (if you have them.) Add the finances to the divorce discussion, and results of a heated, adversarial divorce can be catastrophic – both financially and emotionally for you.

When you hear the term ‘portfolio diversification’ with regard to your investments, you might believe you’ve got a clear concept of it: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. But there are many categories and degrees of risk that each of your ‘eggs’ can encompass

We are familiar with the old adage that to be a successful investor you must buy low and sell high. I’m not sure anyone would argue this fact but unfortunately for most people this is a rather elusive concept. Why?

Contrary to many financial advice, there are times when you may want to continue life insurance coverage as you approach and enter retirement. There can be many reasons to keep life insurance coverage so don’t be too quick to pull the trigger on getting rid of your life insurance as you approach retirement.

In the realm of retirement planning, there is a perpetual quest that captures our imagination and fuels our financial aspirations: the magic number. Let's discuss how you can determine your magic number amidst the ever-changing landscape of personal finances and economic uncertainties.

Social security is not as straight forward and easy to understand as some people may believe. There are things you need to think about before signing up for the benefits.

Intergenerational Financial Planning is a strategy that aims to integrate financial planning among generations. It’s where grandparents, parents, and children work together to maximize overall family wealth.

What is the best way for you to save for your child's education? Learn about the different college savings alternatives to understand what is available to you.

Teaching kids to be financially savvy is a critical life skill. Money affects quality of life, relationships, marriages, children and what you can do for others. Remember, the more money you have, the more you can give to others and do good in the world!

An annuity is a financial product used to save tax-deferred for retirement or to generate regular income payments once in retirement. There is a lot of confusion around annuities as a retirement investment. Learn what a tax-deferred annuity is and whether it is right for you.

Investing in real estate is another way to diversify your portfolio. Learn about 4 strategies if you want to invest in real estate.

Comprehensive financial planning involves the detailed review and analysis of all facets of your financial situation. It is only through comprehensive analysis that your true financial condition can be determined and the proper plan can be recommended.

Estate planning is hard for families to begin with. Given the dynamics of blended families, estate planning sooner than later is important for your peace of mind.

Retirement planning is a significant aspect of ensuring financial stability and peace of mind in our golden years. While various factors contribute to a successful retirement planning, one element stands out as essential: budgeting.

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is an investment strategy that gives the individual options to allocate capital towards companies whose practices align with their personal beliefs and values, and exclude companies that are not congruent with their social, moral, environmental, political, and/or religious beliefs. Learn how SRI and ESG strategies could impact your investment portfolio.

Once the kids are out of the house (and it’s just you and your spouse), how do your insurance needs change now that you are empty nesters? Listen as we discuss the various policies and how your coverage may need to adjust. 

If you’re planning for retirement, you should be looking at putting money in an IRA. But, it’s important to know the difference between various types of IRAs. They differ with regard to how they’re funded and how they will be taxed when you’re ready to withdraw money. Let's compare a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA on four important areas.

Investment risk refers to the possibility of losing some or all of the money you have invested in a particular asset or security. The higher the risk we are willing to take, the higher the return we can expect to receive and vice versa.

Asset allocation is an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk versus reward. It aims to do this by adjusting the percentage of each asset in the investment portfolio according to the investor’s risk tolerance, goals and time frame.

The goal is to not pay more taxes than you have to. It starts with you understanding how retirement income is taxed. Put together a strategy before retirement that will put you in the best position to minimize your taxes.

It's never an easy conversation to have, but you and your spouse need to prepare financially in the event you are faced with the unexpected death of your spouse.

A systematic savings plan is a process or system of automatically saving a portion of your income on a regular basis. Automatically having money moved to a savings account removes the temptation to divert funds to something less important.