Blogs

The problem with most “pay off your house in 5 years” programs is not the outcome. It is how the outcome is explained. Here I examine where structure is credited for what behavior produces and why that misattribution can quietly undermine liquidity, retirement planning, and resilience. This is not an argument that all accelerated payoff strategies are inappropriate, nor that all practitioners in this space act in bad faith. It is a n appeal to common sense, supported by math, history, and consumer harm. Introduction: What This Case Is Really About This case is not about whether consumers want to get out of debt faster. They do. ...
LIABILITY MANAGEMENT AS A PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE Why the Vacuum Has Been Filled by Bad Ideas — and Why That Matters to Planners Introduction: The Quiet Risk Advisors Are Already Seeing Financial planners do not need to be convinced that the retail debt‑reduction industry contains bad actors. Most already hold strong views about: Pay off your home in five years programs HELOC‑centric mortgage acceleration schemes High‑fee systems marketed as proprietary math These programs are not fringe. They are increasingly visible in client conversations, often after damage has already been done . The more important question ...
Inflation might be slowing down, but that doesn't mean it's any easier on our clients' wallets. Those living in high-cost states are feeling the pinch of high prices and wondering how to sustain their lifestyle. This is part 2 of my latest blog post where I explore why so many families are relocating from high-cost, high-tax cities to more affordable places like Austin. Discover: • The impact of inflation on daily life • Why economic preservation is driving relocation • Practical steps families can take to improve their finances Read the full post here: Austin Relocation to Overcome Inflation
Austin is rapidly becoming a top destination for high net worth individuals and high-tech companies. The city’s appeal goes beyond its live music scene, encompassing a dynamic economy, affordable housing, and a high quality of life. Recent migration trends show an influx of young families, high earners, and billionaires choosing Austin, which was named the 2024 Best-Performing Large City in America. I wrote a thoroughly researched article on this phenomenon and why Austin is No. 2 in the world in terms of percent growth of HNW households. The graphs and tables tell the story—I won’t recopy them here but please check out the full article by clicking here ...
Austin is the second fastest growing major metropolitan area in the United States. This Spring 2024 Austin Real Estate Market Update answers two important questions: 1) Are Austin house prices going to crash; and 2) Should clients buy now or wait for interest rates and house prices to drop? For the first time in 20 years, among the five counties that make up Greater Austin , Travis County was the only one of the five that had more people moving out than moving in. But it was a small amount; approximately 2,500 more people left than entered. In a county of 1.3 million people, that’s less than 0.2%. In this month's issue we explore: Austin residential ...
The recent bank failures and economic gloom have caused us to reflect on the near and distant past. A certain anxiety has taken hold in our advisor community with flashbacks of 2008 and the subprime mortgage crisis, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the crypto crash, and more. Back in June, we wrote a blog called How to Communicate With Clients During a Down Market , which outlined fundamental ways and reasons why financial advisors need to communicate with their clients without adding to the noise of the headlines. It seems like history is repeating itself in some ways, and the tips we outlined in that article hold true during this newest “crisis” cycle. ...
In a recent article for the Journal of Financial Plann ing, Gretchen Halpin wrote on the importance of networking. It’s hard to go more than a few days at a time without seeing in an industry periodical or one of your social media feeds that Firm A has been acquired by Firm X in a deal worth a zillion dollars. It’s not hard to understand why. In our business, scalability and sustainability go hand in hand, and one way to get a lot of scalability in a short time frame is to buy it. But it’s also important to remember that the heartbeat of the financial advisory business is and always will be our interactions with clients on a personal, one-on-one basis. ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
If you didn’t attend the FPA National Conference in Seattle, you missed an event that delivered exactly what was promised: connection, learning, and community. With the conference being so close to the holidays, I wasn’t sure if FPA could pull off the depth and breadth of learning I had seen in the past. They did! The exhibit hall was filled with businesses that helped elevate the profession in both service and dimension. The exhibitors provided interactive activities that kept the energy up even in that 3 pm hour. But the real value was in the sessions and networking opportunities. Here are a few highlights. Networking with Keith Ferrazzi: Building Strong ...
