If you haven’t been watching the headlines, thinking about the stock market, buying a house or applying for a line of credit, then you may have no idea that interest rates have recently gone down. Indeed, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) announced last month it is cutting its benchmark rate by 0.50% to a target rate of 4.75% to 5% (from 5.25 to 5.50%). Interest rate changes reverberate throughout the…
Investing will not make you financially secure. Investing will help you stay financially secure. Investing allows you to outpace inflation and optimize your assets. It’s not a secret path that lets you skip the line to financial freedom. For some, there is this idea that they can make up their savings shortfall by selecting the right investments. They think if their investment portfolio worked harder for them, they wouldn’t have…
Good financial advice boils down to a few simple principles: spend less than you make, maintain a healthy savings rate, invest prudently, manage risk, avoid unnecessary debt, and do your best to plan ahead. Follow these rules of thumb, and chances are, you’ll be in good shape. Sounds straightforward, right? But here’s the thing, what’s simple isn’t always easy. It’s like saying ‘eat healthy and exercise more, you’ll live longer.’…
Recently, we had an opportunity to do a question and answer session with one of our valued tax partners, RAC CPA Group, PLLC. RAC CPA is run by Josef Dassler and Paul Saxton with offices located downtown, Seattle. We took the time to ask the questions that we thought would help our clients understand what is important when working with a tax partner and their outlook on the 2025…
You’ve likely heard of the 80/20 rule before; if you haven’t, prepare to have your mind blown … (just kidding). The 80/20 rule, aka the Pareto Principle, is a phenomenon which states that roughly 80% of results come from just 20% of inputs. Using the 80/20 rule as a framework for decision making can help you focus your limited resources on actions that are the most impactful. When it comes…
For many parents, when it comes to thinking about money and kids, there are so many questions to think about. How do I raise my kid without spoiling them? What is a fair allowance? Do I pay them for chores/grades? Do I pay for private school? Do I pay for their college? How do I give them the best chance at success in life? Should I leave them an inheritance?…
Earlier this month, our team had a meeting with Fidelity Charitable. Although they share the Fidelity name with Fidelity Investments (the custodial firm), they operate as an independent 501(c)(3) public charity. Fidelity Charitable works with donors to maximize their philanthropic wishes through a donor-advised fund, commonly referred to as a DAF. What makes a DAF so great that I needed to write about it? DAF’s are unique in that they…
What we remember A few weeks ago, I had the chance to hike Half Dome in Yosemite National Park for the second time in my life. The first time was over 23 years ago with two close friends. The three of us reunited, added one more long-time friend, and ventured out again to conquer the 8,800 granite peak, climbing 4,800 feet of elevation to reach the top. It was a…
FOMO is the new catchy acronym for a very old phenomenon we know as the “fear of missing out.” While the term is often used in social contexts, FOMO is extremely prevalent when it comes to our personal finances. Oftentimes, we just don’t realize it. In this blog post, we’re going to highlight some common situations where we may feel financial FOMO as it relates to our lifestyle, investing, and…
Our national media cycle is a non-stop barrage of mostly gloomy headlines focused on topics that generate clicks and views. Unfortunately, we are biologically wired to focus and react more to negative news than to positive news. In the information age, you can always find data points to confirm your opinion (cognitive bias, anyone?). But, in this post, we thought we would take the liberty of highlighting some of the…
