Five Minute Finance

1) How can you beat the stock market? Low-cost index funds can help you beat the stock market by providing diversification and low fees. Index funds are designed to replicate the performance of a particular index, such as the S&P 500, by investing in all the stocks in that index. This means you get exposure to the market as a whole, which can help reduce risk and increase returns over the long...

I’ve talked about Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) in the past but it was time for Matt Robison and I to revisit one of my favorite retirement accounts. You read that correctly, HSA’s are great vehicles for retirement savings. Here’s the four W’s: What: What is a Health Savings account? It is an employee benefit intended to offset health care costs of high deductible insurance plans. Once opened, e...

You don’t need a ninja suit and a broom to sneak through this clean back door and “steal” an extra $10k.  Many of my clients see the income limit for contributing to a Roth IRA ($150k/year single; $228k/year married) and give up on this wholly beneficial retirement account.  This year, the contribution limit is $6,500 for an individual. Since a Roth IRA grows tax free and is 100% yours,...

This podcast might not be a one-size-fits-all, but it is worth a listen in terms of understanding estates and how good financial planning can help ensure that beneficiaries suffer the fewest tax consequences. Matt and I discuss how parents trying to lower estate taxes can take advantage of the rules and start giving money to their adult children and even grandchildren. The benefit of doling out so...

Want to set your kids up for financial success? Well, you should have started 20 years ago. Before you start sputtering and scrambling, know that the next best time to do this is right now. When time is on your side, you can afford to take on the risk of market volatility in order to reap large rewards (in the form of compounding interest) in the future. Want to know how? It's as easy as 1,2,3… Op...

This week we are celebrating the 100th podcast by bringing you the top five most downloaded episodes. Join Matt Robison and I as we countdown the topics most listeners found helpful: 5. Health Savings Accounts - How you can enjoy triple tax benefits by using my favorite all-time account 4. ETF vs. Mutual Funds - This was a hot topic last year when many people were hit with an unexpected capital ga...

A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Many of my clients are in the tech space and thus affected (at least emotionally) by SVB’s failure in early March. On this week’s podcast I will give you the wisdom gleaned from the downfall of the bank that was not too big to fail.  I break it down into three parts: What does the collapse of SVB mean for me?...

Many parents want to set their kids up for success and support them on their life journey. With the memory of establishing 529’s at the forefront, the thought of IRA’s and Roths can be overwhelming. Don’t get caught in the weeds. Join Matt and I this week to learn how you can take the 5-minute approach to giving a small, but meaningful, boost to your kids. The bottom line is: don’t over-complicate...

Financing a new or used car is almost as frustrating as the salesperson trying to sell you that cherry red, tinted window ladies/gents magnet Prius on the lot. 🚗 Car dealers may be able to entice you with lower rate financing options than you could get at your bank of choice, but when looking at 4%-7% interest over five to seven years, it makes sense to evaluate other options. Join Matt Robison a...

Congress’ passing of the Secure 2.0 Act at the end of 2022 provides savvy planners with many new ways to benefit from retirement savings. Join Matt Robison and I this week as I walk through some of the changes and sprint through others to give you an overview of how this monumental piece of legislation impacts your bottom line. Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age changes - If you were born aft...

January’s over and I’d be willing to bet that if you bothered to make a resolution, you probably already broke it , am I right? Resolving to make some significant change in your life can feel overwhelming, not to mention is often unsustainable. Planning to lose weight by cutting out sugar? How long did that last? Vowing to save more money but then your power went out for days, pipes froze and you...

People make financial decisions for a plethora of reasons. While we may understand that it makes more sense, financially, to invest extra cash in the market, sometimes pulling the trigger on a lump sum can lead to anxiety and regret. So how can you feel better about making that investment? Using a strategy called dollar cost averaging (DCA). Let’s say you have $10k in cash and want to invest but y...

Find out what you should be focusing on in your end of year portfolio!

