Millenials

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Millennials (typically defined as those who were born between 1981 and 1997) make up a population of roughly 80 million people in the United States. With that amount of marketing, workforce, and cultural influence, there has been a shift in understanding this most bounteous generation since the Boomers. See the resources below for a few highlights:

  • Read: This recent article from Wallet Hub ranks the Best & Worst States for Millennials based on affordability, education and health, quality of life, economic health, and civic engagement. I am partial to its findings as it ranks the state of North Dakota as 7th best in the nation overall (and 1st for affordability!). There are lots of data present but it is worth it to read the article in its entirety to understand better this generation (of which I belong as well as do 90% of my clients), especially when it comes to their financial savviness versus other generations.
  • Listen: In this podcast (Millennial Money Minutes–podcast tidbits in 5 minutes or less!), Grant Sabatier and Matt Zubricki discuss how it is easy to go out and buy short-term happiness, but long-term happiness needs to be cultivated. As humans, we all essentially seek and require the same things to live a happy life – community, loyalty, love, excitement, curiosity, passion, and peace.
  • Watch: No matter your generation, you will find this TED Talk presentation by Dan Gilbert (Harvard psychologist) enlightening on the topic of happiness. He states our beliefs on what will make us happy are often wrong, a premise he supports with intriguing research and comic relief. 

For those interested, here is the Quarterly Market Review for the first quarter of 2019 from Dimensional. I am also including this Economic and Market Update from J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

F.I.R.E.

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F.I.R.E. is an acronym. It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. There’s a growing movement of people who are practicing FIRE principles and retiring decades earlier than expected as a result. Smart, often middle-income earners are using a simple formula of high savings rates (50-70% of their incomes) + frugal living (minimalism) + low-cost stock index fund investing (Warren Buffett’s standard investment advice) in order to reach financial independence within short–usually around 10-year periods–of time. For obvious reasons, FIRE is sometimes referred to as “the ultimate life hack.” (this definition taken from Playing With Fire). Look onward for these hot resources below!

  • Read: Vicki Robin wrote Your Money or Your Life in 1992, on the topic of personal finance. In this interview with MarketWatch, she expands her definition of financial independence to financial interdependence. Read more here in How Much is Enough?
  • Listen: Early retirement has become a popular dream, especially in the FIRE community, but many are spending too much to make it a reality. In this podcast episode, David Stein explores why the tendency to spend too much is such a large part of our culture. Listen the whole way through to learn about practical ways you can filter your spending for greater savings and earlier retirement.
  • Watch: There is a documentary on this entire FIRE movement that will be released soon. Watch the trailer here and sign up to be notified when it’s available to view full-form!

Just a reminder: we have an entire page dedicated to FIRE, other financial topics, as well as all of our archived newsletters on our Resources page.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Financial Resolution

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Happy New Year! As we welcome the new year, you may find yourself putting together some resolutions in health, career, or finances. As we turn another calendar page, look to these following resources as encouragement–and perhaps inspiration–to meet some new goals:

  • Read: Though this was written four years ago, the concept is as fresh today as it was then. Mr. Money Mustache (Peter Adeney) writes about resolutions to utilize this year to Get Your Brain Back–he discusses the little habits he changed in his life to cut out brain junk food and instead replaced it with things good for mental function. Who couldn’t use that for the new year?
  • Listen: In this podcast, Joshua Sheats shares his complete framework for increasing your income. The show is heavy on strategy–you’ll have to fill in the specific tactics appropriate for your situation. He covers: the only 3 ways to increase your income; which to focus on in the short-term and which to focus on for the long-term; and specific strategies for each of the 3 ways, all to increase your income in the next year. 
  • Watch: Still working on your debt payoff? I recommend the use of YNAB to all clients, friends, family, and sometimes random people on the street. This YNAB Workshop video walks through how you can utilize the software to strategically create a debt pay down plan. Let this be the last year you have any debt!

In other news: We are thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming a new member to the Bona Fide Family–our third child will be born in August!

