Briefcase Study: Has Spring Finally Sprung?! Spring Cleaning, Anyone?
Spring has to be your favorite season; or at least in your top three or four. Everything is new again, fresh, bright, ripe with hope of new adventures. I’m a sucker for spring. If you share even a fraction of my spring enthusiasm, you may also feel that deep-down desire to get things cleaned up and sorted after a long …
Briefcase Study: Plan like you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow
Plan like you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow. Retirement planning is one of the great balancing acts: you suspect you’re not going to live forever, but what if you do? And maybe forever isn’t really forever, but what if it’s to 112 years old? Are you ready for that, at least financially? It turns out that …
Briefcase Study: The Cash and Happiness Relationship
The Cash and Happiness Relationship With the dramatic change in interest rates this year, a lot of people are rethinking how much cash is appropriate in a financial plan. And while the answer depends on goals, resources available for short or long-term needs, and personal preference, this reminds us of the big question people continue to ponder: “Does money buy …
Briefcase Study: Clutter: When Too Much Is Just Not Enough
Clutter: When Too Much Is Just Not Enough It may be time to declutter. Nobody is forcing you to declutter, but if I were to guess, I bet you’re probably feeling that desire on some level. You may have done some decluttering during the pandemic, but clutter doesn’t rest; it grows and sneaks up on you. Looking back, we spent …
Briefcase Study: Team of Three: Who’s in Your Financial Planning Trio?
There’s such power in the number three. Whether in literature, joke telling, the meats of a club sandwich, or nature itself, three represents completeness, rhythm, and strength. In fact, the triangle is the strongest geometric shape; you see the triangle in roof trusses and bridges. There’s just an elegance and magic to it that is so easily overlooked. We see …
Briefcase Study: The Aspect of Debt You May Not Have Considered
If you’re like many of our fellow Americans, you’re considering what rising inflation, a declining stock (and bond) market, and higher interest rates mean to you and your financial choices. And while there are a lot of varied consequences to this new ‘normal’, I think we can agree that one big change is that it’s immediately more painful to borrow …
Briefcase Study: The One Word Retirement Plan
Working in the retirement planning realm for so long has given me the opportunity to talk with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people about what they hope to experience during retirement. Discussions of money, time, and purpose lead to so many interesting insights about what a life well-lived might look like. A simple question like, “What would you like retirement to …
Briefcase Study: Breakthrough in a Box
When an Amazon box arrives at the front door, it’s an exciting moment. Is it…for me? Boy, I sure hope so (having forgotten what I may have ordered in the first place). Generally, the thing in that box is the result of a decision process that was either minutes long or one that took months of research. Either way, taking …
Briefcase Study: How Low Can You Go?
Reduced Stress Through Rehearsed Austerity A recent client review meeting reminded me that money can be stressful. This is a statement so obvious that it seems silly to write it out, but there it is. It can stress me out, and I’ll bet you feel it from time-to-time as well. While I won’t suggest that money’s emotional and intellectual burdens …
Briefcase Study: Financial Independence is a Myth
‘Financial Independence’ is a wonderful goal, a beautiful aspiration, a worthy pursuit. But it’s impossible. If true financial independence is the point at which we have enough money to be free from needing to serve or be served by other people, then we’ve missed the point entirely. If we look at a pile of wealth – money, property, possessions – …
