Kids Today Have It Too Easy As a dad of teenagers, it’s my duty to occasionally put on the “grumpy old man” act and talk about how kids today have it too easy. I say things like, “You know when I was a boy…” followed by a misremembered anecdote of my days working at the
Author: Justin Smith
Knowing full well that financial planning is about far more than numbers, Justin loves to help clients walk through both the routine and the significant decisions in life. While he could have been perfectly happy with a career as a mathematician or counselor; he is delighted to get to be both...often within the same meeting or even sentence. Justin thrives on being able to transform complex financial and relational issues into practical plans and clear action steps.
Am I Rich?
How we spend our time and how we spend our money should make us feel rich. The hard part is discovering what “rich” really means to each of us. I learned a lot about being rich in early November when we got the call that my father-in-law had suffered a stroke. After what was both
Quarter in Charts – Q4 2022
It’s hard to describe how rare and painful 2022 was for investors of all kinds. The phrase “off the charts” is often overused, but in this case, it seems appropriate. And while we’ll look at the causes and details of this year’s returns, we’ll also spend some time exploring how investors should consider viewing the
Quarter in Charts – Q3 2022
Over the last few weeks, I kept the kids up far past their bedtimes to witness Aaron Judge break the American League single-season home run record. While we had to sit through a whole lot of walks, we eventually got to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event that we’ll tell some grandkids about. Sadly, this year, investors have also witnessed an investment market for the record books. Through the charts below (and a recounting of my real-world experience with our 15-year-old new driver) we’ll examine the year so far, talk through viewing investments through the “windshield” of a financial plan, and see how investors have typically fared better than average coming out of historic times like these.
I Bonds Are Paying 9.62%, What’s The Catch? (Updated)
(Note: At the time of publication, July 2022, I Bonds were paying an annualized rate of 9.62%. Since then, interest rates and inflation have changed, causing the combined I Bond rate to adjust down to 6.89% as of February 2023. You can find the current combined interest rate here.) The US Government introduced Series I
Quarter in Charts – Q2 2022
“The Circumstances” So far this year, investors have experienced a dramatic increase in interest rates and sustained high inflation, coupled with a decrease in both stock and bond prices not seen in half a century. All of this while the US continued to add jobs and public companies increased profits at a steady pace. Below
SPWM Adds Associate Financial Planner, Jordan Johnson
Smith Partners Wealth Management is delighted to announce the addition of Jordan Johnson to our team as an Associate Financial Planner and Operations Specialist. Jordan brings her 3+ years of experience as an Associate Financial Planner for a Fiduciary Fee-Only firm in College Station, Texas. Jordan will be based in Texas and will support our
Understanding Probabilities of Success in Financial Planning
It Looks Like I’ve got a 75% Chance of Making it Home From Work When we talk about achieving financial goals, we use the term “Probability of Success”. It comes from a Monte Carlo mathematical model that produces a number ranging from 1% to 99%. But what does a 50%, 75%, or 99% probability of
Quarter In Charts – Q1 2022
We just completed Science Fair season in our house – whew! Finley (age 12) tested different ratios of Corn Syrup to Sugar to determine the optimal recipe for homemade marshmallows (I take all the credit for the title: “Who Wants S’more Marshmallows?”) Going into the project, she had no idea which recipe would make the
Decide Today, What Kind of Old Person You Want to Be
“I’m sorry, but I have to take this call…Mary will tell you more about why.” We were in the middle of our client review, when Jeff hurriedly excused himself to the lobby. I looked over to Mary and said that I didn’t need to know the details, but hoped everything was okay. “Oh, everything’s fine…or