It’s not intuitive, but spending less time in what you consider “work” mode, and more time in some kind of “rest,” actually increases the efficiency and value of your work productivity over time. We’ll explain the nerdy connection and challenge you with a new routine in a couple of minutes. On the surface, “spending less time working” might not pass muster in the traditional office environment where you are expected to work, at minimum, 8 hours in a day. But for decades studies have estimated we don’t actually “work” anywhere near that amount of time. A recent (not entirely scientific) study showed the average Brit office worker’s actual work time is closer ...
Lifelong client relationships are the lifeblood of the financial advisory industry. As advisors, you often emphasize expertise in a specific demographic of client, and important words like differentiation, segmentation, and personalization are continually talked about in terms of how you appeal to them. Personalization, when not executed efficiently, can be detrimental, from causing low profitability, to putting a strain on team members. One way financial advisors can create personalization at scale as a part of their growth efforts is through technology. According to a study conducted by PWC’s Digital Services group , marketers that provide personalized ...
We are looking to connect with a consultant that is a technology expert – specifically; Orion, Redtail and iRebal. Our firm is in Southern NH, but of course project work can be completed remotely. Thank you! Kristina Kristina George, CPA, CFP, CDFA Northstar Financial Planning, Inc. 112 Range Road Windham, NH 03087 p 603.458-2776 f 603.589.6003 www.northstarfp.com Where your Wealth and Well-Being Connect
According to Google Statistics , there are about four billion unique users who use the Google search engine. Of course, you probably already knew that — we all use Google to find answers to just about any question we can think of, whether it’s work- or life-related. And believe it or not, Google has a significant impact on the success of your business. Why? If you want to gain more traffic and attract more visitors to your financial advisory firm’s website, then you need to rank high on Google. Blog posting is one of the best and easiest ways to improve your Google search rankings. It’s fair to say that all successful websites have blog pages that not ...
" A six-inch line is short relative to an eight-inch line. An eight-inch line is short relative to a ten-inch line. " -Tibetan saying It’s 2008, and I'm at my desk on a Friday, lost in my work. I notice a new email that just came in. The software that we use puts out a regular newsletter, and the most recent one has just been released. I always look forward to reading this, so I set my work aside and print it out. I read an article written by Joe, a guy in New York who works for a firm as their head of operations. In essence, that means he's responsible for how smoothly the process runs. I read everything that he writes. I'm fascinated ...
Does anyone use a ghostwriter for their blogs? I am just starting to research this.
Recently 4 minor children were beneficiaries of a Trust Funds for their education. The trust specifically appoints a Legal Fiduciary by name to be the custodian and not the mother. The legal Fiduciary wants the business entity,which is a LLC , to be the custodian and not him individually. As far as I know only a person can be a custodian for an UTMA account. Any help would be appreciated.
The Reverse Purchase Strategy may allow financial planners to help seniors who are exceeding a safe portfolio withdrawal rate because they have an unsustainable income/expense profile. People who do not understand the Reverse Purchase Strategy are missing out on a powerful solution to three common senior problems: (1) insufficient cash , (2) a broken monthly budget , and (3) living in a house that is less than ideal or just unsafe. The centerpiece of this strategy is using a reverse mortgage as a purchase-money loan. You can’t say this is a misunderstood strategy because almost no one knows anything about it. Below we'll cover five key ...
I have a client who is looking to sell their Vacation Club Membership (virtually the same as a timeshare) and was wondering if there is a well known, reputable company that I can refer them to. Through some research I have done, I found a website called SellMyTimeshareNow.com that was able to provide a quote for them, but I am unsure how reliable this website truly is. If anyone has any insight on the company I mentioned or knows of a good company or contact that you can refer me to that would be great. Any recommendations or information is much appreciated. Sincerely, James Ronn