The idea that you’re either “good” or “bad with money” is a myth. Good money habits are a choice that anyone can make and being “good with money” is something you can learn. That doesn’t mean good money habits are easy to form, and it can be a massive struggle and challenge to make the change…
Investing on Thin Ice: Record Stock Market Highs and the Inevitability of a Crash
My fiancee is from Georgia and has never walked on a frozen body of water (outside a small skating rink) in her life. A few weeks ago when we went through that cold snap where temperatures barely rose above single digits in Boston, we wandered out on the ice of the frozen-over pond in the…
This Might Be Your Biggest Investment Temptation You Have to Avoid
I can’t tell you how many times that people tell me about their friend’s cousin’s girlfriend’s brother who got rich by choosing one or two stocks that performed well. “All you have to do is find that one company,” they say, “and put your money in at the right time. Boom.” It sounds nice because…
This Is the Best-Kept Secret to Financial Success
Most people waste a lot of time and energy seeking the one investment to solve all their financial worries. They want to unlock some secret to financial success that only rich people know about, thinking if they just knew that one magical place to put their money, it would make them wealthy, too. I hate…
What’s Your Savings Rate? Here’s How We Save 30 Percent (or More) of Our Income
Financial freedom is the biggest goal I have right now — both personally and professionally. What I mean by that is it’s my goal to help as many of my clients as possible build and grow wealth to the point where they can enjoy financial independence. It’s also my own personal goal for my financial…
5 Ways We Save Money Living in Boston
When it comes to finances and building wealth as a financial planner in Boston, I live by a few important mantras. The most important one to me — and the one that helps guide my clients — is to use money as a tool to live a life I love today… while still planning responsibly…
Here’s How Much I’m Spending on a Wedding — and Why
As someone who works with professionals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, the topic of weddings comes up relatively often in client meetings (and even in casual conversation, as friends and acquaintances want my take on the financial side of wedding planning). While I’ve helped many people set up savings goals and responsibly spend on…
How Do You Guarantee Investment Growth?
Let’s say your cash flow is set and you have extra money at the end of the month. Now you need to establish a plan to grow that money. You also need to keep in mind the reason (or reasons) why you want more money in the first place. This is the essence of goals-based…
Binary Decisions Are for Computers, Not for Humans
We often act like we live in a binary world, where we have only two choices: 0 or 1. These binary decisions work for computers, but not for humans. Luckily for us, there’s a better way. The more I speak with people about their finances, the more I realize how interesting humans really are. We…
Unexpected Benefits of Financial Planning: What Happens When You Start Talking About Money
Major life events like buying a home, getting married, having a child, starting a business, and investing for the future make the benefits of financial planning and talking about money with an expert crystal-clear. You can actually touch the life or disability insurance policy that you put in place to protect your family against the…