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Money Perspective

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Hello, October! This is my favorite month of the year, and it’s not just because of my wedding anniversary and birthday (the 25th and 28th, if you’re curious!). I love the sights and smells of autumn and feel that the month of October perfectly encapsulates that! 

Onward to this month’s highlights, which focus on the way you look at your money: from reviewing your current financial state, to simple financial planning in six principles, to the value of the money you earn. Enjoy these resources:

  • Read: Today, many people find themselves inundated by a constant stream of financial news from television, radio, and the Internet. Yet, does all this “information age” data really help you manage your finances any better than in the past? The truth often is that the “old-fashioned” practices, such as periodic financial reviews, lead to greater success in the long run.
  • Listen: Simple Financial Planning – The Only 6 Principles You Need to Know is a conversation between Todd Tressider of FinancialMentor.com and Philip Taylor from PTMoney.com. The goal of this episode is to make your financial life that much easier to manage by helping you focus on just the important issues that really matter.
  • Watch: This couple has a series of brief, clever, weekly videos about personal finance for Millennials and Generation Z. In Insta-Everything, Philip and Julia discuss the value of money and time in leveraging your funds versus using them towards luxury. It may give you pause to rethink some of your expenditures! 

Spotlight: I just returned from the annual XYPN LIVE Conference in St. Louis, which was preceded by a seminar on student loans and followed by a seminar with Dimensional Fund Advisors. It was a great opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and deepen my own expertise in the areas of student loans and investments.

Market Commentary: I will be sending out an email later this month with the third quarter market commentary. Stay tuned!

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Financial Organization, Goals, and Planning

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Now that it is finally spring in most parts of the country, I wanted to focus on spring cleaning this month, highlighting some resources to help you organize your finances:

  • Read: Many couples blame their marriage problems on disagreements and an inability to see eye to eye. Marriage counseling is a great option for couples who need to learn how to better communicate, but it might not solve the problem that caused a disagreement in the first place, especially if the problem involves money. So because money is a leading cause of stress in relationships, couples may want to consider money counseling before heading to a marriage counselor. Click here to read more.
  • Listen: In this podcast conversation between Financial Mentor Todd Tresidder and Farnoosh Torabi, they discuss money, relationships, and financial goals. These aspects of life have long-term financial implications, and they’re much easier to accomplish when both spouses/partners are working together.
  • Watch: Are you unsure of all that a financial planner can do for you with regard to an organizational overview of your financial situation, future needs, and risk tolerance? This video outlines the value of having a financial planner, who will help you achieve short and long term financial goals.

Free Services Spotlight:

  • Vertex42: Since 2003, Vertex42 has been creating professionally designed spreadsheet templates for business, personal, home, and educational use. Their collection of financial calculators include some of the most powerful and user-friendly debt reduction and money management tools you can find.
  • Personal Capital: The Personal Capital dashboard gives you everything you need to gauge, monitor and optimize your financial holdings. Link all of your external financial accounts and get immediate access to a comprehensive view of all your accounts.

*Both of these services are free and great for the do-it-yourselfer; clientele of Bona Fide Finance have access to more robust software tools as part of our business practice.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Investing

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This month, I’d like to highlight the following, with a theme of investing. Firstly, I want to share Bona Fide’s Investment Philosophy, upon which these recommended resources build:

  • Read: Dimensional has a concise recap on Recent Market Volatility. I echo their advice: by adhering to a well-thought-out investment plan, ideally agreed upon in advance of periods of volatility, investors may be better able to remain calm during periods of short-term uncertainty.
  • Listen: In this Money For the Rest of Us podcast by David Stein, he discusses what it takes to be a value investor, educating the listener on what drives the long-term performance of stocks, what the qualities are of skilled value managers, and what risk is. 
  • Watch: Is compound interest the greatest invention the world has ever seen? Watch this brief video to increase your understanding of how compound interest works in the realm of investing, and to garner Albert Einstein’s own thoughts on it!