While college tuition is a common financial planning line item amongst my clients, I also find myself having more and more conversations about private elementary and secondary education. Tune in this week as Matt Robison and I discuss what goes into choosing a private school vs public education. Spoiler alert: it’s not just a budget analysis! Public vs. Private  Location: Where you live is li...

The Fed raised the interest rates for the sixth time in nine months prompting many of my clients and listeners to ask “what does this mean for me?” Matt Robison and I sit down to talk about the ramifications of the doubled federal interest rate on this week’s podcast. In a nutshell, the rate increases impact your financial planning in a few negative and positive ways: Mortgage Rates - Now is not t...

Last week we opened up a dialogue to help parents talk to their kids about money. Join Matt and I this week as we dive in a little deeper and explore: Enabling failure (say what?) Chores and Allowances Apps - making life easier or harder? Investing, Saving and Giving The common thread between this week and last week, and all the topics we covered in both, is conversation. If you don’t talk to your...

“Dad, how much money do you make?” “How much did our car cost?” “What did you pay for our house?” Kids rarely have filters. As uncomfortable as it can be to answer questions about human sexuality, we also feel a degree of that discomfort when it comes to answering their questions about money. This week, Matt Robison and I tackle this discussion in part I of a two part series on talking to kids abo...

Handing your W2’s and 1099’s to your preparer might be the extent of your participation when it comes to income taxes. Having a general understanding of how taxes work can give you a new perspective on just how much of a share is owed to Uncle Sam. Join Matt Robison and I this week as we discuss the basics of taxes. Get a crash course on: Income : Wages (W2 or other), interest income capital gains...

The government’s announcement and forthcoming forgiveness of student loan debt is a hot topic right now. Many people have asked me if they qualify, including a regular guest on this podcast, Matt Robison. Join us this week as we discuss the who, what and how’s of student loan forgiveness.  What will you learn from this episode? Who is eligible : For the 2020 or 2021 tax years, individuals who...

You’ve surely heard of Warren Buffet, but have you ever heard of Ben Miller ? He is a successful investor most known for his portfolio management strategy that beat the S&P 500 for 14 years straight (1991-2005). Miller attributes his achievement to the same concept that made Buffet his billions: its time, not timing. Join Matt Robison and I on this week’s podcast to learn why your odds of beat...

Tune in to this week’s podcast where I give Matt Robison a quick and dirty lesson on all things HELOC and explain why I just paid mine off. Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) are popular lending options for homeowners with a decent financial stake in their property. Earlier this year, it was estimated that 17% of Americans currently have a HELOC . And why not? With interest rates in the 2-3% rang...

Last week’s episode probably got you thinking about saving for education expenses. Starting early can make paying for an Ivy League college for your budding genius a reality. Now that we’ve established the ‘why’ of education savings, this week we talk about the ‘how’ to plan for education expenses.  The bottom line is to use 529 plans. Sure, you could funnel money into your brokerage accounts...

$50,000-$80,000 per year is what higher education expenses look like these days. The average cost of tuition at a public, 4-year university increased by 31.4% from 2010 to 2020. The 2022-2023 academic year tuition and fee rates for some popular (and less popular) schools are as follows: Boston College : $80,296 UCLA : $68,474 University of Illinois, Chicago : $59,556 Morehouse College in Atlanta,...

Do you have or know a pre-teen or teenager who’d like to be as wealthy as Warren Buffet? It’s easy. Have them begin investing in the market RIGHT NOW. I’ve talked about this story before… Warren Buffet is worth about $80 billion dollars. $70 million of that was earned after he was eligible for Social Security benefits. The key to his success goes back eight decades. Yes, eighty years. Buffet began...

This week’s podcast is the final installment of the series with Megan Russell from Marotta Wealth Management regarding healthy spending. We began the series by identifying a core values budgeting strategy. Then we moved on to avoiding advertising in order to curb impulse buying. Our episode on waiting a week before making larger purchases really resonated with our audience as a great way to spend...