Investment Planning

A 42-year-old software engineer sat in my office, staring at the retirement projection on my screen. "So if I save $800 a month for 23 years at 7% returns, I'll have $583,000?" His voice carried equal parts hope and disbelief. Then came the question that changes everything: "But what...

As a financial coach, the Fisher Investments vs. Fidelity debate isn't just a headline; it's a core question I've helped clients navigate for years. The right answer is rarely about which firm is universally "better," but which one is the right fit for the person asking. So, is Fisher Investments better than Fidelity for...

The straight answer: Compound interest is the interest you earn on both your original principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods. The Rule of 72 is a simple formula to estimate how many years it will take for an investment to double.  While often called the "eighth wonder of...

Let's stop guessing about your risk tolerance. After nearly 30 years of guiding clients through the euphoria of the dot-com bubble, the gut-wrenching panic of 2008, the wild swings of the 2020s, and most recently, the shocking April 2025 tariff crash that sent the VIX to 45 and markets...

For nearly three decades as a financial planner, I’ve learned that the most dangerous number in your portfolio isn't a market downturn. It's financial advisor fee's you don't understand. A simple 1% AUM fee on a $500,000 portfolio doesn't sound like much. But do the math: over 20 years with 6%...

Penny doubled for 30 days = $5.4M? The formula is mathematically perfect yet practically misleading. Real investing faces 3 brutal realities: taxes (20-37%), volatility (7-10% NOT 100% daily), human behavior. The paradox: $500/month beats one-time doubling.

Ever stared at your 401(k) statement, wondering if that 0.8% creep is real progress or just inflation's cruel joke? In my three-decades in the trenches, I've watched $50 monthly coffee skips morph into $1.2M nest eggs. But here's the gut-punch: 72% of millennials forfeit over $450,000 in lifetime growth...

What parent doesn't dream of a bright future for their child? As a personal financial planner for almost 30 years, I’ve sat with hundreds of Florida families who were planning for their kids college savings. And the conversation always turned to the same anxious question: "How on earth...

As a retired financial planner and a father of two college-aged sons, I’ve spent countless hours at the kitchen table with families mapping out their college savings strategies. Inevitably, the same tempting question comes up: "Can we just use our Roth IRA to pay for college?" You can withdraw Roth...

Feeling like you should be investing, but the thought of it is completely overwhelming? If you hear terms like "asset allocation" and "expense ratios" and your brain just shuts down, you are not alone. As a retired financial planner with almost 30 years of experience, I can tell you the...