Personal Spending

If you fly high above the earth in a jetliner, you can get a perspective that is at once spiritual and practical. It can inspire you to write an ethical will, a document that sets down what is important to you, far beyond financial matters.

I often see clients who make good money, but can’t seem to save. Their downfall: not knowing where the money goes.

Frittering money away is one of the top concerns when making a financial plan. Once folks feel like they make enough money to not worry about what they do with it, they set themselves up for disaster down the road.

Bitcoin, the digital crypto-currency that doesn’t have the backing of any government, is becoming a mainstream interest, and many investors are hoping to capitalize on its appreciation. While this is a fascinating topic, it is not a wise bet for your retirement savings.

The middle class. Marketers target it. Politicians champion it. Economists talk about it. Most of us consider ourselves part of it. But no one can define it. And that poses a challenge for financial planning.

When I ask for a clear definition, I do not find anybody who really can tell me what "middle class" is. I recently posted on Twitter that $90,000 was a middle-class household income and that it would take a nest egg of $3 million to generate that income in retirement.

Capitalism is the best economic system in practice for charitable giving because it is the only one that gives us the freedom to allocate our capital as we see fit. But so many people equate capitalism with greed and think that the profit motive is not compatible with giving. This is a wrongheaded notion.

Too often, the emotional problems surrounding our finances get ignored. "It's not about the money." This saying is almost a cliché among financial planners and therapists who help clients address money’s emotional aspects.

A no-brainer: Participating in high-risk activities makes getting cheap life insurance very hard. Yet insurers don’t just penalize base jumpers, skydivers or deep-water scuba divers. They also define high risk as elevated blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea or a host of other medical conditions. If that describes you, how can you get insured?

Most people think sudden money only occurs infrequently. But a windfall occurs far more frequently than we think. Unfortunately, we often don’t see it coming or plan for it before it’s too late.

When I tell people I specialize in helping people who suddenly come into a substantial amount of money, the often say sarcastically, “Great! Expect a call when I win the lottery.”

The lottery win is only one exceedingly rare example of a sudden money event. Real ones can happen any time someone receives an amount of money that dramatically alters their financial future.

Many parents want to give their children assets to call their own, but kids are usually not the most level-headed stewards of wealth. This is why many choose to give their children custodial accounts that give the children ownership, but not total control over the gift.

If you’re scared that your children might blow through their savings, here’s what you need to know about custodial account rules.

When you receive a financial windfall, you need to plan ahead to make sure you don’t lose the money. Some wealthy people with money seem to never let go of it and others lose it all in a jiffy.

Smarts and savvy barely begin to explain the difference. Planning and checking your beliefs about money are the keys to maintaining sudden wealth.