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Lifestyle Design & Financial Planning

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This month, I’d like to highlight the theme of lifestyle design, a concept that weighs heavily on ordering your financial situation accordingly:

  • Read: This article from Seeking Alpha focuses on the work of Tim Ferriss, author of such books as “The Four Hour Work Week” and “Tools of Titans”. Ferriss encourages folks to move from an annual thinking and total costs to monthly cash-flow. What is your ideal lifestyle in exact detail, and how much does it cost per month?
  • Listen: Joshua Sheats interviewed Jake Desyllas, author of “Job Free” in this podcast, which focuses on distilling all the plans and strategies you can use to design your ideal financial freedom plan into a clear, simple framework.
  • Watch: A double-dip on Tim Ferriss this month: check out this 30 minute interview between Mark Frauenfelder of the 2014 Bay Area Maker Faire and Tim on his own experiments in lifestyle design, including dancing, learning languages, working out, and stoicism.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Happiness and Budgeting

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As we enter into the holiday season this month, I thought it prudent to touch on giving versus getting, experiences versus things, and why sticking to a budget always makes sense:

  • Read: This article from Todd Curtis of YNAB  highlights how the thoughtful pursuit of things you want in life can turn into the mindless pursuit of simply getting. *The referenced Verizon video can be found here
  • Listen: Elizabeth Dunn, author of the book “Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending”, discusses her research on the increase of happiness when our money is spent on experiences rather than things. Meb Faber conducts this interview here.
  • Watch: For a touch of humor, please enjoy this brief SNL skit featuring Steve Martin and Amy Poehler: “Don’t Buy Stuff You Can’t Afford”

Services spotlight: Bona Fide Finance utilizes Right Capital, a software piece designed to give you the full spectrum of your finances and its projections into the future. My favorite features are the account aggregation and client portal; I offer this to all of my clients who contract ongoing services.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Radical Personal Finance

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September’s theme is de-risking your life:

  • Read: There is a plethora of resources and additional information based on the podcast interview recommended below, in this show notes page from Radical Personal Finance. I recommend bookmarking this article and utilizing the recommended resources.
  • Listen: In this interview from Radical Personal Finance’s Joshua Sheets and Justin Carroll (from the Complete Privacy and Security Podcast), talk about real, actionable ways in which you can become more secure and protect your privacy.
  • Watch: “When you are aware, you will make better decisions.” Continuing this month’s theme, Jesse Mecham from YNAB briefly discusses the habits of transformation that can assist you with making the best decisions for your finances.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

Transitioning Children to Adulthood and Considering the Option of Paying for College

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Changing up my format slightly this month, I’m offering three podcasts on the topic of transitioning children to adulthood and considering the option of paying for college. With high school graduation season upon us, this topic is timely as ever. Therefore, I’d like to highlight the following:

  • Listen #1: Joshua Sheats is known for being radical (hence the name of his show, Radical Personal Finance). In this podcast, he discusses why he–as a financial advisor–refuses to save money for his kids’ college. His direct advice to an inquirer is this: “Don’t set up a college plan for your young child. It’s a bad idea and a poor use of money in light of all the other things you can do with money that are better.” Listen to find out why!
  • Listen #2: In this podcast interview between Meb Faber and Ric Edelman, the topic is broached of what the future will look like in respect to work and technology for the next generations. In essence, it is going to look far different than what we’ve known. The tendency is to believe that the future will be similar to what our parents and grandparents experienced as they aged. A linear progression – school, work, retirement, death. Ric believes this is going to change: the linear lifeline is going away. It will more resemble school, work, back to school, a new, different career, then a sabbatical, more school, and so on…a lifeline that’s more cyclical.
  • Listen #3: J.D. Stein from Money For the Rest of Us discusses the changing nature of employment and what humans can do about it. In this episode you’ll learn why job skills will be most in demand in the coming years, how the level of academic knowledge needed to complete jobs peaked in 2000 and has been declining since, and how robots and other information technology are substituting for labor.

If you find the information provided valuable, please pass this email along to your family and friends! Better yet, recommend them to subscribe to this monthly newsletter by signing up on our website!

You can click on the links below to access this month’s resources. Thanks for listening!!