Trust the Plan Podcast with Nick Hopwood, CFP® and Jim Pilat, CFP®

Nick Hopwood, CFP  of  Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth talks Long-Term Disability and Medicare with Brian Vincent of the Finlan Insurance Agency located in Plymouth, Mi. Brian handles the insurance needs of Peak Wealth and the Hopwood Family.  Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensive financial planning firm located in Plymouth, M...

Nick Hopwood, CFP  of  Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth talks about the growing F.I.R.E. discussion/movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) and the book, "Retire Like a Millionaire" by Kristy Shen. In Part 3, we try to figure out if it makes sense to not buy a house and not buy a car. Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensiv...

Nick Hopwood, CFP® is joined by Michael Spath  @michaelspathITH from "Inside the Huddle" on WTKA in Ann Arbor weekdays 10-1pm talking about everybody's dream job (sports talk radio host and sportswriter). Learn about Michael's background and the inside story of his journey to hosting his own show in Ann Arbor.  Peak Wealth Management  is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensi...

Nick Hopwood, CFP is joined by Shawn and Sarah Hillard, who are in-studio talking about "No-Spend September." The Hillards are here to educate us on what it means, what the challenges were, and what they learned as a result of going a full month eliminating all unnecessary expenses. If you've tried "Frugal February" or "No-Spend September," please share your experience with us via email nick@peakw...

Nick Hopwood, CFP® chats with former Michigan Daily football, basketball, and Hockey beat writer Chris Duprey. Chris wrote for the daily from 1997-2001 and covered the football beat for the 2000 season, where Drew Henson lead the Wolverines to a B1G Conference Championship.  On the podcast today, Chris shares thoughts from his "Michigan Preview" article he writes each August, as well and reminisci...

Nick Hopwood, CFP  of  Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth talks about the growing F.I.R.E. discussion/movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) and the book, "Retire Like a Millionaire" by Kristy Shen. In Part 2, we try to figure out how an ordinary family of four can live on $40,000 per year.  Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and compre...

Are you a victim of Lifestyle Creep? Jim Pilat, AIF  joins Nick Hopwood, CFP  on the podcast to talk about Lifestyle Creep - the concept that as our income increases, so does our cost of living expectations.  Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensive financial planning firm located in Plymouth, MI. We believe by providing education and guidance, we in...

Nick Hopwood, CFP  of  Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth talks about the growing F.I.R.E. discussion/movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) and the book, "Retire Like a Millionaire" by Kristy Shen. In Part 1, we review Kristy's story at a high level from the traditional perspective of a CFP. Over the next few weeks, we will cover it in much more detail. Stay tuned! Peak...

Nick Hopwood, CFP of Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth talks about the true cost of owning that dream cottage up north. He breaks down the costs per year and even the cost per boat ride. You might be shocked how much cash that pontoon boat burns through! Also check out EP: 025 which is a similar topic, entitled "Your Second Home, The Anti-Dividend." Peak Wealth Management is a f...

Nick Hopwood, CFP of Peak Wealth Management , host of Finding True Wealth sits down with JJ Sovinsky, CPA of Sovinsky and Company ,  to talk about taxes now that we've had time to evaluate the new tax law consequences.  Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensive financial planning firm located in Plymouth, MI. We believe by providing education and guid...

Nick Hopwood, CFP of Peak Wealth Management, host of Finding True Wealth sits down with Joe Owczarek to talk about Private Equity investing, the opportunity, how the markets have changed over the last 30+ years, and finally how regulations have eased to allow more people to have access to this asset class.  Peak Wealth Management  is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensive f...

Recently, Suze Orman was interviewed on a podcast stating individuals need at least $5 million to retire. In this episode,  Nick Hopwood, CFP®  and  Jim Pilat, AIF®  sit down and take a deeper look at this statement in order to determine if she is correct.  Peak Wealth Management  is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor and comprehensive financial planning firm located in Plymouth, MI. We...

Recently I came across this infographic which showed how you can earn $500k per year and still feel average. In this episode, Nick and Jim talk about how the assumptions may be a bit flawed. Spoiler alert: if you make good decisions with your money, earning $500k per year should not feel average at all.  If you earn over $500k and feel average, it may be time for a second opinion. Let's talk. Star...

