8 Health Care Questions You Need To Answer (Or Someone Else Will!)

When it comes to Estate Planning, one of the most important things you can do is to to lay out your wishes when it comes to your health later in life. This is in the event that you are not mentally able to make these decisions for yourself, which sadly happens to a number of people. So instead of it being up to someone else, what you can do instead is lay out your health care wishes now, while you…

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My Close Call With A Bad Driver (Why You Need Health Directives)

I do my best to stay in shape, and one of my favorite things to do is cue up a good podcast and then go for a nice run outside.

I went for one on Sunday afternoon right after church and I was breezing through the neighborhood doing my best Usain Bolt impression…

What is Probate? And Why You Might Want To Avoid It

Many people that I speak to come to me and say that they want to avoid probate, but they can’t precisely say why.  They’ve just heard it’s something that they might want to avoid and so they’re trying to figure out how to avoid it.  If you’ve never had a loved one die, you may never have experienced it.  Probate can be a very costly, and time consuming process, which is why it’s talked about negatively, and why many people…

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Will vs Trust: Similarities, Differences, and FAQ

One of the most common questions asked about estate planning is “What is the difference between a will and a trust?”  There are a few similarities, but a lot of differences also.  In both cases, these documents are a part of your estate plan – to have a complete estate plan, there are also powers of attorney for medical and financial purposes and other documents needed.  Today, we will cover similarities, differences, and common FAQ.   Similarities between a will-based plan…

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An offer you can’t refuse

I want to tell you a little bit about a Godfather offer that you might be interested in. I’ve called it the Start My Retirement Process.

It is a simple 3 step process that will show you what you need to do to secure a comfortable retirement, without worry, stress, or paying too much in taxes.

What Is An Estate Plan? 6 Key Elements

One of the most underappreciated parts of reviewing your financial life has to do with things that we’d rather not think about.  After all, how many of us actually want to contemplate our death or significant disability. In addition to that, as humans we tend to always say to ourselves, even if subconsciously, “Yeah, that terrible accident happened to them, but that won’t happen to me.” Or, “That cancer diagnosis happened to them, but it won’t to me.”  And on…

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Should You Invest in Stock Market Highs?

We’ve all heard the adage “buy low, sell high” when it comes to stocks. But with the stock market reaching new highs repeatedly, you may be wondering whether or not it’s a good idea to invest right now, which is a completely valid question.  Investing by my definition should be a strategic, long-term endeavor.  So when we talk about investing in today’s episode, we are NOT talking about money that you’ll need in the next 3 months, 1 year, or…

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4 Ways To Protect Your Retirement From Inflation

Last week we covered what’s going on with inflation, and why it’s so high right now. We also covered the importance of making sure that inflation doesn’t have a negative impact on your retirement.   Since inflation is often underestimated when it comes to your retirement, I wanted to discuss 4 strategies that you could use to make sure that you have a comfortable retirement for 3 plus decades, without having to cut back in significant ways later on in your…

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What is inflation, and why is it so high right now?

Inflation is one of the biggest risks when it comes to your retirement.  Why is that?  Because if inflation is too high (in proportion to your investment returns), then inflation will eat away at something called your purchasing power.  So over time, your purchasing power will decrease, year over year, ever so slightly.  But over time, and especially 2-3 decades, you will feel it in your budget.   In simple terms, the hundred dollars you own today has more worth than…

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Annuities 101 + Pros and Cons As An Income Stream

Before we get started, let me state that this post on annuities will be general in nature, and will not cover every single detail of them.  They are simply too complex to cover everything in this post.  Also: I am NOT recommending them.  And you should absolutely work with an independent, objective financial professional (who won’t receive a commission from a sale) to discuss whether one of these products is right for you. With that out of the way, the…

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