The Financial Mirror

As more and more people are transitioning their lives away from “work-from-home” and back into the office, many are deciding to just quit their jobs. Everyone is at a different point, but what I can tell you is that they are doing it because they want flexibility in their life. What if I told you that through a couple of changes, you can create your own flexibility by retiring earlier than you eve...

The more and more I see information about inflation circulating on the web, on news, and on social media, I can only imagine how many are feeling. A recent survey brings light to that as many Americans are exclaiming that they are living paycheck to paycheck. Did you know that through a few changes, this doesn’t have to be you? That’s right, no matter where inflation takes us, we can survive it an...

No matter where you stand on the current recession debate, the economy is always primed for some good investment opportunities. How do I know? Well the reason is that for decades, the economy has continued to show its ability to grow and I don’t project that to stop any time soon. Even knowing this, so many people decide that they would rather not invest for a variety of reasons. No matter what yo...

With the COVID-19 Pandemic now at its conclusion, if you are like everyone else, you are ready to start taking steps forward. As for many, the pandemic provided new opportunities to pick up new hobbies, spend time self-reflecting, and potentially even navigate new parts of their life. On the more negative side, many also faced many financial challenges that they never could have predicted. Now tha...

The last time we really saw the market have a pullback like we are seeing now was in 2008 when it lasted for roughly 546 days. I mean we did go into a bear market at the onset of COVID, but it was very short-lived so I am not including it. Either way, going through a bear market can create a lot of emotion inside of investors that can make them take emotional decisions that may have not been in th...

If there is one law that all of us have experienced at some point it is Murphy’s Law. In 1949, Air Force Captain, Edward Murphy brought this law into existence when he stated, “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”. While he was talking about an experiment the Air Force was doing, this totally applies to our finances. When everything is going great, it just doesn’t seem like anything can hold us b...

As time goes on, there is one thing that continues to be said by those as they get older, “I wish I would have saved more money”. I was reading articles and ran across one that provided survey results that I was dying to share with my listeners. Today I will be going through some really good information on this topic of savings. The important thing to remember during this episode is that I don’t w...

Inflation continues to rise, interest rates continue to rise, and the price of everything is going up, what is going on? Well… the biggest thing that is happening is our economy is making huge adjustments to get itself back in proper order. If all this talk is making your head spin, don’t worry, this episode is going to get it all cleared up for you. In today’s episode, I want to discuss how the p...

As the years have progressed, the idea of never carrying cash is becoming more and more relevant. When you truly think about it, why would you, when applications like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, and many others exist? As we have progressed to this completely digital currency society, that law has caught up and has started to leave some panicking as they may have to pay income tax on the money they are r...

No matter what you think, you won’t be able to work forever. At some point, you are going to have to hang up the career you have worked so hard in and turn to your retirement. At that point in your life, it will come down to you and the retirement plan that you put together. In this episode, I want to ensure that you have the knowledge you need to prepare your accounts for retirement. That’s right...

For so many people, they have been told their whole life that they needed to save for retirement. The part that is never really discussed is how you will approach taking the money out of the account. This is just as important as the effort you put into the building account. If done wrong, you could end up pay huge tax bills, withdrawing too much, being taxed for not withdrawing enough and so much...

If you have taken a look at your retirement account(s) over the past few months, you probably feel like Chicken Little and “The sky is falling”. If you asked me when will the bleeding stop, I would be lying if I told you when the tides can turn; however, what I do know is there is a lot to be confident in. In this week’s episode, I want to walk you through a few steps so that you can be confident...

In today’s market, it can be easy to feel discouraged after watching your account shrink day after day. For some, this may even lead to them questioning “Am I doing everything right in my investments?”. The great part about investing is that it really doesn’t have to be as complicated as you have always thought, or many make it seem. In today’s episode, I want to go through 4 steps that you can fo...

I hear it time and time again, “if only I had a bigger income I would _______.” This could be because they want to invest, but can’t. The other thing is it could be because the individual wants to save for a house, but nothing is left over each month to do so. No matter the reason, when the statement comes up, my ears perk up almost instantly. This is because I have to wonder, does this individual...

When we are in the moment, it can be easy to feel like we are a failure after not finding success at something we really wanted. What if I told you how you have viewed success and failure are potentially completely wrong? That’s right, even Webster’s dictionary is completely wrong on this one. In today’s episode I want to cover how changing your mindset around Failure and Success and truly underst...

If I could name one thing that is given out for free by every single person in the world it would have to be advice. We give it out freely and often, even when we aren’t the real professional on the subject we are advising. This is one of the most crucial skills that you must develop, your selective filter for advice. In a single lifetime, the average person makes 773,618 decisions and will come t...

No matter where you spend your free time, you have seen someone announcing they have the secret formula for you to retire by 25. These are popping up more and more on all social media platforms and many are falling victim to this scheme. With it being so easy to run an ad and get noticed, many are providing tempting promotions to hustle you out of your hard-earned cash thinking they are about to t...

We are barely into 2022, all states have dropped COVID 19 restrictions, COVID cases are dropping significantly, and employment rates are almost back to pre-pandemic levels. With all this, the student loans payment pause has been extended…. Again. At the end of this pause, we will be at roughly 30 months of paused payments, meaning you may have forgotten what it was like to have that in your monthl...

As we wrap the Increase Your Income Series, I want to make sure that I cover one of the best and easiest ways that you can almost instantly feel like you have more money. That’s right, if you establish this part of your personal finances, you will have one of the most solid foundations. When you begin to hear what I discuss, you may instantly want to cut it off because the word has a negative conn...

One of the easiest ways to increase your income is to ask for more money from your current employer. While it is the easiest, it is also the most nerve-wrenching. Sitting down with your supervisor and asking for more money can be extremely uncomfortable. The problem with asking for a raise for most people is that they take an ineffective approach to it. I want to cover an easy 3 step process that...

I am sure you heard the quote credited to Confucius “Doing some you love and you will never work another day of your life”. While everyone has heard it, there are so many meanings of what it actually means. Just being honest, I think its vagueness actually is what makes its overuse so popular. The truth in this quote is that we all actually have something that we love doing, take money out of the...

With the rising inflationary period we are currently facing, you can quickly feel: “My expenses are going up, while my income is staying stagnant.” This can be a tough feeling, especially if you already just barely had enough to get by. No one can give you a perfect answer on how long or even how high costs will get, so don’t listen to the chatter. What you can control is exactly that, what you ca...

We are in the middle of this year’s tax season and for many it can be stressful as the April 18 deadline is quickly approaching. From collecting the information, finding the time to complete it, or making appointments with your tax advisor, there is so much that goes into tax season. No matter if you have filed your taxes, are currently in progress, or yet to start, this tax season will come and g...

For anyone that has been through, we know that tax season is full of unexpected turbulence. The difference this year is that the IRS is extremely backlogged and already stating that “this year will be a mess”. With the due date of April 18th quickly approaching, I thought what better way to confront this mess head one than give you some tips to survive the rough ride. Just know, this isn’t going t...

No matter where you are in your Financial Journey, a side hustle should be your best friend to expedite that process. When you think about goals like retirement, buying a house, or even paying off debt, it can sometimes seem like a fantasy because it seems like it never will happen. If you are human, like me, thoughts of giving up can creep in from time to time when it feels little or no progress...