Nick Hopwood, CFP® and Jim Pilat, AIF® circle back to EP 013 - Track Your Expenses and Net Worth Redux! We believe understanding your cost of living is one of the most important details in a healthy financial plan or #retirement plan. As a result, we strongly recommend tracking your expenses each month in a spreadsheet in the cloud. Click Here for our simple Template. Peak Wealth Management is a f...

IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, Roth 401k, Simple IRA, SEP IRA, Single K, Solo K, say what? These are usual suspects when it comes to #retirement funding. Which are you eligible for, and why? The answer might surprise you! Listen in and learn how these plans differ and why its not a fair set up for some people, and there is nothing they can do about it! Nick Hopwood, CFP® has been a financial advisor/financi...

Tune in for my take aways from Donald Miller's "Building a Story Brand." All great movies follow a traditional formula - we have a Hero, a Villain, and a Guide/Coach as three of the main characters in most cases. For Star Wars, author Miller argues Luke Skywalker is the Hero, Darth Vader is the Villain, and Yoda is the Coach/Guide. How can we relate this concept to our financial journey? Who is th...

Stop! Listen to EP 026 first , which is the 2018 edition of Nick's Personal Financial Plan. It gives you the foundation for this episode.  The goal here is demonstrate our 100% transparent and 100% authentic approach to offering sound guidance and recommendations. Our job is to inspire you to make great decisions and we believe we need to be truly authentic and transparent.  The 2019 Hopwood famil...

Financial Planning expert Nick Hopwood, CFP® and Jim Pilat, AIF® talk about the 403b investment landscape, focusing on a NYT article from a few years back. Fortunately we have arrangements with non-profit institutions such as Universities, school districts, and hospitals which all us to represent employees such as teachers, professors, doctors, and nurses with their 403b accounts at investment com...

Markets have been extremely volatile as of late, so financial planners/financial advisors/wealth managers Nick Hopwood, CFP® and Jim Pilat, AIF® talk markets and react to Facebook Guy, who makes fear-mongering posts when the markets go down, hoping to prey on the fearful with misleading statements.  In this episode, we also make note that it is Episode 50, and we give ourselves credit for sticking...

Recently a couple decided to partner with Peak as their advisor/planner and we were reviewing what their former advisor put together for them. At first glance, the former advisor's fees were in line and the investments looked fine, but when we started reviewing the financial plan, what we found out was a little disturbing.  HINT: Finding True Wealth EP 013 would have helped out a lot here.  Nick H...

Today we are speaking with Brian Cook, who is the founder and editor of MGOBLOG . From Go Blue Cook Family Supports You to breakfast on campus with Sexy Grandpa to earning $10 per post from AOL, loyal readers of MGOBLOG finally get a chance to learn about the man behind the keyboard. Brian shares with Nick how he pivoted from unmotivated engineer to king of all Michigan Weblogs and his vision for...

The tricky thing about this industry is that it is hard to understand who is qualified and who is not. Just check out this commercial the CFP® Board put out a few years ago - click here .  Experience is good for an advisor to have, but doesn’t mean their advice is in your best interest or quality advice at all.  Working with a CFP® is probably one of easiest filters you can apply to your advisor s...

Join Nick and Jim as they rap about a recent meeting which did not work out as planned. We had the chance to help someone go from good to great, but it turns out that we are not the right fit for everyone! Peak Wealth Management is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor located in Plymouth, MI. We believe by providing education and guidance, we inspire our clients to make great decisions put...

Get to know Jim Pilat, AIF® our newest team member at Peak Wealth Management!  Jim shares with Nick his background and story as to how he became an advisor, and why joining the firm is a  "Nash Equilibrium."    Peak Wealth Management  is a full-service Registered Investment Advisor located in Plymouth, MI. We believe by providing education and guidance, we inspire our clients to make great decisio...

Often people will ask me how should they prioritize their retirement funding vehicles - should they should fund their Traditional 401k, Roth 401k, Traditional IRA or Roth IRA? What makes the most sense when it comes to contributing to retirement or tax-advantaged accounts? Listen in as Nick channels his inner CFP® and shares his thoughts.  Peak Wealth Management  is a full-service Registered Inves...