Be Happily Debt Free

Brian Fricke, CFP®Debt, Investing

The single biggest obstacle to building and keeping wealth is debt. That’s right—debt! If you’re paying an increasing amount each month to pay off loans or credit cards, you are in good company. The average American carries an estimated $10,000 in credit card debt. Regardless of your circumstances, try to imagine having no credit card, car or mortgage payments. I … Read More

The Secret to Successful Investment Strategy

Brian Fricke, CFP®Investing

What’s the secret? It’s simple really, have a written investment strategy. By my estimates, more than 95% of individual investors don’t have a written investment strategy and even some 85% of financial advisors don’t use them. This strategy should reflect your principles, values and philosophies about your finances. You’ll rarely refer to this document during a bull market when your … Read More

Incredible Retirement Tip: What Your Financial Planning Software Is Missing

Brian Fricke, CFP®Asset Protection, Cash Flow, Investing

If you or your financial advisor use financial planning software to help manage your portfolio, you’re almost guaranteed to fail. Let me explain. These programs seem logical. You plug in the amount of money you have now, how much you’re saving, when you want to retire, how much you expect you will spend in retirement, etc. The program then makes … Read More

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage?

Brian Fricke, CFP®Mortgages

Planning for retirement brings up numerous and varied questions about how best to plan for your financial future. One of those often is: Should you pay off your mortgage? The short answer is yes. One of the best ways to lessen the stress of worrying about the economy or the direction of the stock market is to own your home debt … Read More