Welcome!  You’re here because you’ve asked yourself, “Why should I hire a financial planner?”  There are plenty of good reasons why you should hire a financial planner.  Many people think that a financial planner helps them make more money.  This is typically true, but there is so much more to financial planning than making money. ...

It’s something that every business owner must grapple with at some point.  What happens to my business when I die?  It depends on a lot of factors, but when it comes to solopreneurs there are potentially even greater stakes.  Often your active contribution is what drives the business’s value.  Without you then you are at...

It’s a great question nowadays: What happens to my social media when I die?  It’s a question none of our ancestors had to deal with, but is now an important part of your estate plan.  So, what actually happens to your social media when you die? Passwords Keeping a list of passwords available to a...

Here we will go over the basics of your estate planning, along with any special context for you as a solopreneur. Living trust How it works A living trust is a legal instrument that you establish while you are alive to protect your assets and simplify their distribution after you die.  It helps your family...

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged account that can help you save for medical expenses.  You can only use it if you have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).  HDHPs are defined as health plans that have a deductible of at least $1,500 ($3,000 for a family) and total out-of-pocket annual costs of no...

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged investment plan designed to help families save for a beneficiary’s (typically one’s child or grandchild) future higher education expenses or private K-12 expenses. There are two basic types of 529 plans: educational savings plans and prepaid tuition plans. 529 plans are sponsored and run by 49 states and the...

Term life insurance is better than whole life insurance.  Any argument made in the case for whole life is easily rebutted in favor of term life.  This is precisely what we will examine here.  Term life is better than whole life, but the incentive structure for insurance agents is to sell whole life whenever possible. ...

The advantages of hourly financial planning are becoming apparent to more people.  As more financial advisors slowly adopt this fee structure it is important to examine those advantages and how they serve clients better.  Let’s take a look at how hourly planning financial works, three important advantages, and the best candidates for hourly planning. What...

Some people get this wacky idea to pay down their mortgage faster than their original schedule of payments.  This is a bad plan in many cases!  Why? Let’s assume some variables first: Original mortgage balance – $500,000 Remaining mortgage balance – $478,804 Interest rate – 3% Monthly payment – $2,108.02 Payments made – 24 Payments...

How your financial advisor is paid is one of the most important things to know about them.  It’s important to know not just to know the cost, but to understand how they are incentivized to give to advice.  In this article you will first learn the three ways nearly all advisors can be paid.  Then...