Episode 7
The financial plan is only the first step. Today’s show discusses what happens after you define where you are and what’s your destination. The reality is that even though you’ve made a plan and you’ve set your goals, things change. You’re rate of return was less; your daughter wants to go out-of-state for college; you get a bigger than expected bonus.
For each of these events, you’ll have to adjust your plan, in the same way that an airplane pilot makes adjustments to his route during the flight. You both want to reach your destination, which requires a willingness to fix things as you go along. So why even set goals or make a plan if things will change? Because you have to start somewhere. Starting is half the battle.
While some individuals feel comfortable doing the planning and changing themselves, you’re not alone if you want help. Despite everything you hear about the bad apples, there are plenty of good financial planners out there. We refer to them as members of the Secret Society of Real Financial Planners (SSofRFP). Finding them is a challenge. If you’re interested, please contact either Bill or myself to help you connect with a good financial planner.
Final note: The process of planning shouldn’t be confused with the product of planning.
We’re also pleased to announce that J.D. Roth of getrichslowly.org will join us on a future show. He’ll discuss how he got started and what financial planning means now after he achieved his goal of getting out of debt.
You can find Carl’s guest post, Investment Risk and the Growth of Wealth: The Importance of Course Corrections, at getrichslowly.org.
Bill’s book, The New Coffeehouse Investor, is also available for purchase.
Episode 6
Our sixth episode that aired this week continues our discussion about values and about how we build our financial plans to match those values. As Bill points out, there’s a lot of people who have an idea how they WANT their lives to unfold, but aren’t sure HOW to make it happen.
I’m noticing among my friends that things, financially, are starting get serious. In 8-10 years, I’ll have three kids in college. Five years ago that seemed like an eternity. Now, at 37, my financial future and obligations feel much more real and immediate.
Two things trip us up:
1. Whether it’s retirement or education, we get confused with the vehicle versus the trip.
2. “I don’t know what to do. It’s overwhelming.”
Some times there’s so much anxiety, stress, and tension around setting financial goals. Either sticker shock or the fear of change shouldn’t stop you from creating an awareness of what’s really important to you. We need to approach our financial goal setting with the knowledge that change will be involved.
If you’re interested, the financial tool Bill mentioned in the show is called Torrid Technologies.
Episode 5
In the most recent episode, we continue our discussion from last week by asking the question why. Why is it important to ignore Wall Street and get on with your life? (a nod to the Coffeehouse Investor tagline) How can we live a richer life, not only financially, but emotionally, too? Do you have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how you’re spending your capital (money and time)?
Here are the links to both the post and the books we refer to in this show: Office Space: Why I Rented a Place to Right (George Kinder/getrichslowy.org) Your Money or Your Life The Soul of Money Again, if you have any questions you want us to address in the next episode, please email me at carl{at}behaviorgap{dot}com.
Episode 4
This week’s episode focuses on the goal of defining where you are today and where you want to go. While this process sounds simple, many people aren’t sure where to start.
Episode 3
This week’s show tackles head on the news that a government stalwart, Social Security, is in deep trouble. In particular, we address how we can no longer rely on Social Security as a part of our retirement plans. Investing is no longer child’s play.
Taking personal responsibility for our investments will be key in securing a sound financial retirement. We’ve seen seismic changes during the last five years with regards to “traditional” retirement planning. We have to rethink our approach to investing and our expectations when it comes to retirement.
Episode 2
This last week, Bill Schultheis and I recorded the second episode of our weekly internet radio show/podcast, Behavior Gap Goes to the Coffeehouse. As always, if you have any questions, please email them to me, carl{at}behaviorgap{dot}com, and we’ll do our best to answer them during our shows.
Today’s podcast is about how to start the investing process. We use an email I received from someone looking for specific suggestions to give you ideas of how to tackle investing for the first time.
