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For many people, financial planning fails not because they are irresponsible, but because the process quickly becomes exhausting. The spreadsheets become another source of stress. Budgeting apps send constant notifications. Advice online swings between unrealistic discipline and extreme optimization. Somewhere along the way, managing money begins to feel like a second job. That is one reason many people avoid looking closely at their finances at all. Some put off checking their accounts after an expensive […]

Goooood morning friends! Got another book to pass around to ya if you’re in the mood for some good financial reading?! 🙂 This one comes from long-time reader, and financial planner, Bill Hines, who’s always kind enough to give us free copies of his books as they come out. This latest one is an update to his original work by the same name, only pumped up a bit more and co-authored by a financial counselor friend of his, Grady Moshay. It’s called “Plan Your Money Path: A Guide to Create Your Own Financial Plan,” and we’ve got 3 copies to give away today! Here are the core concepts of it that AI gave to me which I really liked – straight to the point 😉 ****** Mathematical Confidence: Focuses on replacing vague financial goals with definitive data, giving you actionable paths to fund your future. Practical Tooling: Guides readers in utilizing robust, inexpensive financial software instead of simplistic online “dumbed-down” tools. Real-World Application: Takes you through the exact inputs, assumptions, and steps needed to model a successful financial strategy ****** That “robust, inexpensive financial software” it mentions? Pralana Online. I’ve never heard of it before (have you?) but Bill loves it! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts if you ever check it out… Another financial tool I’ve recently been told about is ProjectionLab. Mad Fientist just did another blog post around it and says it’s the most powerful financial planning tool he’s ever seen! I don’t really use any software these days personally, but I’ll admit I am tempted! At any rate, if you’re interested in a free copy of this book, tell us what *stage* of your finances you’re currently in and you’ll be entered to win 🙂 Are you in the beginning, data-collecting portion? The middle, cranking away – head down – and just getting the job done state? Or perhaps your towards the end of your accruing journey and now just dotting all your i’s and crossing all your t’s? Or maybe this is the first time you’ve ever landed on a money blog before and you’ve got no idea what the hell is going on??! Haha… I remember that part well… It was scary for a little bit, and then all of a sudden super exciting once things started clicking!! Which it eventually does, so you’ll be great! In either case, drop your answers in the comments below, or via email if you’re reading this in our newsletter, and you’ll be entered to win. We’ll randomly pick the winners at the end of the weekend – good luck! And big thanks to Bill for always keeping us in mind and sharing the wealth. I hope the new edition flies off the shelves, buddy!! Your friend, whose currently in his sabbatical phase of the journey, (I’m close enough to the end where I don’t have to worry about money as much, but too tired/lazy/unconcerned enough to wrap it all up, lol… The “details” part

It appears to be an overlooked part of retirement planning. While we should always invest within our risk tolerance level we should also match our investment portfolios to the retirement cash flow plan. The plan gives the marching orders for each account. If you create a portfolio to plan mismatch, you could increase the risk of depleting an account too soon. On the other side if you are too conservative where an account has the […]

Recently, we’ve had eight of our grandchildren here at one point or another. Some stayed for a few days, some stayed for a week, and while it certainly made for a busy house, it also reminded me of something important about frugal grandparenting: Creating meaningful summer memories doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With the cost of nearly everything going up these days, it’s easy to feel pressure to spend money on entertainment. Grandparents want […]