COVID-19 and the call to flatten the curve has wreaked absolute havoc on the United States economy. GDP shrank -4.8% in the 1st Quarter of 2020 and the 2nd Quarter is looking to have a large contraction with an even larger recovery in the 3rd Quarter. Total first-time unemployment claims since mid-March have grown to 36.5 million, which represents a 22.4% unemployment rate. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high of 3,386.15 on February 19th and closed at a low of 2,237.40 nearly a month later on March 23rd. That means the S&P 500 fell by -33.92%. Since the end of WW2, over the past 75 years, there have only been four instances where the S&P 500 fell greater – assuming the worst is now over. This was, by all means, an epic drawdown in the market. However, had we not social distanced the economic repercussions would have been even worse.

That is the bad news.

Uncertainty and not having control over your situation are two of the biggest stressors in our lives at the moment. We aren’t sure what tomorrow holds for us economically and many people are at the whims of government officials on whether they can even go to work and earn a paycheck. One of my goals for my financial planning clients is to help them take more control over their financial life and create certainty for themselves. Not being beholden to a paycheck gives you so much freedom to do what you want and one of the best ways to do this is by starting a side business (aka side hustle). And with social distancing and shelter in place orders, there is a lot more free time to do so.

The longest bull market in US history that began in March 2009 is over.

Bull markets end when a bear market sets in, which is a 20% decline from an all-time high. The all-time high was set on February 19th, 2020 when the S&P 500 hit 3,393 and ended on March 12th, 2020 when the S&P 500 crossed 2,714. At the time of this writing, the market is down 27% from its all-time high.

A decline in the stock market is rarely something to find joy in. They can cause a pit in your stomach and make you think “What if this is the big one?”. This post is to help ease those fears and encourage you to come up with a plan to deal with a market decline.

Investing isn’t for the faint of heart. One needs to have a plan and stick to it; yet, it’s easier said than done. Falling victim to one of these mistakes is easy to do. Being aware of what they are will provide you with the right mindset to know if one of these thoughts is making some noise.

A river cutting through sedimentary rocks throughout millennia can create something mind-blowing like the Grand Canyon. Just like the Grand Canyon wasn’t created overnight, your investments need consistent contributions and decades of appreciation to build generational wealth. Too often, we invest for a couple of years into a 401(k) or IRA thinking our few thousand-dollar investments should be a hundred-thousand dollars. And when that isn’t the case, we give up contributing altogether.

In short…probably not.

According to a study by Northwestern Mutual, 21% of Americans have zero retirement savings and 33% have less than $5,000 saved for retirement. Also, 33% of Baby Boomers have less than $25,000 saved for retirement. According to the same study, the average amount Americans have saved is $84,821 and only 25% have more than $200,000 saved for retirement. What’s more crazy is almost 75% of Americans believe Social Security will “not at all likely” or “somewhat likely” be available when they retire. A study by Provision Living states Millennials would like to have $687,000 saved for retirement, but will likely only have $357,000. At least Millennials have time to change investing contributions. Baby Boomers are right at the doorstep of retirement and are in bigger trouble as their ideal retirement would have $574,000 savings but realistically will have $228,000. The dichotomy between fantasy and reality is great for all generations. We know there is a problem but are not taking the necessary precautions to deal with that problem.

It isn’t even 2020 yet, and it seems like we are already in full swing for election season. On both sides of the aisle, there are doom and gloom proclamations if the other party wins the Presidential election. Republicans say the stock market will go into a downward spiral if someone like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders were to win the election. Democrats say the stock market is already on the brink and will tank if Donald Trump is re-elected. And the media, especially the financial media, LOVES this. The financial media plays into these fears because they know investor uncertainty drives people to view their programs – which only act as fuel for the fire and are far from being a calming source. But as disruptive as elections seem to be, do they have an impact on the stock market?

The F.I.R.E. movement has become the latest trend in personal finance. So, what exactly is F.I.R.E.? Should you join it? Will it work? Those are just a few questions people have wondering and I’m here to answer them.

