“How much money do you make?” If that question makes you uncomfortable, you are like most Americans who believe money is a taboo subject, much like politics and religion. However, the Millennial generation may be changing this ideal. Read more…
Disability Insurance: The Missing Piece in Your Financial Plan
Five years ago when my wife and I were expecting our first child, I was quick to get term life insurance policies in place. It wasn’t until last month, however, that I protected my human capital from disability. Read more…
Put Your Personal Finances on Autopilot: How to Automate Your Income, Expenses, and Investments
Remember in high school when you had to read The Odyssey? Read more…
Fees Matter
When I look through the funds that investors use – be it an individual, institution, or 401(k) plan – I’m always amazed by the high fund expenses. Read more…
Thinking About Markets Like Piles of Sand
The idea of complex adaptive systems might sound overwhelming, but an experiment conducted by physicist Per Bak makes the concept easier to understand. Read more…
Raising Financially Savvy Daughters: Perspectives from Plancorp Dads
Instilling the value of money in our children is a difficult task for most anyone. There are so many questions to consider. What age do we start talking about money? How much of an allowance should we give our children? How should we encourage them to spend/save their money? Read more…
How to Instill Smart Money Values in Your Kids
By the time most of us walked across our high school graduation stages, we could recite the Pythagorean Theorem, name all 50 state capitals and identify the different layers of the earth. But how many could do their own taxes or identify their credit score? Read more…
How Our Family Conquered Overspending during Holidays and Birthdays
My wife and I got serious about budgeting the year we got married. We used the “envelope system”, made popular by Dave Ramsey, to set aside cash for key expenses every month and give every dollar a mission. We stayed on track, for the most part, with two exceptions: holidays and birthdays. Read more…
Growing Up Gen X: How Our Past Affects Our Planning
Amidst all the attention given to baby boomers and millennials, who vastly outnumber us, it is easy to forget about my generation, Gen X. This group is generally considered to be those of us born between 1965 and 1980: a time of uncertainty in everything from politics to economics; a time when Read more…
In the Race to Zero Fees, Transparency Loses
The financial services industry is no stranger to competition, and you’ve likely heard of its latest game: the race to zero fees. On the surface, providing services at no cost sounds like another leap forward in disrupting outdated business models, but it’s not that simple. All too often, no cost Read more…
