Finding a financial planner is a scary process. Kind of like finding a hairdresser, but the hairdresser decision is MUCH more important. You have similar questions in the relationship. Will I be listened to? Is this person competent and experienced? Will the result leave me confident or depressed? Will he/she try to upsell me products…
Have you ever wanted to meet with someone to get advice on your finances, but didn’t feel comfortable hiring a financial planner? Or, do you just have a few questions, but don’t need a big financial plan? Good news! There are financial planners out in the community doing pro-bono (free) work. The Financial Planning Association…
As I sit here writing my monthly blogs, my doorbell rings. It’s my next door neighbor (who I have not met before – the house is a rental with lots of turnover) coming to inform me that my son and his friend have driven a golf ball through her window. Ugh! This will be expensive.…
In the May, 2015 print edition of Money Magazine, there is an article called 101 Ways to Build Wealth. These list-type of articles come around often and say many of the same things, but a few interesting ones I found were these: “Tip #15: Don’t Tend to Your 401(k) After a Rough Day at Work.…
There is much controversy about whether or not to make extra payments on your mortgage in order to pay it off early. As usual, I don’t have any hard and fast rules, but there are questions I’d like addressed before making this decision. First, is this the forever house or the 5-year house? If you…
Recently I’ve been telling you about the part of my business where I go to groups (employers, conferences) and meet with people for short one-on-one financial planning sessions. Here are a few success stories that I am proud of having achieved so far this year. A woman who would like to retire this year was…
I recently had friend ask me this question. The answer is “yes, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” There are main reasons for this: Investments: 529 College Savings plans are generally invested in pre-packaged funds whose aggressiveness is based on the child’s age. The younger the child, the more stocks are in the portfolio. …
First, let’s talk about what a parent is NOT to do. Please do not stop saving for retirement, or worse, take money out of your retirement accounts to pay for your kids’ college expenses. You have only one shot at saving for retirement, but your kids have many ways to pay for college. Some examples:…
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced my education services for the first time in the blog. Just to let you know, the financial education provided by Sullivan Financial Planning goes beyond pre-retirement planning. Other engaging and helpful topics that you won’t be getting from your 401(k) plan provider include: Financial Tools for Kids: …
People must be feeling good about the economy because second home ownership is on the rise again. Vacation home sales increased over 10% in 2012 and 11% of home purchases were second home in that year.* Some folks find their second home is all they hoped for and more. More time with family in a…
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