The financial planning and investment landscape changes at a dizzying speed – and often with conflicting messages. Read our team of experts’ advice on saving, spending, investing, retirement, taxes, giving and more to help you enjoy a full life.
The financial planning and investment landscape changes at a dizzying speed – and often with conflicting messages. Read our team of experts’ advice on saving, spending, investing, retirement, taxes, giving and more to help you enjoy a full life.
June 12, 2018
The number of Mergers and Acquisitions of independent insurance agencies were at an all-time high in 2017, and the market remains strong in 2018 as large agencies and brokers continue to buy up smaller firms. The number of buyers continues to out weight the number of sellers which has created attractive valuations and selling terms […]
June 5, 2018
As we welcome summer, there are more than a few changes in the air. Now is the time when your children and grandchildren will graduate into the next phase of their lives. As young adults bid farewell to their years of schooling, it is important that they understand their new personal finance responsibilities. We recognize […]
May 29, 2018
If you stop for a minute and think about the future – what will outlast your life? How will your legacy be defined? The last few posts I have discussed issues (love and loss) that are much more focused on the current than the future. Legacy is a concept, for many, that is not often […]
May 22, 2018
This is the third installment in a series of blog posts on “The Big Five of Retirement Planning.” The “big five” are the five factors that will most profoundly impact how successful your retirement plan will be. Today we will focus on factor #3 – How much you save. To examine this point we have […]
May 15, 2018
Business Owners put their head down and go. Usually, they dedicate no time for extensive business or personal planning. When the time to sell arrives, owners often move ahead without critical planning that can help boost the value of the business and enhance their overall estate and financial plans. Spending a little bit of time […]
May 8, 2018
Recently, I have been getting a lot of questions from new or expecting parents wondering what they need to be thinking about from a financial perspective. Our daughter recently turned one and as I look back there were 3 big financial boxes to check after she was born. Prepare for the Uncertain This is about […]
April 24, 2018
Spring is nearly upon us in Chicago. It’s a welcome time of year considering the cold, hard winter. All of a sudden, we’ll start to see some green buds, blue skies and balmy temps in the 40s. It is also the time of year that reminds me what little credence is given to the transition […]
April 17, 2018
I now pronounce you husband and wife…with a prenuptial agreement. (Wouldn’t it be great if that was announced at the ceremony?!) Though prenups were once thought to be reserved for the rich and famous, studies show that millennials are increasingly signing on the dotted line. The “four Ds” below point to a few reasons millennials […]
April 10, 2018
Intelligent, hardworking insurance professionals have the opportunity to earn an exceptional living selling insurance. The top performing producers are in high demand and are compensated very well for their ability to develop new business. Unfortunately, high income does not always lead to financial security. Building and sustaining wealth takes practice and discipline. Below are the […]
April 3, 2018
With warmer weather, more sunshine, and opening day baseball (Go White Sox!) on the horizon, I was feeling ambitious last weekend and decided to get a jump start on my Spring cleaning. As I sifted through file cabinets I was shocked as to how many statements, bills, and receipts can pile up over 12 months, […]
March 27, 2018
Heads or Tails In 1979, two behavioral economists, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, ran a famous experiment to understand how averse to loss humans truly are. The experiment involved the ultimate game of chance, flipping a coin. The two economists simply asked their subject if they would accept certain terms of a bet based on […]
March 20, 2018
Recently I wrote a blog about “The Big Five of Retirement Planning” which are the five factors that most impact how successful your retirement will be… at least financially. These are: How long you work How much you spend How much you save How hard your money works for you How long you live Other […]