Major League Soccer is the fastest growing professional sports league in the United States. After a decade of struggling and the league on life support, the league has rebounded and is expanding teams at an incredible pace.  In fact, my city of Nashville is getting a team in 2020.  I was curious one Saturday night about where MLS stands with team revenue, player compensation, etc. when compared to other leagues.  It turns out, the MLS Players Association publishes player compensation on their website dating back to the 2013 season.  So, I did what I do when I discover information like this – create a database and see what I can find with statistical analysis.  This may sound like the worst Saturday night in existence; but for me, it’s like Christmas morning.

Picking a financial advisor can be a daunting task. "What do I look for? Where do I start? Do I even need one?” These are a few of the questions you may ask yourself when starting the process. Many times, not knowing the answers will stop the process right there. This checklist will help you through this process and know what to look for and ask.

Andrew Luck shocked the sports world on Saturday night when he announced he was retiring from the NFL. The former #1 Draft Pick was in the middle of what many considered the prime of his career. He was widely regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the league and the Colts were likely going to be a Super Bowl contender for the next few seasons. A player of his caliber retiring at the age of 29 is almost unheard of. The owner of the Indianapolis Colts speculated that Andrew was leaving potentially $500 million on the table by retiring now rather than playing out his career into his late 30s or early 40s like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady. 

I thought it would be interesting to see what can you learn from Andrew Luck’s retirement and how you can apply it to your own situation. Whether you are a professional athlete, young professional, or pre-retiree – there is something for you in this post.

I recently finished “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel. I’m a few years late to it being released, but it has left quite an impact on my outlook. While the book delves into the mindset necessary to build a successful startup, there is one specific chapter in the book that struck a chord with me.

Chapter 6 is titled “You Are Not A Lottery Ticket” and the entire time I was reading it I could not stop thinking about how applicable this notion is to personal finances. I don’t want this post to turn into a full on book report, so I will briefly summarize what Peter states.

You may hear on the nightly news “The Dow was down 1.3% today” or “The NASDAQ was up 50 points today.” Have you ever wondered what they were talking about or what it meant? You are not alone in those thoughts.

Investing for first-time investors can be pretty overwhelming. There are so many variables out there and they can be pretty confusing. There are different retirement accounts, investment accounts, some account let you invest in different things, etc. But perhaps the most overlooked item is not knowing what your tolerance for risk is. And not only that, making sure your investments actually reflect how much risk you are willing to take on.

When it comes to your own personal finances there are no dumb questions; however, many people are intimidated by the industry jargon, or things they don’t know much about, and thus are very self-conscious to not ask questions for the fear they may come off as unintelligent. I’ve made it my mission to make my company as inviting as possible because I understand how complicated many of these topics can be. So, today’s post is about one of the fundamental building blocks for personal finance. To make this as simple as possible, this post is part dictionary, part examples. The concept is the difference between a stock and a bond.

The purchase of your home could easily be one of the largest transactions you will make in your life.  Buying a home can be an emotional process-- one where you are tempted to think more about what you want right now and therefore lose sight of what is best for you and your family in the long run.  The decision to choose a 15 year mortgage or a 30 year mortgage may end up affecting your personal finances more than any other decision you'll make. Unfortunately, many people don’t look much further than the larger monthly payment of the 15 year mortgage, so they instinctively choose the 30-year mortgage.  This is a decision that can cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As you likely have heard, Uber is having its IPO (Initial Public Offering) on Friday, May 10th in what is being hailed as the largest IPO in history. There is a ton of excitement and hype surrounding the IPO. It’s even likely that you have bought into some of this excitement. After all, you have probably used the service and heard of the people who are going to make a killing because they invested in Uber during the early stages. But is this something you should invest in?

One of the easiest things to overlook during changing of employers is what to do with your old 401(k). And sometimes you get another 401(k) when your company is acquired or merged with another company. And in today’s job market, it’s likely at some point in your working years you are going to have more than a single 401(k). It’s rare an employee spends their entire career at a single company anymore.

The 2019 NFL Draft is going to be in Nashville this year and I couldn’t be more excited.  The NFL Draft is one of my favorite sporting events.  I love seeing a team’s strategy play out like a real-life chess board and I love seeing player’s dreams come true even more.  What comes with these dreams is a contract and one that will pay out a lot of money.  For many of these players, they become instant millionaires.  But for others drafted in the later rounds, they won’t be instant millionaires.  They will earn a great income, but they are going to be fighting for a roster spot every year to do so.